Van Buren, Missouri-Ozark National Scenic Riverways is hosting a “Split and Whittle Workshop” on Saturday, November 7, 2009, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at The Heritage Workshop located at park headquarters in Van Buren, Missouri. This workshop will focus on traditional woodworking crafts, featuring Ozark wood splitting and shaping. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about traditional tools, how they were used in a
subsistence life style, and have some hands-on demonstrations. The four main areas will be woodworking with traditional Ozark tools, wood cleaving
and riving, tool cleaning and preservation, and tool sharpening.

This workshop is being held to share information and skills used by Ozark ancestors and to share traditional Ozark crafts before they are forever
lost. Ozark National Scenic Riverways has pursued revitalization of these crafts through Ozark Heritage Festivals held annually at Big Spring and
Alley Mill, through an apprentice program on traditional arts, and with this workshop.

Please plan on participating in this workshop. It is sure to be a fun educational event for anyone interested in old tools and past Ozark technology.

Participants can purchase lunch at a nearby deli or have a choice of restaurants in Van Buren. Feel free to bring a picnic lunch. For those
wishing to spend more time in Ozark National Scenic Riverways, there are numerous motels and cabin rentals available. Camping is available in the
Big Spring Campground nearby.

If you have old tools to use, please bring them with you.

For additional information or a reservation, please call Sherry Griffin at 573 323-4925. A limited number may participate in the workshop, but anyone
can come to observe.

Ozark National Scenic Riverways preserves the free-flowing Current and Jacks Fork Rivers, the surrounding natural resources, and the unique
cultural heritage of the Ozark people. For more information visit, www.nps.gov/ozar.