What keeps you Going?

[Joe Walker]

Re: What keeps you Going?

After 32 years in the "hobby", it is watching new guys come along, helping them catch the same "disease" that I have (there is no cure by the way, it just goes into remission). I also must agee with everything else posted.

Joe Walker
Waco Guards
CMH

[Charles Heath]

Re: What keeps you Going?

What keeps you going in this hobby?

For me the whole thing boils down to friends.

Absolutely.

[Pritchett Ball]

Re: What keeps you Going?

The new discoveries…

Like me stumbling into a group of boys in uniform at an event in 1998, not knowing that 2 of them had Ancestors in the same Brigade as mine. Joe Walker may remember that day! My life has NOT been the same since!

Realizing you are getting to know folk from all over the country you would never have met otherwise.

You never know what you will discover “over the next hill”, detailed accounts, clothing/gear with provenance, old letters/diaries found…Look at a new posting on this BB, where someone has found something new to share to everyone.

Going to an event, and meeting someone you have emailed, but never met till then. Looking around while there, and realize that it must have looked a lot like then, what your seeing now.
Going home and reading an account of someone almost broke down and worn out from a march, and KNOW something of what he was talking about! (That “been there” realization!)
Going to a Museum and look at all the stuff that soldiers had issued and carried.

Realizing you need a Tin Drum Canteen, and get excited over the choices you have, and look forward to getting it.

Oh sure, I go thru periods of where I feel like it’s dried up event wise, and it won’t improve. Then you get an invite to an event for next year, and you have something great to look forward to.

We have it pretty good!

Kevin Dally

[Jubilo]

Re: What keeps you Going?

Dear Sir ,
What keeps me going is a fanatical devotion to history , a celebration of American Heritage , a fascination with the military and military pagentry , the thought that I can actually do this after years of not being aware of it , or nay -saying by others to influence me against it , and the friends I have made across the nation , all sharing the the same loves and interests . My ancestors would probably consider this hobby a crackpot venture .
all for the old flag,
David Corbett

[1stMo Drummer]

Re: What keeps you Going?

Friendships, and the escape of modern life, if only for a short time.

I forgot that part...
To me that is one of the best parts of reenacting is the excitment for a week or more leading up to the event.
" Just think when this weekend comes. No cars, no phones, no internet, and no t.v... Sounds like HEAVEN."
The only problem is when it comes time for the end of the event and ive got to return to "the real world" :cry_smile:cry_smile

[Johnny Lloyd]

Re: What keeps you Going?

Brother Pat-

Friends/History/Fun

In that order... the trifecta of what keeps me going in the hobby.

-Johnny Lloyd

[kevin]

Re: What keeps you Going?

Hello all,
I love history. that is the main motivation for me. I have always felt that I was born 150 years too late. For me re-enacting is a way to get back to that simpler time. I have had this discussion with friends not in the hobby that are curious about my passion for history. I have been asked time and again how I could call the 1800's a better time to live. (no plumbing, electric, tv, cell phones, radios............) EXACTLY! All those conveniences are the things that stress us out today and I love going back to a time when your only cares are whats right there in front of you. A time when 500 miles away is the other side of the world not just a few hours away. WHen a man could take pride in what he'd accomplished that day. When a man did what had to be done, because it was the right thing to do.
The other reason is the rush I get and the "esprit de corp" I feel when 100+ guys are all marching in step and the music is playing and we all move as one! God I love that!
I think everyone has their own reasons for doing this and no two reasons are the same because we are all individuals coming together to share this passion. Thats my two cents worth. Thanks for letting me vent.

[Abrams]

Re: What keeps you Going?

I feel like I am still new at this, being in my first real year of participating. It took 6-12 months just to get together a decent Federal impression before I could even start active participation. There are many types of events I have not even done yet.

Everything is still shiny for me. :)

[Strawfoot]

Re: What keeps you Going?

Just to get on a positive note as we all sit about a month or two away from our first events of the fall season, and inspired by Dale Beasley's comments, I ask the question.

What keeps you going in this hobby?

Of course, there are those of us who need to answer the question "what keeps you out of this hobby...?" I haven't been to an event since Rich Mountain, and will probably be bailing on Ft. Duffield because of travel costs.

Distance mainly, family (it's hard to justify spending ANY time away from my family when I've spent so much of my time in the desert since 2003), and a wife that travels a lot for her company, make it a bitch to get out in the field these days.

I have a lot of great acquaintances out there for sure. But what I miss the most is just being a soldier. The discipline, the esprit de corps... I'd much rather drill than show off a new jacket, in fact, I'm not much of a gear-head at all. But put me in a wheeling line with 40 other guys in step, or a column of battalions marching to a fife and drum corps, complete with colors flapping in the breeze, and I'm fine.

To me it's about being a soldier, not looking like one.


Mike Phineas
Arlington, TX

[Arch Campbell]

Re: What keeps you Going?

After 26 years, it's pretty simple:


MY PARDS.


"We drank from the same canteen." 'Nuff said.

[Rmhisteach]

Re: What keeps you Going?

Pards and comrades,

I have made alot of good friends in the 23 years I have been in theis hobby.

Within the last 4 or 5 years, my pards and I have been doing better events. This and the better kit have taken the whole thing to a new level for me .

RM

[Renvilleranger21]

Re: What keeps you Going?

I have been doing this for 15 years in various periods. I have burned out of some and then come back. I have great friends in the hobby, but that's not what keeps my coming back. It's that moment when you wake up and there is still dew on the field and mist in the air and for just a second you get an idea how things were without all of the modern conveniences we all have today.

I too have had the why the heck am I trying to sleep in 30 degree weather with a blanket in a spoon line thought, or trying to sleep in 100+ degree weather listening to the bugs buzzing on the outside of my blanket. But that pull of the period rush just keeps me hooked...it has for 15 years and I'm sure I'll still be hooked for another 15.

As someone said already it's a cult you really never get out of, but I can't think of a better way to spend my time.

Andy Timmer

[TKlas]

Re: What keeps you Going?

Hi gents,

After 19 years in the hobby, it is without a doubt comrades. I would have been out of this hobby years ago without my pards in the Hard Heads and the ONV even before the ONV was a formal organization.

I also love the history and telling the story of units less likely to get a lot of publicity either during the war or in modern times. As Acker knows, I am a reseach rat as well and love to get a chance when I can to always learn more about the men we attempt to portray.

Althougth real life has slowed the number of events I can attend, I still look forward to attending a high quality NPS LH or immersion level experience.

Last I am happy to say I have been around Wedeward more than a decade club now and have lived to tell the tale. :)

Tom

[BenjaminLDavis]

Re: What keeps you Going?

Comrades.

I remember, some years back, my first LBL, Poague introduced me to a Mr. Pat Craddock
and a Mr. Pat Landrum. We four were sent out on Picket. Had us some fun that day.

Comrades, and memories. And someday I may know one tenth of what Tom Klas or
Steve Acker know. And I will never know as much as Terry Sorchy. Or Doug Cooper.
But I keep trying.

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: What keeps you Going?

The hobby teaches things you can't learn in a museum or from a book, but somehow makes both museums and books more meaningful. Beyond that, there's always some other interesting aspect to learn (campaigns, soldiers' stories, music, food, farming, and on and on...).

I agree that friends are a big part of it. I've been in the hobby for over 19 years and have met a lot of great people and made a lot of lifelong friends. Heck, the only person I'm still in contact with from high school is my oldest reenacting pard.