During the autumn time of year I can think of only a few places I'd rather reenact at than a pumpkin farm or a cider mill.
Sadly, they say this year our tree leaf colors won't peak as brilliant as they normally do due to the drought we've been having, which has affected the leaf color. I don't know...at the River of Time timeline event held at Johnson's Pumpkin Farm in Saginaw it sure felt like fall to me, even with the upper 70s temps. The sun shone all the live-long day, leaves are definitely changing, and the orange pumpkins can be seen plainly.
Yep---autumn is here.
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Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face
With stars to fill my dream
I am a traveler of both time and space
To be where I have been
To sit with elders of the gentle race
This world has seldom seen
Who talk of days for which they sit and wait
All will be revealed
(opening lyrics from Led Zeppelin's Kashmir)
Sometimes the lyrics from some of the classic rock and popular musicians can really hit home in more ways than one.
Timeline events, such as River of Time, are perfect places to sit with elders of the gentle race and see the pages in your history book come to life, for it's here that we travelers throughout time and space can gather together...
I would love to see more participants, however. Knowing that we, as a country, have already begun to celebrate our nation's 250th birthday - the semiquincentennial - now is a great time to show and share our nation's history. But it is what it is, and those of us who show will give our best to the visitors.
So let us step into a slide zone, and slide through history~~~~~
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| A two-time-period timeline: the two on the right are from the War of 1812 era, while the rest of us depict the time of the 1770s/Revolutionary War~~ |
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| Long-time Civil War reenactor, JR (with daughter) came out by depicting the era of which he first began in this hobby: The War of 1812. |
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| The Howard's |
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| Who'zat behind your left shoulder Charlotte? Sure doesn't look like a sunflower to me~~~~ |
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| My wife and I~~~ |
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Blackwater Mercenaries~ Blackwater was a powerful and controversial private military company (PMC), which rose to prominence during the Iraq War as a major U.S. government contractor for private security and military services, known for providing training and security in war zones. "What we are doing could be anytime from Operation Iraqi freedom or Afghanistan up through now - 2003 to current." |
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| It had been a while since I spoke as Paul Revere, so before I went on at River of Time, I needed to take a few moments to gather my thoughts. No danger, however...lol. |
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| As Paul Revere, I spoke on "my" famous ride on the night of April 18, 1775. I also did a very quick overview of what lead up to the Revolutionary War, as well as gave a reminder of next year's Semiquincentennial - America's 250th birthday. |
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| Ben Franklin spoke on the Declaration of Independence, including the Committee of Five - the fellas who wrote it: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and, of course, himself (Ben Franklin). |
I think one of the reasons why I prefer this event being at Johnson's Pumpkin Farm in Saginaw over the original location in Bay City is because the folks coming here to the Pumpkin Farm were not expecting to see history, especially presented as seen here. The folks who actively come to see such an event as River of Time have mostly been pretty strong history people who want to witness the past and come loaded with questions with more historical knowledge than folks who are casual armchair historians. But, those here at Johnson's Pumpkin Farm, came to see us because we 'caught their eye' while they made their annual autumn trek to get pumpkins, enjoy doughnuts & cider, visit the farm animals on hand, try finding their way through a corn maze, and shop the craft shops. I enjoy all spectators that come out, but I believe those I enjoy the most are the more casual observer because they are not necessarily history people, so we can grab 'em and feed them something they didn't even know they were hungry for. By coming to Johnson's Pumpkin Farm on that weekend, they saw the unexpected---they met Paul Revere, Ben Franklin, Voyageurs, Colonials, Regency/ Georgian era folk, Civil War people, along with World War Two and Gulf War living historians, saw guns blazing, saw accoutrements from each period in time, and heard fife & drum music. It was an unexpected time and lesson they won't soon forget.
I was proud to play a part in it.
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| Civil War Pastor Charles Buckhahn and Revolutionary War Pastor Norm Gerring. |
Reenacting has come such a long way since I first got involved over twenty years ago. I remember being told that if I wanted to get into this hobby I must be military. Of course, that wasn't going to fly with me. I initially trained to be a Civil War soldier, but I had absolutely no interest and could hardly remember what to do during manual of arms. I really wanted to be involved in the hobby, but in a different way. Once I began to realize I didn't have to be a soldier, I worked on a civilian persona, much to the chagrin of the military. "Ken, why don't you and the 'other' ladies..." was not uncommon for me to hear. But I stood my ground, continued to study the life and times of men who lived on the homefront during the 1860s, and helped to forge a more well-rounded history presentation.
I think of my early foray into this realm of reenacting and how far I've journeyed whenever I see men like in the above picture portraying men of the cloth from two different time periods - one is a military minister from America's Civil War - and the other a minister from a much earlier time - the Revolutionary War period - and both men have stories to tell that are every bit as invigorating and important as any from the military.
Not every man is a soldier, and a more well-rounded story is told.
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"These old people just go on and on and on... I just want a box of Golden Grahams." |
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| All friends separated only by time itself! I am so glad my friends came out, and I am very glad JR and his daughter dressed in their Regency/ Georgian era clothing - the only ones that did and it added greatly. |
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| WWII reenactor Richard also has a blanket of accoutrements to show and share with the public. Richard reenacts numerous different eras, including Revolutionary War, Spanish-American War, Civil War, and World War Two (plus a few I may have missed). |
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| A few of the colonials at River of Time --- |
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| Three ladies using a drop spindle. |
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| Sanford Brigade Voyageurs had a nice encampment. |
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| The Voyageurs, whether Sanford Brigade or the Lac Ste. Claire, always have a wonderful presentation as Great Lakes fur traders. |
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| The Sanford Brigade. |
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| Evan had been in the 1st Pennsylvania Revolutionary War group before joining the Voyageurs. |
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| Evan (aka EJ) |
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| You have now entered the 1860s - America's Civil War |
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| Chaplain Butch made hand-cranked ice cream. |
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| Scott had two blankets filled with Civil War items. "Set up out at the Johnson's Pumpkin Farm for the River of Time. I'll be here the next 3 days. Come on out and let me bore you with my head full of American Civil War knowledge. It doesn't cost anything but you can pay me to stop my oratory on the life of a soldier. Or buy some donuts." |
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| My friend Theresa owns the Cozy Cabin Shoppe. We purchase soap from her every year to give as Christmas gifts, and have for quite a while. |
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| From the bottom: Brown Bess - - next one up is an M1 Garand carbine, then an M1 Garand rifle. Next one up is a German K 98, and at the top in this picture is a Russian SKS assault rifle |
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The Tittabawassee Valley Fife & Drum Corps played the familiar period music as well as field music of the Revolutionary War era. |
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However, when the group marched through the Civil War camps, they played Civil War-era music. |
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As a collector of historic flags, I enjoyed their display.
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| On Saturday afternoon there was a flyover from a WWII-era plane (provided by the Saginaw Valley Air Museum). |
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| An old flatbed filled with pumpkins! Straight out of the 1940s. |
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| And the autumn sun sets on another River of Time. (photo courtesy of Abby Stark) |
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| This event began as Bay City's River of Time up in Bay City (click HERE), and had been there for years. In 2023, they had to find a new location, though I'm not sure why, and it was that same year which found us at Johnson's Pumpkin Farm. Personally, I like the new location better for a number of reason. The only thing missing is the river part of River of Time. However, they do have a creek: Cheboyganing Creek. Okay...not a river...but it works. |
But perhaps River of Time is not named for a river, but is, instead, named for the couple of sentences taken from the time-travel story, Time and Again, where the few lines here ties it all together:
We think the past is gone, the future hasn't happened, and that only the present exists. Because the present is all we can see. It's only natural. (Einstein) said we're like people in a boat without oars drifting along a winding river. Around us we see only the present. We can't see the past, back in the bends and curves behind us. But, it's there...
We think the past is gone, the future hasn't happened, and that only the present exists. Because the present is all we can see. It's only natural. (Einstein) said we're like people in a boat without oars drifting along a winding river. Around us we see only the present. We can't see the past, back in the bends and curves behind us. But, it's there...
River of time~~~
Until next time, see you in time.
So this was the 4th historic timeline that I participated in this year of 2025.
The other three?
Well, click HERE for the one I did in Eastpointe
Well, click HERE for the one I did in Eastpointe
click HERE for the one I did in Chesterfield as well as for the one I did in Monroe at River Raisin
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