Under brilliant blue early autumn skies, Moorefield Middle School eighth graders left the brick and mortar classroom behind and went forth to learn in the great outdoors.
As one traversed the school farm, the aroma of slowly bubbling and simmering apple butter wafted across the breeze. Occasionally came the thunder of a 12-inch howitzer fired as part of a demonstration of Civil War era weaponry. Students also crowded around a presentation on fish science and fishing, as well as traditional fabric dyeing using natural and local substances to create bright colors in fabric and clothing.
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources manned the fishing and science station. In a large tank, they had placed several fish as visual aids. One of the DNR representatives described how and why they survey fish in local streams.
After catching fish, they weigh them, mark down other information, then place tags on them. “If an angler catches a tagged fish, we can get information from that,” including where it was caught, how much it had grown, and other factors.
“It helps us set fishing regulations . . . to control and maintain a healthy abundance of fish,” she said then asked students to identify different species.
On the rise above the DNR sat the encampment of the McNeil’s Rangers and McClanahan Battery units of historical presenters. Each wore a different version of traditional Confederate States military clothing. Also making his rounds through the grounds was a man dressed resplendently as a Union major general.
Though blue and gray greeted each other with bad intentions in the 1860s, today the organizations work together to enhance general understanding of Hardy County in the Civil War.
Most of the kids raised their hands high when asked if they had heard of the legendary McNeil’s Rangers who harassed Union units locally while procuring the cattle and horses needed to keep Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia fed and mobile. David Judy explained “they were soldiers at night and farmers during the day.”
Judy and others explained the different period firearms used locally. He pointed out one weapon and said “that’s a double barreled shotgun. If you had one barrel, even better. It was even better than a sword” at close range.
Then the “pièce de résistance” took the form of the team explaining the use of, then firing, the artillery piece. They fired a 12-inch howitzer that made some noise and more smoke, impressing the students each time.
Jacy Barr, who teaches science at the school, shared her demonstration. She showed students how one can use naturally occurring substances to create brilliant colors just as artificial chemicals do.
Turmeric and a type of flower produced a vivid canary yellow. Beets “made a really pretty pink” and red and purple cabbage were also used.
The dyeing substances were boiled with the fabrics to immerse them in color. They were then hung to dry.
Near where large groups of students both socialized and tended to caldrons full of cooking apple butter (and let’s face it, the old timers did it the exact same way) students from both the middle and high schools showed off personal collections of both man-made and natural artifacts.
Brilee Reel sat at a display table with her friend Addison Hunt and boxes of arrowheads and projectiles both used during fighting up and down the South Branch Valley watershed through the French and Indian War, named the Seven Years War outside of North America.
They came from Fort Run Farm, a historic property near the current Walmart. “My great grandad found them,” the Moorefield High School senior noted, adding that the ancestor who gathered them was Charlie Williams. “He found a few in a hayfield and continued to search,” she said.
During that war, Virginia militia Col. George Washington ordered the construction of a series of frontier forts ranging from modern Cumberland through Fort Ashby, Old Fields, Moorefield, and down through Fort Seybert and further south. French forces and their Indian allies battled Britain, her colonies, and their Indian allies.
And Reel brought that history back to life for the younger kids at Moorefield Middle School.
Amber Roomsburg, an eighth grader, displayed her passion for different minerals. In her display box sat a number of types from around the Eastern United States, but many from this area. She said “I love geology and archaeology and the rocks are so beautiful.”
Among her curiosities were volcanic rocks that she had found along the South Branch and also in nearby mountains. These most likely came from 40-million-year-old volcanic sites adjacent to the South Fork River near Brandywine and Sugar Grove in Pendleton County. Two of these were active volcanoes whose eruptions merged them into Ugly Mountain. Another site is near the Old Wilfong Church upstream from Franklin. Still more are located near Harrisonburg and Monterey, Virginia.
She indicated that some she found in the mountains west of Moorefield, some along the river in Petersburg, and still others in Lost River State Park.
MMS teacher Stephanie Simmons also shared that the event has a greater impact than simply educating locals about their ancestors and local history. She explained that this has served as a vital way that some of the legal immigrant students and their families, whether here temporarily or permanently, develop an understanding of Moorefield, Hardy County, and the Potomac Highlands.
She stated that through the demonstrations at Fall Festival, they learn more about the culture, history, and underlying traditions and practices.
