Bring back your friends.

[kevin]

Re: Bring back your friends.

Hello all,
I have been in about 5 years and I love this hobby. I have found myself griping to my wife about things (unit politics, rain, crappy attendance) and saying that maybe I'd just call it quits but she always talks some sense into me. I want to make the trend change just like everyone else and I realize that part of that is putting more effort into the bigger picture IE: the whole unit as opposed to just me. I have kept it interesting for myself because, although I started as a streamer, I have recently been moving towards authenticity and have found excitement at scaling down my kit and challenging myself to go out for a weekend with a lot less than when I first started. ( by the way, I always find room for a whiskey bottle) I know that my enthusiasm has affected at least two of my pards who were trailing off into the twillight and now seem to be coming back. I think maybe if we can get more people with that enthusiasm to take the time to go out and recruit and take a bigger role in the unit aspect, it will make a better unit and bring more people into the hobby for the fun of it again. Of course thats just my opinion, I could be wrong.

[BenjaminLDavis]

Re: Bring back your friends.

Both men are past their prime and should have retired years ago... :wink_smil

Chris : Brett Favre a Jet and your present situation are both signs of the Apocalypse!
Revelations ~ check for yourself! His penalty lap is in there too!

As to why people leave, it is simple: real life gets in the way, be it econonic, health,
marital, whatever. You have to love this with a passion that borders on madness, while
all the time uttering Poague's words, "Remember, it's Just a Hobby . . .!" As Anna said,
it could all disappear with nary a ripple on the pond. But I hope to continue even if there
are only a few of us in the field at the end of the day. They will be the best sort.

[Trish Hasenmueller]

Re: Bring back your friends.

You fellows sound like you think 'over the hill' means no reenacting. While the war was going on, society did too. I urge you to all look at the 'other' dark side and find out what it would take to be a citizen instead of a soldier. If you lament the loss of youth as the loss of a chance to reenact history, look again and find out there's a whole different aspect to reenacting history in what many of us consider the best part of reenacting, which doesn't include any type of gun or marching.

Trish Hasenmueller

[Steve Acker]

Re: Bring back your friends.

The folks who left, if they remember the magic moments, will come back. After 20+ years in the hobby (longer than my profession)That's what works for me most of the time.

Here is a list of magic moments that brings me back:
1. Waking up to the ashen remains of a campfire
2. Seeing a battalion change fronts forward on the last company
3. Hearing pioneers fell trees
4. Building cabins
5. The hobby gives me the excuse to travel to historic sites I otherwise would not get to
6. That moment when I see the event site
7. That moment when the event is over and I say good bye to comrades I won't see again till the next one
8. Learning, learning, learning
9. Escaping the electronic age
10. Coming home
Etc

Burn out is self-inflicted.
Fun is self-inflicted.
The hobby is self-inflicted.

Steve Acker

[Bivouac_of_the_Dead]

Re: Bring back your friends.

I know a guy from work who it turns out used to be a reenactor from the 80s. I asked him why he got out and he just said,
"Life got in the way."
"Still interested in CW?"
"Yep. Maybe more than ever. I read about it all the time."
"Ever think about getting back into reenacting?"
"Yep. Every day. Especially every time I smell wood smoke."
"Why not just do it?"
"Look at me. I'm getting gray and fat. I don't feel like going to the expense of re-kitting up only to show up at an event and be laughed at behind my back because I'm now a tubby beared guy. I was in reenacting long enough to know that's exactly what would happen."

Ouch. I wasn't sure what to say to that.

Conversation then shifted to work-related stuff.

And that was my attempt to get someone back into the hobby.

Fail. :(

[OldKingCrow]

Re: Bring back your friends.

"Look at me. I'm getting gray and fat. I don't feel like going to the expense of re-kitting up only to show up at an event and be laughed at behind my back because I'm now a tubby beared guy. I was in reenacting long enough to know that's exactly what would happen."

Ouch. I wasn't sure what to say to that.

There is plenty of room for overweight guys in the hobby...it just isn't at the top representing the most historically accurate presentations going.

Looks like the ole double edged sword:

Your co-worker knowing he isn't accurately representative is a good thing.

But his motivation being fear of someone laughing at him is a red flag to me as someone who ain't gonna suck it up on the long haul.

I self-police myself from the top tier, but its cause I am a sloppy sack of sh!t... not cause I'm worried about being laughed at. If you want to represent the pinnacle of the hobby, square your PT away and push away from the table.

The world is your oyster..just dont eat it on a cracker.

[AZReenactor]

Re: Bring back your friends.

Christopher, You are dead wrong. There is most definitely room in the top tier for all body shapes and ages, just as all ages and body shapes existed in society back then. Not everyone can pass the medical requirements for military service of course, but there are more than enough opportunities for civilian and citizen roles in the top tiers of the hobby. In fact, the top tier wouldn't be the top tier without those folks who invest so very much of themselves into providing the civilians who found the war was fought in their communities, on their farms, and in their back yards.

The war wasn't fought in some kind of vacuum or on some freshly mowed field with clearly defined boundaries. You can't read much about civil war history without realizing that the armies and local populace crossed paths continually. Authentically reenacting those encounters is one of the things that makes tier one events what they are. Only a percentage of the populace served in the military and, as much as anything, the deep end of the hobby needs more authentic minded civilians and citizenry.

Personally, I find your constant quipping that you aren't tier one material a little tiresome. There are roles for all to be had if they are willing to invest themselves and put forth the effort to develop an authentic historic persona that matches their personal challenges. The thing keeping you from tier one events isn't that you aren't good enough for tier one events, but rather, it seems, that you have put up your own roadblocks and excuses to keep you from putting forth the effort you think would be needed.

[OldKingCrow]

Civilian ? Have at it. No arguments. I am doing that very thing @ Westville.

I am talking pure military..in the ranks..when johnny come marching home again....hoorah

As to your other excoriation. I accept that. Now, I am sorry to see that come from you, of all people. This is said with the respect brought on from witnessing you being supportive but firm in your application of standards towards the highest of research, based authentic accuracy for a fair spell on the internets.

Know this though......I have always framed my quips with self-reflection alone and completely for self-improvement towards historical and cold, hard military reality hoping to make y'alls ranks as close to "then" as possible. Not like some whiney little @$#%^ who got picked last or didn't get picked.

Where I am delusional is in the concept of what being the top tier or accurate or what representing it to the enth degree of realism possible is. Scott McKay writings and his standards, style... lit that fire in me BITD. I am dreamer like that though. I really am sorry to tire you in open discussion towards this end.

No more quipping here, rest assured.

Respectfully,

Chris Rideout

[Brian Wiswell]

Re: Bring back your friends.

Hi Guys,

Knowing why someone left the hobby is to know if you can ever get them back..

Examples: If they left because they are just bored of it all, you won’t get them back. They’er finished with it.

If they left because of inter-unit politics and those politics haven’t changed, you won’t get them back. If things have changed, you have a much better chance.

>> "Look at me. I'm getting gray and fat. I don't feel like going to the expense of re-kitting up only to show up at an event and be laughed at behind my back because I'm now a tubby beared guy. I was in reenacting long enough to know that's exactly what would happen." < <

If they left because they have gotten too out of shape, well, they don’t have to march if it is a static camp event. Encourage them to participate to there level – if it is ok with your unit. We have members in our unit that are very young with endless energy and our oldest member is 74. Well, the young guys have no problem with the physical demands, the older guy, he does what he can and then you find him back at camp. No problem. He still sports a good attitude and helps the unit to his abilities. I respect that.

We all got into this hobby for our own reasons and we will or we have gotten away from it for the same.

Recruiting has to do with sparking interest in the potential member, be it new recruits or re-contacting the “old guard”.

Brian Wiswell

[AZReenactor]

Chris,
I think a little explanation of how I view the hardcore end of the hobby may be in order here. I don't see it as some sort of elite group that has arrived at some magical level but as a cadre of individuals who are committed to pushing themselves and aiding one another in reaching still higher levels of authenticity and historical accuracy. We are all about working together and helping one another in this process. While it may at times seem like we are focused on the quality of (or lack of quality in ) gear, research, and events in actuality the harshest critiques are reserved for those who espouse an "its good enough" attitude. When someone shows up with improper gear or espouses common reenactorisms about history, learns that they can do better and asks for help in getting there, this community is extremely helpful and generous. If however someone wants to defend the notion mediocrity as good enough, they'll quickly find themselves unwelcome. Farbism isn't the quality of gear or events, it is rather the notion that half way to the destination is a good place to stop.

It is all well and good that you have respect for "top tier" reenacting but better that you reserve that respect for the men and women who actually lived in that nth degree authentic world we strive to merely catch glimpses of. The truth is, despite our best efforts and striving over the last half century, we are all miles away from the reality they lived through. We are, and have always been, well aware of that fact. What we are doing though is continually raising the bar and pushing a little bit closer. For folks in this end of the hobby, the fact that 100% authenticity is impossible isn't a reason to sit down and accept mediocrity, but rather a challenge to see just how much closer we can get.

It may take some effort and personal investment to catch up to the "top tier", but anyone who wants to share that journey of helping to push those boundaries can find a place there. This end of the hobby isn't some exclusive club but rather most definitely, to steal the eloquent phrase of another, wants more us's.

If you really respect what this end of the hobby is doing, we don't want your praise from the side of the path, but rather we want you there beside us sharing the journey of seeing how far we can get on our path to that elusive goal of understanding the times we strive to recreate.

[guad42]

Re: Bring back your friends.

One thing that I have noticed, and I believe this has been brought up before, is the lesser number of younger people getting into this hobby, and I think this goes hand in hand with fewer young people being interested in the subject of the Civil War. The WWII crowd is getting a much younger batch of folks, and though there are still many young people interested in CW history, it seems to be on the wane comparatively speaking.

Yes, then you add the economy and myriad other issues as have been discussed.

I am puzzled as to the issue of powder and caps. Though the "Cowboy Guns" seem to predominate the workload of the various makers, aren't muzzle-loading weapons still relatively popular throughout the country? Between the muskets purchased by our community, the flintlocks of the earlier periods, the sale of cap and ball pistols, and the hunters, I am still surprised when a gun-shop employee tells me they've "gone the way of the dinosaur".

-Sam Dolan

[OldKingCrow]

Re: Bring back your friends.

To tie it back to the thread topic........perhaps the reason some of the folks which left the hobby are due to the shift from a stricter Campaigner Manifesto mindset to one more inclined towards working with historical inaccuracies in the spirit of inclusiveness and quest for numbers ?

I personally believe the Campaigners Manifesto provides a fine road map for anyone seeking to shine at the most accurately representative levels of the hobby. I have done my damnedest to honestly apply it to my own n'acting experience.

[Spinster]

Re: Bring back your friends.

Farbism isn't the quality of gear or events, it is rather the notion that half way to the destination is a good place to stop.

...............If you really respect what this end of the hobby is doing, we don't want your praise from the side of the path, but rather we want you there beside us sharing the journey of seeing how far we can get on our path to that elusive goal of understanding the times we strive to recreate.

Yassir!

In trying last weekend to explain certain aspects of this hobby to one who is about to 'marry in', I think the largest thing I emphasized was 'personal best'--of what pushes each of us to attain our own highest and best level. This is the true measure of the man (or woman). The fact that the personal highest and best may not be what it once was is really rather immaterial, as long as one is contributing to the whole, not failing to add to it, or detracting from it by not playing at all.

Christopher, I've never met you--but I've seen a number of conversations in which folks, myself included, have expended time and effort inviting you to come play. This sort of timeconsuming 'cheerleading' is not uncommon in this hobby--its a type of encouragement that some folks require in order to feel confident enough to step up to the plate. Still, at a certain point, the task becomes "fish, or cut bait" , otherwise you are wasting the time of the community and diverting attention to yourself.

If you are truely unable to portray a period soldier (I doubt that you are unable) and for some reason you feel the portrayal of a period civilian is somehow less worthy, less strenuous, or demands less of your own level of physical and mental personal best, then I invite you to do a little different kind of travel--come on up to my house today. Seems like I was the only civilian in a large geographical range who was game for a particular role and expended the effort to go do it. Today, at the end of the 24 hour train ride to get home, the blisters on my feet have now swelled to the size of shooter marbles. They aint' pretty. And I can't bend enough to get a dressing on them.

But I sure did have fun. And next year, I'm bringing my friends.

[OldKingCrow]

Re: Bring back your friends.

For me personally ma'am, confidence or stepping up to the plate is not an issue.

Historical accuracy at the highest levels of the hobby is. There are very few anymore that see this.

I have been supportive of the authentic movement with contributed research, funds and the enjoyment of spectating the fine events associated with this website.

I am sorry for sharing my story to get it as accurate as possible and wasting your and the communities time. No really, I am genuinely sorry. I should of just kept on doin my thing with my mouth shut. If you think it for some other reason, psychological defect or character weakness on my part.....well then, so be it.