I also attended the MESDA North Carolina Longrifle Seminar and thoroughly enjoyed all of the sessions. The three speakers were excellent and it was well organized. Some of the MESDA Collection rifles were on display for participants to examine and we were allowed to handle them. It was a small group which allowed people to mingle during the breaks. I thought that the history of how they solved the mystery of who WB ( William Black) was using the written records, was particularly interesting and a great step to clarify a long standing mystery. William Ivey's presentation was well structured, informative and outlined the characteristics of each of the nine NC schools of longrifle makers, similarities and unique features among them, as well as accoutrement's and Confederate guns and swords of NC. He used lots of great projected photos to illustrate examples. For those who have not seen his book, it's very well worth the price. Kenneth Orr's photos are incredibly well done. Hats off the all those involved. I'd like to see more of these educational programs in the future.
