Dr. Mel Stewart Hankla of Carter County, Kentucky, presents his program “The American Long Rifle: Backbone of Frontier Culture.”

Dr. Hankla showcased examples of early material culture, knitting high-quality detailed images together with the stories of early American frontiersmen. Hankla contends that the emergence of art, fine silverwork, elaborate furniture, and the dramatic architecture of early America was made possible by a culture that had, as its backbone, the iconic long rifle.