Dog Hollow Rendevous Enjoyed Nearly Perfect Weather

Dog Hollow attendees enjoy a moment around the campfire, helping bring the past to life.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Dog Hollow Rendevous was held this past weekend on the grounds of Nelson Pioneer Farm.

Organizer Jim Walker described the event as “amazing.” “The Music, the laughter, and the fellowship. You know, we’re still social distancing, but there’s not a whole lot of scare here.”

Walker said the experience has been good for kids. “The kids have been bottled up so much, they’ve run the energy off. They’ve had water fights. They’ve been able to just play as kids and not worry about what’s going on.”

Walker thanked the Nelson Pioneer Farm and the Mahaska County Historical Board. The farm, museum, and library has been closed this year due to COVID-19 concerns, but the board voted to allow Dog Hollow Rendevous to use the area near the cabin once again.

Walker said that the camps were six to ten feet apart, and families were together. “We have made sure that they didn’t have a fever and all the regular screening. I’ve taken inventory of everybody that’s been here.”

“Following [the guidelines] the best we can for any event.”

Hand sanitizer and Lysol for the bathrooms were on hand. “We’ve been taking care of the bathrooms and doing our part the best we can.”

In its 27th year now, the festival continues to strive in recreating life in the 1840s.

In the beginning, Walker and four others that were Boy Scout leaders in Ottumwa took a group of boys on an outing to Wapello Trail in Ottumwa. While at the Boy Scout outing, a group of ‘buck skinners’ put on a demonstration. “The five of us decided that bigger boys and bigger toys, and we just started having fun.”

The group gathers many times during the year at various locations.

The group shares skills that, in many cases, are dying art forms. “Living history is going away,” said Walker, who is thankful that an older generation passed along those skills.

Those skills include handcrafted clothing items, repairing or making the tools needed in day-to-day life, or hunting skills such as knife or hawk (tomahawk) throwing.

Now Walker and the Timberwolves are trying to pass those skills of the 1840s living on to the next generation. “This way is a way of life that it used to be. It’s not easy, and it’s not fun. People say, ‘why do you do this?’. When you have a busy life, and you’re working, this is relaxing. There’s nothing more relaxing than a fire going on at night and guitar music, and people sitting around that are family.”

You can find the group on Facebook Here – https://www.facebook.com/groups/47933186523/about/

Posted by on Aug 10 2020. Filed under Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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