Enthusiasts share a passion for living history
FREMONT - History enthusiasts from around the country flocked to Fremont this past weekend to both relive it and share their passion for doing so with others in the community.
Scott Rathfelder owns Smiling Fox Forge in Fremont with his wife, Renee. They have been hosting the Living History Trade Fair at the Sandusky County Fairgrounds for over a quarter of a century.
Rathfelder said when they first decided to start the show 26 years ago, there were not any others around like it. Some flew in from as far as Arizona at the time just to attend the show.
“It was something for the winter, to get together during that cabin fever time,” Rathfelder said. “See one another, buy things, work on their projects, get ready for reenactment season.”
While it’s not momentous in sheer size, a considerable steady crowd filled the show floor throughout the weekend.
“It’s grown into a very high-quality show,” he said. “We may not have huge numbers of vendors, but we have some of the best craftsmen in the country that are here.”
The Rathfelder’s collection specializes in the 18th century, specifically between 1754 to 1783, during the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War.
A lot of their customers participate in historical reenactments, and they have even done work for feature films and television shows.
Rathfelder said his favorite aspect is being able to teach people about history, and just as the name of the show suggests, doing so by living it first-hand.
Forest “Butch” Sheely is journeyman smith who owns Beaver Creek Forge in Grand Rapids, Ohio.
Sheely said he started blacksmithing over 30 years ago, forging a lot of different general goods, but has since narrowed his focus to blade work, primarily knives and tomahawks.
For the past 10 years, Sheely said he was able to turn the hobby into his full-time business.
Like Rathfelder, Sheely said he enjoys the history. One of his favorite things to do is taking a close look at original historical pieces and attempting to recreate those himself.
Dan Vanderhoff, of Fostoria, builds and collects historical American long rifles, as well as other accessories and relics.
“I’ve just been into it ever since I can remember,” he said.”But I’ve been building guns since ’75.”
Vanderhoff had a variety of muzzleloaders, including both percussion and flintlock rifles. For the ones he builds himself, each and every step he works from scratch.
“I build everything,” he said. “Like the old timers.”
Vanderhoff has no interest toward modern firearms, instead always having gravitated to the historical stuff, he said perhaps from watching the “Daniel Boone” television series.
These historical rifles carry appeal for more than just reenactment use, though, as they’re quite popular for deer hunting, target shooting and collecting.
“Heck, when I started I just went out and bought an old beater I know nothing about,” Vanderhoff said. “But I went from there and now I build them.”
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