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

[Dick Snow]

Also Smoke and Fire: http://www.smoke-fire.com/ 

Dick Snow
Datalytics, Incorporated
Efland, NC


-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of wmullett at bright.net
Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 10:18 AM
To: Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] OT - dumb? idea -- historical reenactors' "catalog"

http://jas-townsend.com/ has revolutionary clothing, camping and cooking.


---- Original message ----
>Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2013 07:51:15 -0400
>From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net (on behalf of "Bruce ." 
><freemab222 at gmail.com>)
>Subject: [TheForge] OT - dumb? idea -- historical reenactors' "catalog"  
>To: Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
>
>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
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