Rope Convention

This year's event will include: Rope Making - Tying Nets - Lace Making - Knitting - Crochet - and Spinning Yarns.

On Saturday the 8th, we, the rope makers, 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.

We are planning on a catered supper on Saturday night for the Rope Makers. If you are a participating Rope Maker, and would like to join us for the evening meal, please contact Milton or Mike as soon as you can. ( There are several restaurants for those who wish to go out.)

If you are planning on attending this years event and would like a hotel/motel room, you may want to make your reservation(s) early. Due to a high volume of construction in the area, the construction workers are occupying a large block of rooms. You may also want to consider a reservation in Pella, IA only about 17 miles away.

LODGING

We 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. They would be the least expensive.
You can go to www.super8.com and put/type in Oskaloosa to get any information you might want. Their phone number is 641-673-8481.

The next one is the Comfort Inn. This one has a swimming pool. 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 (campfires). 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 )

REMINDER: 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.

You may also want to check out some of the highlights of the 2006 Rope Makers Convention (below).

September 9 & 10, 2006

Crete Heritage Society Complex

(Benne Memorial Museum and The Maples)

(near the South Tuxedo Park entrance)

Crete, Nebraska

Saturday 9AM - 5PM Sunday 9AM - 4PM

NEW****ATTENTION****NEW

If you weren't able to attend the 2006 event, you can now enjoy highlights captured on video. A DVD is now available for only $15.00 +$2.00 shipping and handling from:

Crete Heritage Society - PO Box 304 - Crete, NE 68333 Phone: (402) 826-5050 or (402) 826-5270

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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2013 National Rope Makers Convention