~Written during covid~
Please - - enjoy your Memorial Day Holiday Weekend-----have a barbecue, go to the beach, visit with family and friends, even watch a couple of patriotic movies, but always remember what this holiday is all about:
Armed Forces Day - Gratitude for those currently serving in the Armed Forces.
Veterans Day - Honors all that once served in the Armed Forces.
Memorial Day - Honors fallen service members.
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I am sure I don't have to explain why.
It is very difficult for me to not be able to have this to look forward to, for we all need something to keep us going. As much as I hate wanting time to fly by, I can honestly say that I am looking forward to have 2020 be over with.
And, I have a feeling I will also be looking to have 2021 and even possibly 2022 over with, too. Let's just say I have a bad feeling about the future.
So I am trying - really trying - to get through this the best way I know how, and part of my therapy is to go through my older reenacting photographs, some of which I haven't looked at in literally years. Many certainly have not ever been posted on this blog, which began in 2007, or even on the internet.
The pictures in this posting were all taken at Civil War Remembrance at Greenfield Village, which was one of the events that took a hit, and since Civil War Remembrance is one of the most looked-forward-to reenactments for us here in southeastern Michigan, I thought I'd pay tribute to CWR Past.
I can tell you right now there will be more than one part to this posting...
Let's start at the beginning, shall we? Though Civil War Remembrance at Greenfield Village began many years earlier, my first time participating with my family as reenactors was in 2005:
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| 2005 The Union Army marching past historic houses from the 18th and 19th centuries. The young lad front and center is my now almost 29 year old son. |
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| 2005 In 2005, Robbie wasn't old enough to shoulder a musket, so he played the fife during marches and battles. The Confederates shot him! So a Union soldier grabbed him and flung him older his shoulder to get him off the battlefield. |
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| 2005 This was the year my wife Patty and I had our first tintype taken. It was also the first time we wore correct period clothing at a reenactment (we didn't start off on the right foot initially). |
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| 2005 About half of the Civilians from the 21st Michigan at that time. Our group now has around 50 civilian members. |
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| 2005 Mrs. Cook lives up to her name. Getting ready to cut chicken up to fry. |
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| 2005 In the early spring of 2005 I joined a second reenacting group, the civilian-only Michigan Soldiers Aid Society (or MSAS). |
Heading into 2006:
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| 2006 The early morning drill. |
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| 2006 Military members of the 21st Michigan |
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| 2006 Some of us in the 21st Michigan portray military while others portray civilians on the homefront. That's a much younger me on the left. |
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| 2006 Back in those earlier days of Civil War Remembrance, Greenfield Village had a house of mourning (utilizing the Adams House). Unfortunately, they have not done that in years. They closed the Adams House up initially for some repairs and possible changes, but for some reason it's been put on the back- burner and remains closed. But the 19th century mourning presentation was a very popular and well-done display. I was proud to play a small part. |
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| 2006 Dinnertime! One of the perks on reenacting is we usually will have a fine- cooked meal with vegetables and fruit of the season. We do our best to keep in season, though every-so-often something, such as an apple in May, could slip though (lol). |
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| 2006 For a number of years, the Michigan Soldiers Aid Society utilized the 1850s Smiths Creek Depot for varying historical presentations. |
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| 2006 Here we were making up packages for the men in blue off fighting in the south. Similar to mourning, CWR gave me my first opportunities to participate in living history. This was also my first time doing 1st person (aside from the Holly Dickens Festival, which was mostly scripted anyhow). |
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| 2006 The train coming into the station to pick up our packages. |
Now we move up to 2007:
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| 2007 Just before the battle... I remember taking this picture. When I saw the two horses up on the hill, I saw what I considered the perfect period picture. |
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| 2007 Of course, the battles on the field is always a highlight. |
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| 2007 I believe this just may have been the Cary family's first time participating in this event. |
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| 2007 Evenings are always special. We love having the visitors during the day, but night time is our time, and most of us will hang out while still wearing our period clothing. We're not the 9 to 5 reenacting kind. We take it all in. By the way, that's my son, Tommy, with the guitar. He is now married with three kids. |
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| 2007 Mrs. Cook is making the doughnuts for the soldiers! This has always been one of her most favorite activities to do. Yes, they are always excellent! |
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| 2007 Marching after the battle had ended. |
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| 2007 Three lovely ladies: Chaela, her mother, Karen (center), and my wife, Patty, on the right. |
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| 2007 The Schroeder Family as of 2007. |
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| 2007 The Morgan Family. |
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| 2007 Another year and another "package" scenario with the Michigan Soldiers Aid Society. |
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| 2007 2007 was the first year I began doing a postmaster impression. And since Greenfield Village has a 19th century post office, I could hone my impression to a higher level. |
Now let's move into 2008:
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| 2008 My two sons are in front, and that's family friend Jonathan in the back. Family and friends - this is what makes reenacting the wonderful hobby that it is. |
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| 2008 The preacher, Mike Gillett, reads letters from home to the men who have difficulty reading. |
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| 2008 Emily, our own "ice angel," gives water to the wounded and dying men on the field. "Ice angels" are mainly reenactor-isms. You really would not have seen this sort of thing while a battle was raging. However, after the battle, women of the town and nurses would have gone out to where the wounded lay to help comfort them, bringing along water to help quench their thirst. |
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| 2008 Part of the battle scenario. |
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| 2008 The Torok Family. |
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| 2008 Telling ghostly tales in the wee hours at the foot of the 1832 Ackley Covered Bridge was always a treat for adults and children (not too young!) alike. It's too bad we couldn't do this at Hallowe'en. |
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| 2008 At the house of mourning once again. Unfortunately, it would not be too long that I mourned my friend, Cindy Houston, here, for she passed away in 2011. I so very much appreciate not only her friendship, but the fact that she would allow me to be in the mourning room, which was off limits to the general public. Utilizing this house and the post office was the beginning of my fondness for using historic structures during reenactments, greatly enhancing my living history experience. |
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| 2008 These three little ones are all adults now. That's my daughter in the middle. |
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| 2008 Nancy only reenacted with us for one season, I believe. Another sad note is that she passed away earlier this spring. How so very sad. |
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| 2008 The Perry Family |
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| 2008 The Memorial Day laying of the wreath ceremony is always the true highlight of the weekend for nearly everyone who attends, including reenactors. |
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| 2008 A thorn among the roses~ A few of the ladies of the MSAS truly taught me much when it came to living history - they know who they are - and I so appreciate their willingness to help this newbie (at the time) along. |
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| 2008 Again, putting care packages together for the boys in blue. |
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| 2008 When we did our presentations here at Smiths Creek Depot, we certainly drew large visitorship, for it brought well-researched homefront history to life. |
Welcome to 2009:
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| 2009 Before the Memorial Day Ceremony, the military men and a few civilians take a few minutes to rest in the shade behind Doc Howard's Office. |
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| 2009 Though there are many different units that participate, this picture mainly concentrates on the 21st Michigan, the reenacting unit I belong to. |
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| 2009 The men marching to where the battle presentation will take place. |
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| 2009 I count Jennifer Schmidt to be among my very good friends. Here we are at the grand ball. |
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| 2009 The Michigan Soldiers Aid Society began as a women's organization, but as more and more men began preferring civilian reenacting over military, we also became a part of their group. |
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| 2009 Steve gets a shave from Mike. |
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| 2009 Dave Tennies has portrayed Michigan's Senator Jacob Howard for years. Senator Howard played a major role in getting the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, passed by working closely with President Lincoln. |
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| 2009 My daughter and I enjoying some morning quiet time at the Ackley Covered Bridge. |
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| 2009 Mrs. Cook began doing laundry in earnest during this time. And she truly did work; she would actually wash laundry for other reenactors for barter - she might get a pie or bread in exchange for washing clothing. |
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| 2009 My poor son - real blisters upon his swollen feet. The young ladies took real good care of him. |
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| 2009 My wife is standing next to Carrie. This was Carrie's first time out at a reenactment, if I'm not mistaken. Now married with a child, she still does it to this day. |
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| 2009 Kids being kids. My daughter (the highest one) loved to climb trees at the reenactments. I always said that she and Laura Ingalls could have been great friends had they lived in the same era. |
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| 2009 Joyce was smoking her cigar and gambling. I wonder what her pastor will say about that? |
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| 2009 Forget the pastor---it's his bible-toting wife she needs to worry about! Yes, we like to have fun, too. |
Well, good folks, it looks like this is going to have two more parts to it, for there are just too many photos and too many years to attempt to put it all in one posting.
So stay tuned for part two coming within the week.
Until next time, see you in time.
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