Lakeland PBS presents Common Ground, brought to you by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Production funding of Common Ground is made possible in part by First National Bank Bemidji, continuing their second century of service to the community.

Member FDIC.

Closed captioning is made possible by Bemidji Regional Airport, serving the region with daily flights to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

More information available at bemidjiairport.org.

Welcome to Common Ground.

I'm Producer/ Director Scott Knudson.

In the season 15 finale join the Hangfires Blackpowder Club for their annual Rendezvous.

Then go behind the scenes at the High Plains Regional Rendezvous for a look at life in the 1840's.

My name is Keith Johnson.

I got involved with Rendezvous because I was blacksmithing back in the mid 80's.

And that led me to making accoutrements for the black powder shooters, you know, campfire sets, tomahawks, tent stakes, other things that they needed.

That led to getting involved with the black powder as well as blacksmithing.

The local club here is the Hangfires Blackpowder Club.

It's an old club, it's over 40 years old.

The Rendezvous has been here at my place since the mid 90's.

It was at another place that kept getting vandalized.

I had taken one of the members through my woods and I had mentioned that this would be a nice place to have a rendezvous sometime.

And after their latest vandalism he came back to me and asked, did I mean what I said?

And I talked to my wife and we agreed, so the Rendezvous has been here at my place ever since.

The Rendezvous here that we have is reenacting the pre-1840 Western fur trade.

There was fur trade around Northern Minnesota here, too.

But we try to do everything, live the weekend, as the same as it would have been done in that era.

My name is Dawson Petrie and I am in Rendezvous.

Rendezvous is a reenactment of the fur trade area.

It's like pre-1840's is getting really far back there.

But we dress in this kind of clothing, and then we camp in canvas tents, cook on wood stoves with cast iron.

And then we shoot traditional longbows, muzzle loaders, tomahawk and knife.

We throw that in competitions.

The fur trade was started because of beaver hats.

The beaver fur was used to make top hats similar to the one that Abe Lincoln wore.

But at around 1840, or a little bit before, there was a worm that caused the demise of the fur trade.

That worm was the silkworm.

And silk became easier to acquire than beaver fur so silk hats took over the trade in about 1840's.

So that was the end of the really primitive western, the fur trade era.

General life around there it's like a morning routine.

You get up, you make your food, put your cast iron on your fire, and then sit around drink your coffee in the morning, cooking your eggs, french toast, sausages, anything.

You throw that in your cast iron and cook it until it's ready to eat.

Sit there smelling it until it's ready to go.

To be a rendezvous-er you have to have a good natured spirit, you have to have fun.

Cuz you're going to learn so much from everybody.

But from a minimal point you need clothing.

That's how you're going to get into this is clothing, because if you want to participate in the events you have to be properly dressed.

From there I started off camping in a tent out in the modern campground.

And then from there I got a tent.

And I was in with the participants which adds a total new flavor cuz at night you have all the candle lanterns lit and the fires are going, and there's singing, and people laughing and playing games, and kids are running around.

And it's just a whole new experience when you finally get a tent and you're in the camp.

My name is Lisa May.

I've been rendezvous-ing for several years.

I got involved when I went back to my hometown to visit a girlfriend and her dad made me shoot a black powder rifle.

One smell of that sulfur going off and I was hooked, I had to get a gun.

As soon as I went back to work I said this is so exciting, guess what I did, I shot a black powder rifle.

You did?

Oh, that's awesome.

I said I need one.

I have one you can buy.

So I bought it and that was the beginning of my journey was that getting a black powder rifle.

The main things that you need to participate, especially at first, is the clothing.

As far as participating in tomahawk throw there's always somebody willing to lend you a tomahawk or a throwing knife.

Later on rifles or shooting you might be able to borrow a rifle, get somebody to allow you to shoot their rifle with them standing there.

But at some point you need to acquire your own.

Got it.

Yes you did.

Good shot.

If you want to be involved with our club you have kind of a first year grace period.

We realize that not everyone can afford to get everything they need to be full-fledged Rendezvous-er, so we have a a period of time where if you need to come and not have be exactly properly dressed we can excuse that for the first year.

After that we expect you to be, look like we do.

A pre-1840 shirt is loose fitting, no plastic.

Horn buttons made in the fashion that it would have been in pre-1840.

There are patterns that are available if you want to make your own, lots of people make their own.

And that's part of the allure, too, is to be able to make all your own everything that you need to participate.

So a participant in a Rendezvous can go everything from true linen clothing that is been hand-sewn together.

You're going to get somebody that is a true voyageur.They're going to make sure everything is as proper as possibly can be.

To families that are starting off, they don't have a lot of money, they've got a lot of children, so you're keeping things much more affordable.

You're making your own clothing with the sewing machine, you're using cotton, buying painter's pants and taking pockets off because you can't have pockets.

So the level of which you want to participate is going to dictate at how much effort you're going to put into it.

The first couple of things you should get when you're getting into Rendezvous is a tent so you have someplace to sleep at night.

Has to be canvas, white canvas is primarily everything that we use there.

Some of the other stuff that you need to get into Rendezvous is clothing, so you can dress properly, and some cooking stuff, your cast iron, a wood cooker if you can get one or make one or just buy one from somebody, and then some utensils for eating, the correct plates and cups, bowls, stuff like that.

There are people who have cargo trailers that they keep all their Rendezvous equipment in so all they have to do is gather up some food and maybe their guns and put in the trailer and they're ready to go to the next Rendezvous.

Anything modern needs to be covered up so that we have that flavor, that ambiance, the experience of pre-1840's mountain men coming together after they've gathered their hides and they get together and gather new supplies to head back out into the woods.

So that is what a Rendezvous is is gathering together in a community and having fun.

Pretty much any event that's going on if you want to try it or partake in it just talk to somebody who's dressed in Rendezvous clothes and pretty good chance they'll let you use their stuff so you can try it out and see what you think.

Things to do is definitely come, find out what it's all about, learn a little bit, talk to the guys that have been and women that have been going for a long time.

Things not to do is walk into somebody's camp without permission, like into their tent.

That's their private area, it's where they go to keep stuff private, change clothes, stuff like that, so that's about the only thing not really to do.

Everything else is pretty much welcome.

At a lot of local Rendezvous', visitors are allowed during certain hours of the day so that people can come and see what we're about and they'll experience traders that are set up.

They'll have all kinds of wares that are for sale from furs to beads to cooking utensils.

Again, at the original Rendezvous', there were traders there who had the goods.

And you'll find that out at our Rendezvous, too.

There are people who travel around the country and that's all they do is have a big tent with all the same type of trade goods that would have been available in pre-1840.

So there are a number of people that come to our Rendezvous with trade tents.

Things you'd find in the trade tents are anything from fire steels, for flint and steel fire starting, to black powder, to round balls for shooting, tomahawks, archery supplies, clothing, especially for those that are just getting into Rendezvous-ing.

And lots and lots of other things that are of that period.

And then as they walk around they're going to hear the shooting at the gun range and of course that's immediately going to draw a lot of attention.

You go down and you watch people shooting, from novelty things to paper targets from short range to long range.

The original black powder Rendezvous' were a gathering of trappers and traders and to exchange furs for goods, but they also had lots of games, lots of competition between different people, especially the trappers, so we reenact that as well.

Then as you continue walking around the site, because, you know, Rendezvous we take up a lot of area with all our camps, you're going to see 'hawk throwing, knife throwing, fire starting competitions.

Kids games.

Lectures, seminars.

Archery is huge right now because you don't have to clean a gun.

So it's just a matter of just putting down the bow and arrow and going sitting back at camp and visiting with friends.

It's a fun weekend for competition.

This Rendezvous, there are several around the northern Minnesota area, but this particular one is we're known for having a lot of shooting competition and we have prizes that we award at the end of the Rendezvous.

So besides that in the evening there's lots of camaraderie, there's music and campfires and everything that goes along with that.

So shooting black powder rifles at a Rendezvous usually are like a novelty event.

You'll have things hanging from string or you'll have to shoot a card in half that's stood up vertically to actual paper targets.

And you're going for score and so you're competing against yourself but you're also competing against everybody else.

And we have a potluck meal on Saturday afternoon so there's always dishes that are cooked over the campfire in dutch ovens.

At a Rendezvous you don't necessarily have to camp in a canvas tent.

As some people get older they still want to Rendezvous but setting up is not ideal so they've turned to their motorhomes or campers and they camp in modern camping.

So they can still come and participate during the day and go back at their camper use their cpaps.

Some people work from their campers so they need their Wi-Fi and they just travel around.

So they need that mobile home to still be able to enjoy a Rendezvous.

There's couple of different types of Rendezvous.

There's some short weekend ones that are like a Friday, Saturday, Sunday deal.

Those are a lot more often than the regional Rendezvous.

The High Plains Regional, that one is a 10 day event and that one travels between five states: Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Kansas and Nebraska.

High Plains Regional Rendezvous each year it travels from different states and in 2022 it was here in Bemidji, Minnesota and it was also here in 2017.

So this area got blessed twice with a regional Rendezvous where you have 182 camps in 2022 and 217 camps in 2017.

In 2016 I got a phone call from a gal who lives in the area who asked if she could use my site for the 2017 High Plains Rendezvous and we agreed to do that.

Now the High Plains Rendezvous is a little different in that it is more strict about the pre-1840 requirement.

The High Plain Regional is a little different because there's a lot more camps there.

Generally there's 200 to 250 at the High Plains one and there's a lot more traders and it's a lot more strict on the rules, like no outside modern-day stuff can be seen at the High Plains Rendezvous, like no plastic can be seen.

At a Regional Rendezvous, High Plains Regional Rendezvous, we are a lot stricter, we enforce the primitive much more than at like a local event because we really want to immerse into the living history of it.

And at a regional Rendezvous you'll have a lot more seminars, a lot more daily events.

So it was a large event and it brings people from as far as Florida, Missouri, Texas.

The High Plains Rendezvous is just one of a lot of events like that around the country.

There are other events that are out in the mountains and out west where you can go and you end up there for 10 days if you attend.

It's the same thing.

You have to get there early, get your car unloaded, get everything set up.

You're only allowed to have your car in the camp for 30 minutes to unload then you get your car everything modern out and you set up your camp.

So and the same way when you leave you got a very short time to load your vehicle and leave.

So when you camp together for a week you get to know your neighbors pretty darn good, as I did this past year.

I met some awesome people that were from Kansas and Nebraska and Wisconsin and we ended up cooking together and sharing our meals together and talking about our lives together, talking about our history together, going to events, sharing in our experiences of the day, you know.

Oh go check this out because you know so and so's doing this, you have to see what they're up to.

It's awesome.

I can tell, do you know what dog soldiers are?

Yeah, what's a dog soldier?

A dog soldier is somebody who's kind of like a cop.

They make sure everybody's following the rules or if there is a problem they go to them guys and they'll help you figure it out or fix it if need be.

To spot a dog soldier they're going to be wearing a sash about 6 inches wide.

Mine was blue and one was red, so just different colors at the opening ceremony.

They will hold them up for everybody to see so you know what they look like.

So you're not running around guessing what they might look like.

Is your father a dog soldier?

Yes.

Yeah my dad is a dog soldier and then Keith Johnson was actually a dog soldier, too.

And then I was one.

I was a dog soldier during Lisa May's Booshway at the 2022 High Plains Rendezvous.

This is the medallion from the 2017 High Plains Rendezvous and everybody that participates gets one of these.

This one is from the one from 2022.

High Plains.

Yes, we're High Plains, a buffalo is our emblem on our medallions.

When you register you get a camp medallion and on every medallion we have to have a buffalo because we are High Plains.

So the buffalo is not necessarily our mascot but it is our emblem and it's on all our publications, our logo.

Lisa May is a good friend of mine who was the Booshway in Bemidji at the Regional High Plains Rendezvous.

When you get done putting together a Rendezvous High Plains you get one of these at the next year, a gorget.

And you earn it.

You earn that thing.

And there's a guy in High Plains that makes these trade silver things for each Booshway after they've coordinated an event for two years because it does take a lot of work, a lot of your time is given up putting together this event.

So I was given this and I earned it with a lot of help but that's what you get for being willing to give up two years to put together an event, it's pretty special.

At the end of the Rendezvous there is something called closing ceremony where the whole camp kind of gathers together and just kind of discusses what they liked and what they want to see improved on.

And then if you competed in any competitions you have a chance of winning prizes.

And all of the events, 'hawk and knife, archery and shooting, first, second, and third on everything.

So you can go up there and pick a prize.

And then they talk about the next events, when they're coming up and where they are so you can get there.

And then we all say goodbye and head home.

Our very first Booshway for High Plains, Julie Hubner from South Dakota.

You're presented this gorget the following year at the next High Plains and it's a tearjerker and then you pass on the one that you've been wearing for the previous year, it's actually a brass color cuz you're tarnished I guess, maybe good way to put it because you kind of haven't earned your stripes, you haven't earned that silver , so you wear that for a year till everybody knows that you're the one that's going to be in charge.

And so at the end of the event I pass that on to Rocky.

She was the Booshway for South Dakota.

This is what I'm going to give her, it's the heavy thing she's going to be wearing.

I'm glad to give it back to someone else.

It's kind of sad, too.

Putting together a Rendezvous for a week-long event or even a weekend event does take a lot of volunteers.

You have everything from chopping wood so that we have fuel for cooking, to some events have showers you have to put up your shower stalls, getting your archery ranges set up, mowing is another issue.

The Hangfires Blackpowder Club is, like I said before, about 40 years old.

I've been involved in it in the last maybe 20 or 30 years because of blacksmithing, but the name comes from when a hangfire is when you pull the trigger and get a flash in the pan but the charge in the barrel doesn't go off, that's a hangfire.

So that's where the name Hangfire Blackpowder Club came from.

So if the rifle doesn't go off or pistol because of a hangfire you have to keep it pointed down range because there is a danger of it going off at any time.

So you have to wait until you're confident that there's nothing burning in the barrel that's going to ignite and cause the gun to go off.

And then you have to clear the bullet out of the barrel to make it go off before you can reload.

If you want to get into Rendezvous-ing look up your local black powder gun clubs.

You can find those on the internet, Facebook's a great place to look up different Rendezvous, there's local events, go to a gun club see if they have a black powder discipline at that range.

Your local clubs work on their local events, it's a fundraiser for their black powder club.

If you'd like to get more information about High Plains Regional Rendezvous we do have a Facebook page.

We also have a website.

There's a lot of information, the rules are listed on there.

It's like a second family when you go there.

You get together with everybody again like a family reunion in a sense is kind of how it is.

Laugh and joke.

It's a great organization to become involved with.

It's family, it's a true family, extended family from people all across the United States, Canada.

It's wonderful.

Thank you so much for watching.

Join us next season for Common Ground.

If you have an idea for Common Ground in north central Minnesota, email us at legacy@lptv.org or call 218-333-3014.

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[Music] To order episodes or segments of Common Ground call 218-333-3020.

Production funding of Common Ground is made possible in part by First National Bank Bemidji, continuing their second century of service to the community.

Member FDIC.

Closed captioning is made possible by Bemidji Regional Airport, serving the region with daily flights to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

More information available at bemidjiairport.org.

Common Ground is brought to you by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, with money by the vote of the people, November 4th, 2008.

If you watch Common Ground online consider becoming a member or making a donation at lptv.org