Rope Makers Share Talent And History At Nelson Pioneer Farm
Learning the history and technique needed to make rope was just part of the recent visit by the American Rope Makers Guild to Nelson Pioneer Farm.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Rope. It’s something many of us take for granted, but know little to nothing of its history or how it’s made. One group of individuals hope to keep that knowledge alive and well.
Mike Speranza, of Albany, New York, is one of those people who works to help keep that history alive. He traveled to Nelson Pioneer Farm, outside of Oskaloosa, to share his talent and love of rope making with visitors. Other attendees traveled from places like Oklahoma and Canada.
Speranza helped to found the American Rope Makers Guild, and the Midwest Chapter of the guild, who meet annually, met during the first part of June at Nelson Pioneer Farm.
Speranza says the guild was started in approximately 1985 in Long Island, New York. The group grew over the years and has now split into two different divisions, the Northeast and Midwest.
The hope of the group is to promote the art of rope making. Speranza says that the art has been all but forgotten. He also talked about the craft of making rope and the importance it had with naval vessels, and farming communities. A vast supply of hemp in the northwest helped the new colonies supply the much needed rope and sails for the British Navy. Every three years, each ship had to be re-rigged with new rope.
Speranza likened the supply of oil for today’s mode of transportation to the hemp and rope making of colonial times. “Ships wouldn’t move if he [King] didn’t have his hemp.”
So with that in mind, Speranza and the American Rope Makers Guild look to keep the history of the craft alive for the next generation. “It [rope making] has been all but forgotten. Our purpose is to revive this and bring rope making back as a craft.”
When looking into rope making in the Midwest, rope was made out of the leftover bailing cord. With the invention of the automatic bailing machine, cord was used to secure those bales. When the farmer would cut the bale open he would throw that cord into a corner of the barn, which was later turned into rope by cheap rope making machines.
Those who participate in the guild now communicate throughout the year, forming into a tight knit community that shares their experiences with those who ask. You can find them on their Yahoo Groups Page HERE.
