04/12/2025
โจ๏ธArtist Highlight: Billy Heck โ Historian & Horner โจ๏ธ
For our fundraiser, we are honored to highlight Billy Heck, a remarkable craftsman, historian, and longtime steward of frontier heritage.
Below is a biography submitted to us by Billy Heck.
"Billy developed his love for history at an early age. Growing up, Daniel Boone and David Crockett became lifelong heroes and greatly influenced his love of frontier history. Armed with a desire to learn everything 18th century, Billy began his journey emulating the skills and experiences of those who tamed a wilderness and forged a nation.
After serving in the United States Army, Billy had the honor of becoming a member of the 2nd Company, North Carolina Militia. This opportunity provided years of experience running the woods using period correct clothing and accouterments. Company member, mentor, and master bladesmith, Steve Marshall took Billy under his wing and diligently taught him the art of forging blades. With new found skills and a fiery passion, Billy began making knives and other needed items for fellow reenactors and collectors.
Living in the shadows of the Cumberland Gap and within a stones throw of the Wilderness Road, Billy turned his attention to re-constructing Martinโs Station. Originally built in 1775 by Captain Joseph Martin, the frontier fort played a pivotal role during the Revolutionary War! Unfortunately, building codes and insurance requirements halted the dream.
During the fall of 1998, Billy had the opportunity to volunteer at a new state park located near his home. The parkโs initiatives included building a โpioneer cabinโ to be used as an interpretive structure. With Martinโs Station still on his mind, he proposed the project to the state park management team. After a lot of hard work and securing legislative approval, in June, 2002 the Martinโs Station Project was born. Billy had a wonderful career at Wilderness Road State Park. He retired as Park Manager in 2024.
After a quarter of a century of bringing history to life, Billyโs wife, Tuesday, still supports his dream of recreating the items used by early backwoodsmen and his frontier heroes. As she often says, knives, horns, axes, and guns are a part of who he is!"
We are deeply grateful for Billyโs generosity and his contribution to our fundraiser, as well as his lifelong commitment to preserving and sharing the frontier story.
Thank you, Billy, for everything you continue to do for this community and its history.
๐ผ $10 ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐จ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ฎ!
๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค:
๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ง๐ฃ๐๐จ๐จ ๐๐ค๐๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐
8051 ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ง๐ฃ๐๐จ๐จ ๐๐ค๐๐
๐๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐, ๐๐ผ 24248
๐๐ซ๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐: ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐, ๐๐๐๐
๐๐ก๐๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ ๐จ๐ช๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ฃ๐๐ก๐ช๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ฃ๐๐ข๐, ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐จ๐จ, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐๐ค๐ค๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ฃ๐ช๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ.
