I take a moment to share some stories with y'all that have never been told before, all in memory of my old friend, professor of Industrial Arts at Millersville University, Henry Kauffman. I thought of writing this up for other publications, but I'll get more coverage and more appreciation right here on this site.
First, as anyone who knew him will attest, he was a cranky, downright insulting and offensive Dutchman. He actually had a mean streak, something that apparently lurks in the inner psyche of us Pa. Dutch. It's genetic, I think, and we can't help it. Some of us can grin and suppress it most of the time; Henry never tried. To be short, Henry didn't suffer fools lightly and most people feared him and avoided him when possible.
This being said, if you came to him seeking knowledge, you could go away enlightened. The secret lay in a simple psychological process. If you could structure things so that Henry saw himself as the teacher and the winner, you could have as much of his time as you wanted. If he liked you, he'd give you anything. I found his time and friendship to be most precious.
Henry married late and lost his wife early. Zoe was the love of his life, and after her death, Henry got even crankier. That's about when I came into the picture.
At any rate, lets consider some of Henry's contributions, as he was a true pioneer in our beloved field. First look at the year 1960, a watershed year for our rifle studies. Two great books came out then, both researched by Henry-- Henry's Pa-Ky Rifle and Kindig's Thoughts. If you look at the front page of Kindig's book you will see that Sam Dyke and Henry were the main contributors of the hard facts for that book, so you couldn't be far off if you argued that Henry was the backbone of the primary research for not one, but two of our most important seminal sources.
As a matter of fact, the two books were put out in the same year so as to not clash with each other, but rather complement one another. That was no coincidence. Henry and Joe Kindig were fellow travellers to barn auctions and estate sales where they bought rifles for $5.00 and less, threw them into the back of the truck and drove home. I'm not making this stuff up. This is where the famous Kindig collection came from.
Like all of us, Joe K. was only interested in certain things. He liked good architecture, raised carving, and attribution issues. Come to think of it, most of us have followed suit. He didn't care much about good restoration work and let some cabinet makers, who shall remain nameless, do the work. Much of it is not that great. If I can do better, it ain't great work, and I could certainly improve some of them. By the way, Henry reconverted 36 rifles to flint back in the days, and he kept records on each one. Years later, he gave me all his old wood and a handful of locks, and wouldn't take a penny.
Henry also did a previous book on guns, books on Pa. German architecture, ironwork, axes, copper and brass work, and the list goes on. He was prolific. He never got his doctorate, but achieved full professorship on his research merits alone. That most likely wouldn't happen today. He was a good hard core researcher and reported facts with minimal subjective interpretation. When he did interpret things, it was done cogently and reasonably.
Henry is also the man primarily responsible for the noted museum at Rockford Plantation in Lancaster. In short, he offered to fill a museum with artifacts if the Amish would build the place. They did, and Henry came through with his promise. Check out the guns. They were all Henry's. He had no children, so he gave them to us to enjoy. There are also quilts, fraktur, stoneware, and all kinds of other goodies. If you have not seen this collection, you should.
One day we sat in Henry's living room discussing the guns. He asked me a straight question and sort of put me on the spot. He said, "OK, Wayne, tell me, who was the greatest Lancaster gunsmith?" I wheedled and asked for qualifications. In his normal crass manner, he said he would not elaborate, but that I was supposed to answer the question.
I said, Jacob Dickert. I added that my answer was based upon several criteria. His earliness, his proliflc production, his distinct style, and the influence he had on other important gunsmiths.
Henry replied, "I'm hungry. Let's go to the Barn Door (his favorite joint); you're driving." He never told me I was right. Normally, he only told people when they were wrong. I guess we both saw Dickert as an important gunsmith.
Henry challenged us to always question our own convictions as we question the convictions of others. He demanded documentation and measurement, and showed us how to evaluate the usefulness of source material. He was a member of a dying breed of professor who was not only a well-read academician but also a man of the world who valued integrity in all he did.
Henry, if you get the WWW up there, hope I done good! And thanks for being my friend and teacher. JWHeckert
