My Latest Arrowheads, Flintknapping

Chamberlin Ranch in Los Olivos ...knap-in 2008

Chamberlin Ranch in Los Olivos ...knap-in 2008

The archery shoot went well, the weather was great, nice and sunny. Knappers came from all over the state. David, Gary and I drove up early this morning from Bakersfield. David drove us in his Chevy Suburban. Just before we got there we stopped and pigged out at Home Ton Buffet. On the way down we saw a heard of tule elk and then down the road two antelope were fighting with their horns.

Once there we met up with old friends Alton Safford, Joe Dabill, Barney DeSimone, Ralph Lawless, Patric Aims and Merkle with his new beautiful baby daughter, his Finegold knap-in is the 3rd weekend in May near Fresno, CA. John and George were
there, also from the Bakersfield knapping club, but wecould not find George.

It was a great day of flintknapping in the beautiful rolling hills of Chamberlin Ranch in Los Olivos, California. Gary Picket knapped an obsidian heart for a young lady, Barney brought in some nice porcelinite and obsidian to chip, Ralph Lawless knapped some nice bifaces out of some local cherts and some thick blue glass and had a great display. He gives demos and knapping lessons ravenstone5@yahoo.com. Joe Dabill knapped some Ishi points out of some green fiber optic material I gave him. Joe specializes in artifact reproductions and instruction in primitive technology(805)927-0254 see Joe's work @ www.campoceanpines.org

ARROWHEADS AND BLADES OF ANCIENT CALIFORNIA

Morphological typologies of projectile points in North America have often been employed as time-sensitive prehistoric cultural markers. Although there has been
some controversy as to the reliability of this method, I wrote this book in 1985
showing the types of California arrowhead and projectile points and other lithic bifaces. Also is a chart of lithic material types and uses.

KELVIN'S BAKERSFIELD BLUEGRASS NEWS

Bakersfield Bluegrass News

HI Folks,
Our second monthly jam was another success we had 20 pickers or so and a good time was had. I would like to thanks those that attented and I appreciated and enjoyed all the songs that they brought to the jam. We re-arranged the room and it seemed to work fine and we were'nt as cramped, so for the short term I think Rusty's will work out just fine. Special thanks to Jason from driving down from Lake Isabella for the jam. I enjoyed his picking and singing. I also noticed that our group killed off a bunch of pizza and drinks which helps out with the room. Our next monthly jam will be held on Monday May 5th. at Rusty's Pizza in the Olive Drive Vons Shopping Center.

Craig Wilson was at the jam and he had with him the latest creations from his woodshop. Not one but two F5 Mandolin's. I have heard mandolin's described as "cannons" or "banjo killers" before but I don't think I understood what that meant until last monday's jam. Craigs mando's where loud and had great tone. Way to go Craig I think are on you way to a second career. If anyone is interested I am sure Craig could be swayed to part with one of them.

Whew! It looks like the next few month's are pretty Blue. Check out the event's listed below and I hope to see you at some of them. Thanks to Alan Aleksander for sharing his information with me. Alan's band the Wild River Ramblers have a regular gig over in Nipomo. If you get a chance stop by and give a listen and let him who you are and where you are from. If you are aware of any other events that need posting just let me know and I will be more than happy to include them. Give me a call @661-392-7973


Upcoming Concerts and Events

4/10 - 4/13 (thursday through sunday) CBA Spring Campout Turlock CA. 4 day's of picking, a chicken dinner on friday, a band scramble and open mic on saturday. This event is well attended in fact several of our Bakersfield Jam group will be heading up there, and your fingers will be burning come sunday. For more info checkout the CBA webpage.

4/14 Acoustic Jam and songwriting workshop. The Blackboard Stages of Bakersfield. Bring you instrument or just come in and observe, network and collaborate. It is interesting and entertaining. 805 North Chester Ave. 8:00 p.m.

4/16 Irish Jam at Dagney's Coffe Shop 7:00 - 9:00

4/17 MARLEY’S GHOST, five exceptional musicians, singers, songwriters Since forming in the mid-’80s, Marley’s Ghost has built a singular reputation among discerning roots–music lovers for its instrumental virtuosity, ultra-tight 4 part harmonies and animated live performances. The Band has a rabid following they’ve gathered through countless shows at festivals, clubs and colleges. These guys are perennial favorites at the Strawberry Music Festival (Camp Mather), and the Walnut Valley Festival (Winfield, Kansas). Read their extensive professional bios on www.marleysghost.com

Tickets available online: www.fresnofolkconcerts.com Patrick's Music, National Hardware or phone me (Pat Wolk) 559-431-3653 $20 advance with $5 donation to the church.



4/25/08 (On Sale Apr 11) Legendary Mandolinist Roland White from the Kentucky Colonels, with Herb Pedersen and Bill Bryson-$20. Mandolin workshop with Roland on Sunday Apr 27, 10am. Boulevard Music . http://www.boulevardmusic.com/ (Cut and Past link into Browser)

4/26 Squaw Valley Jam (The last saturday of each month) Host Henry and Nancy put on a good jam and the potluck is awesome. I have attended one of their jams and it is a good one. It is about 90 minutes from Bakersfield. Contact Henry at 559-338-0025 for info and directions.

5/2 The Isaac's A great gospel bluegrass band with great vocals and exellent musicians. Valley Bible Church on Fruitvale Avenue. Tickets go on sale this Friday and can be picked up at Valley Bible Church.

5/4 Wild River Ramblers

(Julio Boysenberry on Banjo, John Sharpe on Fiddle, Tony Irvine on Bass and Alan Aleksander (me) on Guitar) Each 1st Sunday of the month, from 2 PM to whenever. Santa Maria Brewing Co http://www.santamariabrew.com/ Cut and Paste Link into Browser (owner: Dan Hilker) 112 Cuyama Lane (1/2 block W of the 101) Nipomo, CA, 805 349 2090

5/8/08-5/11/08 (Thurs. thru Sun.) -- PARKFIELD hosts the 10th annual Mother's Day Weekend Festival, produced by your own the Bluegrass Music Society of the Central Coast. Bands include national headliners, and state and local bands of renown: James King Band, Rambler's Choice, Chris Hillman-Herb Pedersen-Bill Bryson Trio, Eric Uglum & Sons, Leroy McNees Bluegrass Gospel Band, Virtual Strangers, Eric Uglum & Sons, Whiskey Chimp, Southside, Wild River Ramblers, Better Late Than Never, Baloney Creek, Bean Creek, and the Del Williams Band. Festival begins about 2:30 PM on Thursday, runs til 6:00 PM on Sunday -- it envelops a picturesque hamlet in secluded oak-shrouded valley, with over 60 acres of level, grassy camping sites. Some RV electrical hook-ups available (first come, first served), free hot shower facility. For details and ticket info, see www.parkfieldbluegrass.com, or call (805)-925-5280.

5/18/2008 (Sunday) Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest- Put this on your calendar now. I had so much fun last year that it's still fresh in my mind. Visit http://www.topangabanjofiddle.org for line-up of performers and activities, the Contestant Registration Form and Volunteer Questionnaire, photos.or call the Hotline at (818) 382-4819 and leave a message. Contestant Registration had been extended ONLY until April 12, 2008. The BAND CATEGORY...sorry but that closed within the first 2 weeks of Registration.
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Gray Ghost of Minter Field (written 2003)

I went to the Minter Field air show today. It was War Birds in
Action. Very nice. Met some old W.W.II Pilots and
bought 3 B26 pins. One guy had nice B26 shirts for sale I got his e-
mail : www.flightlinedesign.com . Like always
there was great die cast models of every war bird - except the
B26. The Birds themselves were awesome; B25, B17,
P51, Corsairs, BT trainers and much more. It was $375.00 to ride the
B17- I'm to poor for that!
One interesting story is this. I was in line to buy my B26
pins, one 3-d side view pewter is awesome, and
the lady in front of me was buying all the B26 stuff she could find.
I told her my dad was a W.W.II B26 pilot and she
told me an interesting story. She was abandoned as a baby and wound
up adopted, she only recently found this out,
maybe a year ago. Since then she was on a quest to find her
biological parents. Well she found them last week and
her father was a B26 pilot, she and her husband were ecstatic, her
father was a war hereo and an importany part part
of world history, I just smiled like the straw suck'n hick I am and
said - yup-me too!In the afternoon, at home after
the air show, I heard a roar above, we ran out and looked to see the
shinny metal B17 flying low above our
home---Wow.
Tonight the candle light dances with the shadows on
the wall and some footsteps grow fainter as
they echo down the hall. Tonight as the sun becomes a stranger and
saints and sinners share a brew -I'll put my
head on my pillow - smile- and say my pop was B26er -"yup-me too!"

TEMPLETON KNAP-IN AND ADVENTURE SAGA(2005)

THE TEMPLETON KNAP-IN AND ADVENTURE SAGA(and did I mention the
waitresses?) . BY Ray Harwood
It was about 5:00 a.m. Saturday December 3, 2005. The alarm came
blasting in my ear, what the hell, where am I? Oh yeah it's knap in
day. Patric Aims and I had planned an adventure to the "KNAP-IN AND
WILDERNESS SKILLS DAYTEMPLETON, CA" About 45 minutes later Pats
Durango's lights were beaming in my Bakersfield's home front
window. I had pulled out a bunch of junk to bring in haste the
night before. Down the road we went, our tires blowing dust and old
chicken feathers like mosses dividing the sea it was a blast, we
had a lot of catching up to do as I had not been to a knap in
years. I met Pat through the Bakersfield Kern River knappers, at
Hart Park in Bakersfield. We got into Templeton about 8A.M. it was
a clean crisp morning. We exited the highway on Main Street but had
a hard time finding the 3 Dogs Ranch. We went back to a really cool
looking cattle auction place that had the pens and stock yard in the
back 40 and a staek house in the front. It was "HOOVERS BEEF PALACE"
Heck I'm on a diet so lets eat! At Hoover's Beef Palace the moto
is " If you enjoy your meal, tell a friend, if you don't, tell us".
All over the wall are photos of dudes with cowboy hats, it has all
the looks of an old time dinner and the ultimate was the waitresses,
for you young bucks,these best looking cowgirls this side of the Pecos.
Hoover's Beef Palace HAS BEEN A FAMILY OWNED BUSNESS FOR MANY YEARS, from
fresh baked biscuits to grinding their own sausage to peeling and cutting
fresh potatoes for Freedom fries. THATS-
A-FOE-SHOW-! After Patrick and I had stuffed ourselves full of chow
we headed out again in search of the knap-in again had a hard time
finding the 3 Dogs Ranch. We finely saw a big sign with an Ishi
point painted on it and headed down a dirt road along a dry river
band. About a mile in we say the ranch and headed in. Ralph's ranch
is a nice place, critters all over the place. It was still early
and a bit cold, Joe Dabble and Ralph started a fire and as we got
warm and smelled the smoke we exchanged bullshit about bows arrows
and arrowheads. A whole passel of knappers came in one by one.
Joes wife had set up a Mexican camp chuck wagon and for 5 bucks you
could eat your fill. Misses Joes also made and sold Indian baskets
and leather and buckskin bags. Ralph had a load of points he had
made of the local flints, very nice and thin. I didn't come home
with any local material as originally promised however, Pat and I
looked but, to no avail. Joe also had a lot of points he made out of
local material, I had promised I would buy some off him a couple of
weeks ago, the points wern't up to his usual quality, but I kept my
word and bought a bunch. I have not been to a knap inn for a long
time, I must say it was really good, no egos at all, no jerks with
mind games our anything like that. The host was Ralph and Joe. Joe
had become a California legend by the late 1960s and had the nick
name of "Indian Joe", this name given to him by the prominent
archaeologists of the day. Joe says he learned his
style by trail and error using books with Ishi points as a
pattern,same for the knapping tools. His notching style
comes a great deal from Errett. Joe could make fire in of minutes
with a natural yucca file board and mule fat
stick. Joe was also a master of the Ishi style flintknapping
methodology. I first came to here about him in about
1969 and then in the 70s, he gave demos on Catalina Island for
Archaeologists and movie people. His points were often seen for sale
for $3.50 up and down the central to northern California coastal
towns, these populated by thousands of hippies. I remember buying
one in a hippie shop in Pismo Beech in 1976. The hippie lady at the
counter said I could meet the knapper, but like as ass I sais "naw
it's OK. I did end up meeting him 8 years later, in 1984, at CSUN.
Joe's Ishi points of both glass and obsidian were each an impressive
work of art. Ray and Joe became friends and Ray began to study Joe's
flintknapping methods.
Joe Dabil had learned the arts of wilderness
survival hands on. Joe was an Olympic class long distance runner in
the 1960s, and when a Doctor informed him
he had a life threatening decease disease he fled into the
wilderness. There
in the woods, alone, Joe eked out a survival on
natural foods. Eventually Joe relearned the arts of Ishi, sinew back
bow making, arrow-smithing, fire drill
technology, cordage making, brain tanning and of
coarse...flintknapping. As miracle have it, Joe lived out his death
sentence and is still practicing wilderness skills today.and did I
mention the waitresses?




JOE PUTS ON CLSSES, KNAP-INS AND DEMOS- HERE IS HIS INFO:

KNAP-IN AND WILDERNESS SKILLS DAY
TEMPLETON, CA JOE DABIL. CALL RALPH 805-550-6408
DEC 3-4 2005.FREE CAMPING. JOE DABIL CLASSES AND SEMINARS (805) 801-
2678 or (805)466-4336 ask for
JOE DABIL. "DONDAY ESTA SENOIR JOE DABIL" BAKERSFIELD RIDE SHARE
BACK SAT. NIGHT SO CAN STILL SEE ALTON SAFFORD ON SUNDAY AT HART
PARK.
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