[TheForge] OT - dumb? idea -- historical reenactors' "catalog"

[Bruce .]

I recently stopped by a Revolutionary War encampment at one of Washington's
many HQ's in NJ, and what was obvious was how few were the reenactors and
how old they were (like, older than me, mostly!).  This is disappointing
because it is obvious to me how important such reenactment can be.  The
"few" I can't criticize, because I no longer do any sort of such reenacting
myself, so can't point fingers.  The "old" can only be addressed by getting
younger folk involved.  But how?

(Digression -- I suspect many of the folks who might otherwise embrace
reenacting have been seduced -- perhaps literally -- into the SCA scene.
Dressing up and playing faux-medieval roles is fun for some, but I have
enough problems maintaining ONE persona, much less two or three.  Which, by
the way, is one reason I prefer "ghost interpretation" to "first-person
interpretation."  I suspect that with some encouragement, even die-hard
SCA-ites might embrace historical reenactment.)

It has since dawned on me that younger people may simply need to be
encouraged.  It can be difficult to get it all together to do reenacting.
You can't exactly waltz into Target and buy the clothing and gear.  And
many, if not all, these reenacting groups are REAL fussy about historical
accuracy.  That's part of what's so important -- "Washington's troops"
won't be seen marching around in jeans and T-shirts, but in historically
accurate accoutrements, often even rejecting cotton clothing in favor of
linen!

So here's my thought (unresearched to see whether it's been thought of
already):  Maybe a catalog could be assembled (think "Whole Earth Catalog"
for those of you old enough to know what I'm talking about) that would
provide information where to get the clothing and equipment needed for
different era reenactment -- and maybe even listing what is needed in
clothing and gear for various roles.  I realize that no single list would
suffice for every reenactor in every era (Rendezvous, Revolutionary War,
Civil War), but a shirt is a shirt and probably didn't change all that much
across that time period.

Some of the clothing can be purchased (I understand) from Amish suppliers.
Like I said -- I haven't researched this idea, so maybe there exist
multiple sources already which could simply be assembled into a master
list.  I don't propose printing this "catalog" of course, but simply
creating a website.  Maybe it could be set up as a Wiki, so additional
contributions could be made at any time.  (Of course, significant numbers
of hand-forged items, knives, etc., would be needed, giving an opportunity
for some blacksmiths and knifemakers to show their wares.)

Thoughts?  Comments? Volunteers?

-- 
Bruce
NJ