Topic: Dunbar Cave State Park

A writer’s calendar in review

By Turner McCullough Jr. | December 13, 2008 |

The past several months have provided a wealth of images and topics to be covered. Local and regional interests have drawn my attention, eye and words to their descriptive influences.

I thought it a fitting action to showcase the sixty or more days of news coverage to give you, our readers, a glimpse at just how much effort goes into bringing you information and news of your world. Not every image presented here will have been previously included in a published news story. Some of these images are background material and some are just for visual impression. Often we see things which are inspirational, if not exactly newsworthy or pertinent to the immediate story. They have to wait for special coverage like this to have their day. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Events, Issues, Opinion | 1 Comment »

Native American culture, crafts, explored at Dunbar Cave

By Beth Britton | August 23, 2008 |

Ranger Dave Britton demonstrates the art of "Knapping"

If you missed it, last Saturday the 16th was a perfect day for an outing. There was a slight breeze that seemed to nod at the upcoming Autumn season. I don’t know about you, but days like that make me want to get out and see what’s going on in my area and the surrounding towns.

So I found myself at Dunbar Cave State park where they were hosting Early Native American Skills Day. Now when I hear the words Early Native American I tend to think of Pow-Wows, Cherokee Indians, Trail of Tears,and bearskins. This event however introduced me to the world of the original settlers the earliest “Americans” the Southeastern Prehistoric Native Americans. That’s right, we’re talking old. Very old. Way back. 6,000 BC

Some of the demonstrations by the staff of Dunbar Cave that I participated in were , demonstrated to me by Ranger Neblett. Atlatl throwing is where you take your spear, which in my case was over half of my height, place it inside of the Atlatl, which resembles a long pipe of sorts, then send it hurling across a distance toward the ‘prey’ that you would be having for dinner that night. Unfortunately all I killed was by chance an unlucky cricket passing by in the grass, for my spear did not ‘hurl’ very far. «Read the rest of this article»

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