Rope Convention

The American Ropemakers Guild gathering for 2011 is June 10, 11, and 12. It is going to be held
in Oskaloosa, IA at the Nelson Pioneer Farm. This year the machine we will be honoring is
the New Era Patened by A.D. Long of Fairfield, Iowa. It wil be the 100th Aniversary
of his patent. We usually average 30 to 40 ropemakers from about 20 states. Friday is
a day for those who come early to set up, and enjoy each others company. Saturday is
open to the public demonstrating rope making. It is also a day we usually make something
special. This year we are talking about making a 500 to 600 ft.hay rope.

On Saturday the 11th, we will be open to the public from 9a.m. to 5p.m. There is no charge to the public for the Rope Makers area. There is a charge to get into the Nelson Pioneer Farm, but you do not have to get into the farm to watch the rope makers. The Rope Makers will be set up OUTSIDE the gate to the Pioneer Farm.

The Prairie Rose Dutch Oven Society will be demonstrating on Saturday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. We will also have some blacksmiths demonstrating on Saturday as well.

For our Ropemakers main event, we will be making approx. a 500' Hay Rope on Saturday. We will start at 11:00 a.m. and go until we finish. We will make it with a New Era Ropemaker and it will take 72 binder twine strands to make this rope.

We are planning a pot luck on Saturday night for the Rope Makers. Tableware will be provided. There is a Hy-Vee and Fareway in Oskaloosa for those who need to get supplies. There are several restaurants for those who wish to go out.

LODGING

My wife and I (Milton Voss) did some checking on some of the motels in Oskaloosa and there are two that we felt were nice. Our first choice would be the Super 8 Motel. The rates are as follows:
King or Queen Beds--$55.00 plus tax
Two Beds--$59.00 plus tax
A suite--King Bed & Double bed--$70.00 plus tax (these are very spacious rooms).
Children under 16 are free. Each additional adult in the room is an extra $5.00.
They do not offer any extra discounts during the summer. You can go to www.super8.com and put in Oskaloosa to get any information you might want. Their phone number is 641-673-8484.

The next one is the Comfort Inn. This one does have a swimming pool.
King or Queen bed--$90.00
2 Queen beds--$95.00.
They are willing to give us a 15% discount, but we must have at least 10 rooms reserved before we can get the discount. Their phone number is 1-800-424-6423.

Some of you have been asking about asking about camping facilities in Oskaloosa during our rope making get together. The Pioneer Farm will allow you to camp at the farm. Tents are allowed on the grass, but camper trailers or Rv's must camp on the pavement or parking lot. As far as camping on the grass, they do not want us to have any holes or burnt areas in the grass. The farm does not have any hookups.

I (Milton Voss) checked with the Southern Iowa Fairgrounds and camping there would be just fine. The fairgrounds are even closer to the Pioneer Farm. It is a self register and it is $18.00 a day and 30 amp service. If you use the camper dump, there is an extra $5.00 charge.

There is also Lake Keomah State Park. It is approx. 5-6 miles east of Oskaloosa. They have 65 campsites (41 with electrical hookups) modern showers, rest rooms and a trailer dump station. If you wish to find out more about Lake Keomah, or to make reservations, you can google Lake Keomah State Park, Oskaloosa, Ia. (Here is one website that has a map - http://www.stateparks.com/lake_keomah.html )

It is free to the public to visit the rope makers. There is a fee for entering the Nelson Pioneer Farm.

There are 2 Rope Making groups on Yahoo I'd like to mention. They deal with old and new rope making techniques, rope making through history, various rope machines, and so much more. Several of the Yahoo group members attend the annual Rope Makers Conventions. What at great place to network (no pun intended..."net" work...anyway...) with other rope makers. The largest of the Yahoo groups is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ropemaking/ The other group has the same quality of posts, it just doesn't have as many members yet. The address for that group is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RopeMakerConvention2005/?yguid=331920327 If you have an interest in ropes and rope making, you're going to want to join one or both of these groups.

In the meantime, check out some of the highlights of the 2006 Rope Makers Convention (below).

Wilber Boy Scout Troop 101 provided the food concessions. The menu included: Sloppy Joes, Sloppy Nachos, Regular Nachos, Hot Dogs, Chips, Pastry Rolls, Kolaches, Orange Drink, Iced Tea, Coffee, and Water. The food was delicious....and they delivered to your demonstration area!!

It rained nearly all day Saturday, but it didn't stop the public from coming out to visit. We had 11 rope stations (rope machine collections and/or rope making demonstrations) and 14 fiber arts stations (to include crocheting, tatting, bobbin lace, card weaving, loom weaving, rag rugs, t-shirt rugs, macrame, and quilting). The Kramer Sisters provided music on Saturday afternoon.

Many of the demonstrators stayed Saturday evening for the banquet (catered by Frank's Smokehouse of Wilber, NE). After the meal, 3 rope makers were inducted into the American Rope Makers Guild as Master Rope Makers. They are (left to right): Skip Wise, Fred Mueller, and Richard Schondelmayer.

Sunday was not as 'dreary' and rain filled of a day. The rope makers pooled their efforts in the morning to make a rope that ended up being a bit over 200 feet long - Congratulations!

If you have any question, please contact: Les Vilda, PO Box 99, Wilber, NE 68465 (402)821-3058

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2011 National Rope Makers Convention