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

[Daniel Kretchmar]

Bruce,

I have been in the SCA for 35 years.  In that time, I explored many facets
of the organization.  Please don't dismiss it entirely because of what I
guess was a bad experience with some group or at some event.  I have been
to Rendezvous, Civil War musters, Clan Tartan Events and tried out the NWTA
(Northwestern Territorial Alliance, the strictest group for authunticity I
have seen.  I am currently looking in a few Viking Age groups and a Saxon
group called Regia Anglorum.  Every group has it share of screw-ups and
dilettantes.

The SCA group that I "play" with attempts to faithfully reenact the life of
a Viking Village at the Hjemkost Museum every year.  We have 2 smiths, we
use period fuel, wrought iron, and period tools, (even a stump anvil).  The
cooks make period recipes with period ingredients with period tools in hand
woven dresses around a cooking fire.  They use a replica of the Oseburg
tripod that I made for them.  We have wool spinners, dyers, period tents
(albeit with modern canvas), furniture makers starting from the tree and
ending with a stool, etc.  The group that does this are serious about
authenticity and research.

Danr



On Wed, Sep 18, 2013 at 10:59 AM, Bob <blcksmth at wcnet.org> wrote:

> A similar discussion continues within many clubs and organizations
> concerning the abundance of gray hair in many groups. Our Northwest Ohio
> Blacksmiths group has more gray hair lately, the amateur radio fraternity
> is aging, the American Legion has difficulty attracting new members and the
> antique engine and tractor groups are in the same boat. Attracting younger
> folks it seems is not easy. Many of us don't have the latest smart phone
> and we don't know much about video games or texting. Historical things in
> general do not seem to interest the young folks. I don't think they get
> much real history in school anymore. I hope someone finds a way to reverse
> this trend before we lose our hobby completely.
>
> To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil
> freedom, and political and social happiness, which mankind now
> enjoys…Whenever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown,
> our present republican forms of government – and all blessings
> which flow from them – must fall with them.
>
> Jedediah Morse
>
>
> On 9/18/2013 7:51 AM, Bruce . wrote:
>
>> 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?
>>
>>
>
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