LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Susan Morrison, founder of Archery Through the Ages, has been making wood bows for decades.
Her appreciation started at an early age after she was gifted one by a family member.
“The wood bow holds a certain fascination to me. What I like about a wood bow, unlike a modern bow, it doesn’t give you anything. If you hit the target there’s no sights, there’s no nothing, you hit the target,” Morrison said.
Morrison’s experience with longbows led many people to approach her with questions about the history of bows and arrows.
She’s taken that experience to renaissance fairs across the country over the past 25 years.
“It all came together when I realized people didn’t know the history,” Morrison said.
She handmakes dozens of bows and arrows a year using authentic bow-making techniques and tools to be period-accurate.
She’s not just an arrowsmith and master bowyer, she’s a performer and instructor.
“We teach them why you have to rest in on your hands and what it is your ancestors did,” Morrison said.
But Morrison’s full-time job is more astronomical.
“I’m an engineer and right now I’m stationed at, for the most part, at Goddard Space Flight Center and my specialty is laboratory and cleanroom design,” Morrison described.
It’s now been more than a decade since setting up shop at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.
And with every passing season, Morrison is sure to find her target audience.
“I know a lot of the people come here consistently and I see them, and I would miss them dearly if they weren’t here every year,” Morrison said.
The PA Renaissance Faire is now open through Oct. 27 on the weekends, with gates opening at 11 a.m.