By Taylor Short/reporter3@trcle.com
At the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum on Saturday, each hour Civil War soldiers pack a cannon and yell ‘fire!’
The deafening blast spews fountains of smoke into the air, and once the dust settles, attendees of the Pioneer Days event holler and continue to enjoy food, crafts and a slice of Texas history come alive.
Visitors milled around tents selling food, souvenirs and early-American supplies and crafts – every other person at the event decked out in pioneer hats, chaps and boots.
Various craftsmen and women are stationed around the museum to share their skills with visitors as part of the Comanche Peak Muzzleloaders group.
One woman, who goes by Momma Mudturtle, shows a family how early Americans created cording that was used for numerous things.
“Kids back then didn’t sit around and play videogames,” she said. “After their schoolwork, they would do something constructive while they sat around, if they had time. This is one of the things even children would do.”
Mudturtle’s brother, who uses his real name of Sam Keller, stuffs a metal rod between coals then beats and curves the red-hot metal into a hook shape.
Keller has been a blacksmith for 53 years and said the art still has a large following in Johnson County.
“It’s just the shaping of metal, the things you can do with metal once you get it hot,” he said. “And you’d be surprised how many blacksmiths there are in the area.”
David Krajewski has worked at the outdoor museum for two months and is out there everyday, tending to maintenance needs and painting among other duties.
“But I also do give tours depending how many people are out here,” he said, standing tall in a full pioneer get up.
Nearby, gunshots ring out from the Wardville Courthouse as a woman runs out the door. The Ghosts of Buzzard Flats stage a gunfight and in seconds, the sheriff and his posse leave the bandits reeling on the ground.
David and Donna Waine stood up close near the courthouse during the gun fight and so far, their first time at the event has been great.
“I love the way people have dressed up in period dress and I love the history that’s presented. That’s very interesting,” Donna Waine said. “I’m a longtime employee of Cleburne so I’m familiar with some of the history but learning it all is very interesting.”
