Rope Making At The Poestenkill Historical Society

The Poestenkill Historical Society will be starting their fall schedule Tuesday, September 27, 2011 with a program on the history of Rope Making.
Ropesmiths, Dave and Mike started making historically correct cordage in 1995,after noticing that Civil War Re-enactors were using nylon cordage in their portrayals. From the beginning of history, hemp has been the preferred fiber for rope making in Europe.The only shortcoming was that, since it came from the stalk of a plant, it was prone to rot if not treated with pine tar. Early 1900’s the production of hemp was outlawed in the U.S as a result from lobbying from oil companies who just came out with a new product– NYLON! Dave and Mike are the only suppliers of hand laid, “tarred” hemp cordage in the New World!! The public is welcome to this free program held in the Poestenkill Town Hall(RT 351) at 7:00 PM Tues, Sept. 27th 2011. Refreshments will be provided by Alice Castagnier.
For directions, call Pat at 518-283-5223.