50th Anniversary of the Gunsmith of Williamsburg Film

[MGillman]

From Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Gusler asking me to post on their behalf. Last night we invited the current master of the Gunsmith shop at Colonial Williamsburg (Richard Sullivan) and the apprentices Darrin MacDonal and Eric Von Aschwege and their wives to a barbecue supper to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the making of the Gunsmith of Williamsburg film. I took this picture of the guys holding the rifle that Wallace made in the film, which is still on view at the Gun Shop.

[p.d.]

Thank you for posting this picture.  I hope all had a grand time at the supper.

[P.W.Berkuta]

How cool is that  - thanks for the post !

[45-110]

Wow....50 yrs already! My dad and i saw it when it came out, I remember our jaws dropping. Seeing Wallace hand make a rifle inspired us tremendously. I know I went home and built a forge to bang on metal!
kw

[conquerordie]

I remember when I was a kid, my father purchasing the VHS of this film from the gift shop at Old Sturbridge Village over in Massachusetts.  I practically wore it out. It was definitely a source of inspiration that pushed me into this hobby. The movie was made 10 years before I was born!
Greg

[Darrin McDonal]

That was a real nice evening and some good Rocco's barbecue. Wallace had the "Gunsmith of Williamsburg" movie playing while he talked about the making of the movie. It took 14 weeks to film it and they of course had to edit out all kinds of great stuff like making the cherry & forging the bullet mold.
We told him we'd love to see the outtakes!!! 😁

Darrin

[Steve-In]

There were no VHS, DVD, internet when this first came out.  Luckily our library had a film of it.  Our gunclub rented it several times and the projector.
I had a friend convert my VHS to DVD.

[Craig Wilcox]

Great milestone for one of the best rifle builders out there!  Glad that all of you helped celebrate that anniversary.

[vanu]

Great tribute!

Bruce

[Cades Cove Fiddler]

  ... Wallace & Mrs. are great folks,...had the honor of sitting with them at supper once at the TN-KY gun show at the Museum of Appalachia,...He kept all of us entertained with his stories,... at the shows, there are always so many people at his table you can hardly get close enough to say "Hi",.... Congrats on the Golden Anniversary of this landmark video,.... !!!... regards, Mr & Mrs Gussler,... C C  Fiddler .....

[bama]

Walace is without a doubt one of the most influential artist that has had an impact on the contemporary  building as we know it today. I have had the pleasure of attending several of his classes at WKU. I am always amazed at his knowledge of early American firearms and the process of their construction. I will never forget one year at WKU when Walace was in the process of building the rifle with all the wire inlay work, I was in the gun room closely looking at it. The light in the room was not that great, Walace noticed that I was really trying to get get a good look at the rifle. Finally he  told me to take it outside where I could study it in good light. Man what an opportunity to study such a great rifle. Congratulations on the 50th anniversary of the film Walace and thanks for your dedication. I wish you many more years.

[PPatch]

That video is awesome, I have watched it several times. I admit it, I was one of those who pestered Wallace at his table durning the last TN/KY show. He was wearing exactly the same clothes as in the posted picture, he must love that blue shirt. The thing with Mr. Gusler is it is he that keeps you at his table, because he talks continuously on several subjects at once. We enjoyed a wide ranging conversation on Virginia guns, finishing techniques and Wallace had one of his gorgeous longrifles on display.

dave

[Terry Reynolds]

Had a pleasant surprise today, was walking around Friendship today (actually running from cover to cover to get out of the rain) looked up and there sit Wallace and his wife. Spoke briefly but what friendly folks they were.....wish I had more time to spend with them.

[oldtravler61]

  Happy 50th anniversary Mr. an Mrs. Gussler. It has been a great pleasure to finally meet you a few years ago. Your workmanship an knowledge is priceless to our community. Thank you an everyone else in celebrating this milestone event.  Oldtravler