End of Season

Well, another season comes to a close. It is always sad, but at the same time, relaxing. This has been a lousy summer, it rained 90% of June and then it was intermittent throughout the rest of the months and we had pretty much only one heat wave this entire summer (90+ degree weather for 3 days in a row...). Me and Dave's tent got wet at some point and we never had a chance to dry it out (another one of the drawbacks to living in a condo) so it got moldy. The good thing about that is we do not quite look like noobs at this (dirty tent). We just look like dopes who put their wet canvas away and never dried it out properly.

Okay, so on the schedule we have a Veteran's Day but that is so frickin' freezing, I do not know if I am going to be able to bring myself to go to that. All except one event this summer has been in Maine. Not that I am complaining, I love going up there and the events are always oodles of fun (Ft. Knox), but let's face it, the farther north you go, the colder it is. When Me and Dave went to Chase Farm in September I was packing extra clothes, long johns, coats, blankets, etc. On Saturday night I was sleeping in just my long-johns and pj's. I thought to myself, 'you dope, of course you do not need all this, you went SOUTH for a change.' Granted it was not that hot, (70 maybe), but it was probably the warmest night I have spent out this summer. I think our nights this summer have been on average in the 60 degree range.

Well, another season behind us and once again me and Dave suffer from post-encampment depression. We like to reminisce, but we always miss the people.

Train Robbery

October 10, 2009
You would think the citizens of Portland would be sick of us by now...

I actually do not have any photos of this event (that I can find right now) because I was busy defending the money on the train from the Confederates.

Todd galvanized, too (dammit). And we found out that I am REALLY slow at loading a gun. I would have been dead ten times over if this was real.

Chase Farm

September 12-13, 2009

The quote for this weekend: "NEVER tell your wife anything!"

Me and Dave went down separately because I had a class and he was a half hour away from Lincoln, RI at work. There was no point in him going back home and then turning around again. He got down there and the guys from the 1st Maryland (the only ones we really knew down there) helped him put our tent up in the rain (cracked a tent pole dammit).

Well, I called as I was heading down there & he told me his truck was dead. A slight problem since it was parked right outside camp. He spoke to me on the phone and told me about it then I heard in the background one of the guys shout "Never tell your wife anything!" So he tried to deny it.

Next morning things went from bad (the night before) to worse as he got a call from work and his battery needed replacing, there was no mistake, it had to be replaced. So he left and headed back home and called me a little while later & told me his electronics were flipping out. Which upgraded the problem from battery, to alternator. To make a long story short, the new battery that he got on Saturday, lasted him until Tuesday night.

By Saturday night, the small access road was soup. I looked at the mud and said to myself, 'there is no way my little front wheel drive Volvo wagon is going to make it out of here this way,' which is why the people in charge of the event shut the worst part of the road down. Yeti did show me another way that I could get up to the camp site which would not cause me to get stuck or slide down the hill backwards. He had scouted the area on Thursday and found a little used access road.


There was night firing at the Confederate camp on Saturday night, that was really cool. A Federal cannon actually fired back a couple of times, we had the better location though.


Captain Henry was court martialed for supporting Miss Joy's brothel and his punishment was to ride a stick horse throughout the Confederate camp. It made horse noises, too.

I actually got my union pants and kepi on the Friday before the event (for when I galvanize at Train Robberies). I had them with me because I did not go home after work on Friday. It all worked out because I got to help with an artillery crew. Obviously, I did not do anything much because I had no experience, but it was really neat to stand behind those cannons as they went off.

I have to thank Chris and Pam for taking my camera and catching these photos for me. Thank you so much guys! You did a great job!



And those are just two out of several they took.

Train robbery

September 5, 2009
Labor Day weekend!

Like the bad penny, we return to terrorize the hapless citizens of Portland, ME.

This time, instead of the huge bus (like we usually end up having at the end of the day) there was a huge cruise ship docked at the harbor! Me and Dave saw it as soon as we crested the hill to head down to the waterfront! It was huge...meaning there would be a lot of people...

Our observations did not disappoint.

I had the little dog with me, so I was planning on setting up a table like I did last time, unfortunately I forgot to tell Mike I was going to do that & he did not bring the table. Instead me and the little dog rode the train and I kept up dialog with passengers during the day as we had a packed train almost every ride.

Todd, unfortunately, was asked to galvanize again. He comes from Florida to go gray (well, he has family up here, too, but that's besides the point!). I am going to have to do something about that. I learned how to use the rifle for just this kind of situation when we are short of hands.

The number of people who came to ride the train was great. They did not have the steam engine going because they could not get the guy who stokes the coals to come up and spend the day. I do not blame him, it was labor day weekend and he probably had to choose between driving up from Mass. or going to a family picnic... personally, I would drive up from Mass. to stoke the coals, but that is just me. The part I disliked the most was that everything smelled like diesel and it kind of took away from the ambiance. Oh, well, the spectators enjoyed it & that is all that matters.




The little dog loves Kate. She was here when we picked him up at Logan Airport at 11:30pm...ask her about the FedEx trucks...

Fort Knox, part deux

August 29-30, 2009

This was probably the worst Fort Knox event me and Dave have ever been to. The wind started around 10pm, then ended around 3am but the rain...oh the rain! It rained until at least 4am on Sunday morning and it went from a drizzle to a steady rain the whole weekend! It was cold, wet and windy... But as usual, we end up having some fun.

Sgt. Dudley came over on Friday night to tell us the story of Alphonse the Moose (we were just looking for a new place to send out that second moose call Sgt. Dudley, don't you think I will forget next season). Which was pretty funny. I guess it's whole purpose was to basically see how many people it can make crazy because it takes so long. I thought it was hilarious, I want to learn it, but I do not think I could make a very good french accent to star as Pierre, the hunter who has been looking for Alphonse over twenty years.


Todd got royally boned. He had to play Yankee because some of the 20th left on Saturday because the forecast for Sunday was not supposed to be any better. Well it was & we had run out of Yankees...

I did not even change out of my regular clothes on Saturday, those dresses are horrible when wet and cotton, I would be soaked and cold in probably ten minutes. I ended up stealing Dave's overcoat and made sure my legs looked like they were in uniform. But then the rain started to pick up after noon (not that we could tell from the sun) so I went to my car and got my umbrella. I just sat, huddled around the fire, along with the rest of the group trying to dry out and keep warm. It is sort of a double-edged sword, you cannot do both unless you have a propane heater (which Todd has, he knows how to camp).

We went into the Fort Saturday evening to have some sweets with the soldiers there. Miss Rose wore a lovely dress that she recently made. Quite lovely in the firelight, I was glad to see it in the daylight on Sunday, though. The guys on the other hand, they were soaked & readily took up the area around the 20th's fireplace in the fort. If not for going in and drying out like that, I think everyone would have been sick the following week.

Sunday, thankfully, the sun broke through and dried just about everything out. Thank goodness, I did not know what I would do if I had to air out that canvas at home.

We had a little battle, unfortunately Todd had to galvanize because the rest of the Yankees left on Saturday night. He is an especially sharp dresser, I wish I had got a photo of him in his civilian clothes. They are very nice.



We also got a quick lesson in dismounted cavalry drills from Al, one of our newest members. I wish I had brought a change of clothes (soldier's) so I could have participated in the drill.


Although, Miss Rose and Todd did complement each other.

Next event!

Wilton Battle

August 8, 2009


Here is a narration of the battle between Captain Pratt & Captain Lawson. Please understand that these men are professionals and they utilize the utmost in safety and none of this should be tried by amateurs.

You can stop laughing now...

...seriously...


Captain Lawson charges Captain Pratt!


The Captains stab and beat each other.


"Captain Lawson, do you need some help?"


"Yeah, whatever. You two seem to be having a good time without me."


"Ooooo! What's this? A nifty hat!"


"I got the old geezer!"


"Well, that was fun, let's do that again sometime."

Wilton Blueberry Fesitval

August 8, 2009



I had heard stories about this event, apparently the 15th had not done it in a while. It is mostly just a parade and we come back to our little row of tents and wonder if anyone is going to come over after the parade and see us. Which they actually did! It was not like we were right in the downtown area like Chamberlain days last year.

This is a town event and it is an adorable little town. The parade was perfect and the weather was very nice. The "Funky Monkey" was a little disturbing. A man in a gorilla suit riding a golf cart around passing out bananas.



Note our tasty, period correct lunch...riiiight, nice try and good pose though.

What was great was that the 3rd Maine was camped out on the hill across from us and they actually had a little battle with us! Two members of the 3rd thwarted our sneaky attack when they came down the hill to socialize. We ignored their attempts to run (waved white flag) and took them prisoner.



We sent a messenger up to tell the commanding officer that we had two captives to which he replied that they want the flutist back...I would have to agree, band members are hard to find. So an agreed upon time was set in order for the 3rd to drill some new recruits and we waited with our prisoners.



At the appointed time, our stealthy confederates spread out and headed for the hill. The commander saw us, as a good officer should, raised his hand and cried "10 more minutes!"

.....

Imagine our surprise. But the battle did get under way, with a fair amount of spectators for us being in a field so far away from town. It was pretty good, with escaped prisoners and all. Captain Pratt, as usual, took a hit and was locked into battle with the commander of the 3rd in short order.

What was great about this little battle was that everyone seemed to just have a good time. It was very relaxed with everyone just "winging it". Sometimes those are the best events.

Robbing the Train

June 20, 2009


Once again, we rob the passengers of the Narrow Guage Railroad of their valuables and small children. You think they would catch on...


Miss Rose was there that day. She always has such lovely dresses.

It was a lovely day and we had a fair amount of people come. I stayed at the station most of the day with Meadow in order to lure people in. We set up a little table with our company scrapbook and photo album, along with some propaganda from both the 15th and the 3rd Maine. It drew a lot of attention. I have determined that I want to try to make this event a little more interesting for people just walking along the waterfront.

We actually got a local television station to come down and film a robbery down at the end of the track! The report only lasted like 5 seconds on the news that night (expected), but word is out!



Aaannnd, we brought the little dog out. He is such a wuss that we are hoping that being around so many people would help his confidence. It worked a little bit. And he had no problem with the train by the end of the day! He also cuddled right up to Meadow. They were best friends by the second run. Of course, he needed all the protection he could get, they guys wanted to eat him! I said he was too stringy.

Norlands

June 5-7, 2009

This was a fun event. It was at the Washburn-Norlands Living History Center in Livermore, Maine. The site was very nice, hilly, made the guys (& gal's) do a lot of work, but a little exercise never hurt but a few...



The purpose of this event was to raise money for the Norlands Center to rebuild their barn. It burned down to the ground (literally, I saw the hole) a year ago and they want to re-build in the most authentic way possible. Unfortunately, that takes a little more money then just slapping together a modern barn that looks old. From what I heard, they raised a decent amount to start the building which is great. I still cannot believe that the barn did not take the house with it. They were attached! Good job to everyone who saved the house! That would have been a true disaster and even more difficult to replace.

We pretty much did living history all weekend. Of course, that also means we got certain people just walking through the camp, staring at us, slowly walking by, snapping photos the whole way...That part still creeps me out. It kind of makes me feel like I am being stalked sometimes. But as long as everyone has fun, what does it matter!


It smells like a good day for battle gentlemen!


Come and get it you rebel scum! (Star Wars...hey, the rebels won in that movie.)

The nights were pretty cold, that was kind of a bummer, but the days were fairly temperate. It is always nice when you do not have to worry, too much, about heat exhaustion. The farm was large and if you wanted to go somewhere, it was a fair walk, I think I walked all over that farm! I barely saw Dave! Even at night when he crawled into his cot.

The notorious 1st Maryland guys were there (the usual suspects), they are always fun. And we also made friends with the 3rd Arkansas. They were nice, sort of campaigners, but I liked them. Cookies bring about friendship to all people.

In addition to the battles on both days, there was also a medical scenario on both days after the battles (I thought the one on Sunday was best, mainly because of the gentlemen who came up wounded), as well as numerous civilian activities which included a tea party and a fashion show.


Medicine knows no bounds...they all asked for laudanum...Chris' treatments aren't that bad! Are they? Hmmmm....


Mrs. Bergeron got herself in trouble by asking around about her brother. They accused her of being a spy. Geez Deb! Always making trouble you shifty lady you! >wink<

The amount of spectators was surprising, because of the remotness of the site (just about everything in Maine is remote, no offense, I would love to live there) I did not think that so many people would come, but they did!

Next year should be bigger and better so stay tuned to the Washburn-Norlands web site!

Memorial Day Parade

May 25, 2009



Once again we have the privilege to march in the Memorial Day parades for New Gloucester and Gray, Maine. On one hand, Memorial Day is a wonderful celebration where the public is able to salute our troops (both retired and active) properly, yet, on the other hand it is a mournful event to remember those who have fallen, both on and off the battle fields.




We then went to the Stranger's Grave in Gray. I am sure you have heard of it if you have read the past two Memorial Day blogs, but just as a refresher: A family in Gray had the money to bring their fallen son back from fighting in the south where he was killed. When the casket came, it was a young man in confederate grey. While the family was devastated, they still decided that the young man should still have a proper burial. Eventually the body of the correct young man was returned to Gray, however, the unknown Confederate remains in the cemetery and each Memorial Day we remember this young man who found himself wrapped up in a bloody war that cost him his life.

As always, remember Memorial Day is just one day, but a day that should span the other 364 of a year. Never forget the retired, the active, the young, the old, the fallen, or the past, they protect our ideals and to them, it is more then just a job.

Next: Norlands.

Camp Pratt

May 1-3, 2009



For the first time, in a long time, it did not rain all weekend. Despite the wind of death and the freezing weather at night, it was actually pretty nice.

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You learn the value of wearing a hat at night when it gets down into the 20s.

Unfortunately me and Dave did not get there until midnight for reasons I will not go in to detail about... Our employers do not quite understand our hobbies, and we should make a habit of packing the Friday morning before we leave.


One exciting new note, Kate has turned to soldier! She did pretty well, too! From what I understand she has been biding her time until she turned 16 so she could carry a rifle on the field. Very clever, Kate, very clever. It is nice when she is a civilian, however, it looks better when we have more soldiers in our ranks.



It was pretty much a weekend of learning and practicing. Everyone got out in the air and refreshed themselves with the re-enactor spirit!



And I realized that I have to go through mine and Dave's things to see why we have so much stuff... I do not know where half of it came from. When you rummage through the box and pull out something that causes you to ask yourself "What the heck is this doing here?" that is when you need to re-organize.

Another note, I have added a new level to my farby-ness; I bought a cot. And I am going to tell you right now, I cannot believe I wasted two seasons on an air mattress! I simply cannot go back. Besides, it keeps me off the ground from biting bugs in the middle of the night. It also makes it easier to store things.

Next event, Memorial Day Parade & Strangers Grave.

More Excuses...

...All moved in, stuff is (pretty much) where it belongs, I am having trouble typing, Norlands this weekend! I will post Camp Pratt & Memorial Day when I get back and hopefully Norlands on the same day! A three for one deal. See you there!

News?! I may have some....

...but how fresh it is varies. So, hopefully, just about everyone in Maine has heard about the Norlands event in June. I am going to take this moment to express my excitement.

WHEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Granted, I have never been to this place, but everyone has been building it up so much that I am really looking forward to it! I really like the scenario that is coming out, too. You can find some more in-depth updates on the Maine Militia board.



I eagerly look forward to my company's next meeting because we get updates on what is happening with the planning from our members who are "consulting."