| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Seamus |
Posted - May 22 2003 : 09:58:21 AM
Well......what can I say....!!
Last night was the premier of Paladin Communications film, "George Washington's First War", a gala celebration held in Pittsburgh at the magnificent Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall. In attendance were about 2000 people, my estimate, including many of the re-enactors you can see in the film, and we were treated to a wonderful evening of displays, speakers, short subjects and, of course, the feature. Huzzahs to the Matzens, Robert and Mary, for all they did to make this film possible!!
We.......the Delaware, Huma Temmeu, Cpl. Dammer and yours truly....travelled a total of 516 miles to attend. This included stop at Old Bedford Village to assist with some school field trips (about 300 kids.......), a visit to Ft. Necessity and to General Edward Braddock's grave to pay our respects. Arriving home safely at 1:30 AM today, we still feel the afterglow of an eventful and wonderfully entertaining day! Another field trip for us will be to go to Jumonville Glen, where it all truly started, but alas, that must wait until another time.
The Augusta Regiment is quite visible in the film, as are several other characters who appear here on this Board. Ed Highlander (Highlander) and Ed Vogler (Sgt. Munro) do a fine job as 42nd Royal Highland Regiment participants, with Ed G. giving a very good interview account of Grant's defeat. Oh, yes........the snacks provided were quite good, too. Cpl. Dammer especially enjoyed the bruschetta! I told him not to fill his haversack with it because the olive oil would stain it and his regimental........so he settled for a bag full of mini-cream puffs. How embarrassing! He left the theater with confectioners' sugar all over his lips.
The scenery is great, the actors......re-enactors all.......do a fabulous job of showing the viewer how it was, and the scholarly contributions of some very high-powered educators make it all very easily understood.
A tip of the old tricorn to all who were involved in the making of this outstanding documentary!!!!!
You can get a DVD or VHS tape by contacting Paladin at
www.paladincom.com
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| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| SgtMunro |
Posted - March 22 2004 : 10:35:33 AM
Lonewolf,
I understand why you refuse to take part in reenactments, and that's cool. You might want to consider taking part at Bushy Run, since they do not allow 'casualties', you would not compromise your honor. What do you think? It would be a way of compromise, without compromise...
Just something to think about...
Your Most Humble Servant,
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| lonewolf |
Posted - March 21 2004 : 10:23:22 PM
Good question Richfed,
I will have to think on that one.
Ken Lonewolf |
| richfed |
Posted - March 13 2004 : 06:27:42 AM
Ok - not sure I fully understand the subtle difference, but will leave it at that!
My next question - since you attend, & dress for, reenactments, why don't you participate? |
| lonewolf |
Posted - March 12 2004 : 12:46:48 PM
Hi Guys,
I don't do re-enactments, but enjoy watching the action.
I go to honor the ancestors, and my regalia also honors them. I dance pow-wows in this regalia, which is what it was made for. It honors my Shawnee people. There are a lot of different regalia at pow-wows, and believe it or not, this is our modern day ceremonial attire. Kind of like the Polish dress to do their traditional dances, with their traditional dress with the wonderful embroidery and the red leather boots. The women are especially beautiful. They are not re-enacting. They, like us, simply are carrying on our tradition. If you attend a pow-wow, it will enlighten as to why we dress this way.
On fencing, I never did care for all of the welts received from fencing sabre. Epee (the dueling sword)is the closest to the real thing.
I don't fence competition anymore since my knees have taken a bit of a beating over the forty years that I fenced competition, but I am still able to teach. The foil is only a teaching aid to fence epee.
Take care ya'll (been in the South too long),
Ken Lonewolf |
| lonewolf |
Posted - March 12 2004 : 12:24:32 PM
Seamus,
Contact me at lonewlf99@aol.com
Ken Lonewolf |
| Fitz Williams |
Posted - March 11 2004 : 8:29:22 PM
At the reenactments I have been to, you are either a sutler, a demonstrator, or a reenactor. You specify which. If you are a sutler, then you will be selling wares. If you are a reenactor, then you will be in the battle, or whatever. If you a re a demonstrator, you set up at a designated site and talk to the public about your craft, Indian trade, blacksmithing, weaving, flint knapping, farming. It sounds like Lonewolf falls in the latter category. It should be easy enough to submit a form and get back the proper approval and invitation. Or so it seems. Might even join in with the French. There would be no problems around here. |
| SgtMunro |
Posted - March 11 2004 : 4:53:08 PM
quote:
From my point of view, it doesn't really matter what your ethnicity is - if you are faithfully recreating another time & place and/or event, then you are a re-enactor.
I agree Sachem, if one faithfully represents the ancestors of either themselves or somebody else it is reenacting a period in history. Reenacting means, at least in my opinion, to pay homage to those who have come before you.
If you do ever change your mind about donning the kilt, let me know...
Your Most Humble Servant,
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| richfed |
Posted - March 11 2004 : 05:04:24 AM
Hi Lonewolf -
I don't understand your statement, which you've made a couple of times, that you are not a re-enactor. Yet, you also say that you dress in the regalia of your Shawnee ancestors, in effect, re-enacting another time & place.
If I were of say, Scottish descent - which I'm not, but am quite certain that at least some "re-enactors" are - and I decided to dress in a Highlander uniform of the period, am I reenacting or just being me?
From my point of view, it doesn't really matter what your ethnicity is - if you are faithfully recreating another time & place and/or event, then you are a re-enactor.
Curious as to your take on this ... |
| lonewolf |
Posted - March 11 2004 : 12:48:32 AM
Hi Seamus,
I am in the parade at Ligonier every October to represent "the other side" of that battle. Someone has to tell the other side of the story. And I am there to honor my ancestors who fought on both sides of the roughly seventy years of warfare on the Western Frontier in the 1700's.
I enjoy the parade, but have complained about the shabby treatment that I have received at the fort. Since I am not a re-enactor, I have to pay full price to enter. Then I have been told by the crowd control people to "get the hell down the hill" since I am not a re-enactor. I just wanted to view an attack by the French up the hill to the British line. I wear the regalia of my Shawnee ancestors at the fort, but they really don't know what to do with a real Indian. They wouldn't even let a Shawnee indian friend (in regalia)into the bookstore. She told them that she wasn't going into the fort area, but just wanted to buy me a book for my birthday in Nov. She sat outside until I came out of the fort. I bought the book later. Wasn't much of a birthday "surprise". I thanked my friend for the thought and for her kindness.
The parade committee which requests my attendance in the parade every year, has informed me that they have nothing to do with the people who run the fort.
So, next Oct., I will remain outside the front of the fort on the grassy area and talk to tourists about Indian culture and our part in the wars of the frontier. Something that I enjoy doing. They love to take my picture with their kids.
I'll keep you informed as to the Saltsburg pow-wow. I am fairly sure that it will be the third weekend in Aug. You will need directions to find the pow-wow grounds.
Take care,
Ken Lonewolf |
| SgtMunro |
Posted - March 03 2004 : 4:00:50 PM
Thanks for the kind words, guys. I like the 'verra sexy' statement WW, you sure know how to raise a guy's spirits.
I might be able to add to your field research, GG. My answer to the question goes as follows, "A lady doesn't ask and a woman already knows." That answer is usually good for a slight blush and/or giggle...
Your Most Humble Servant,
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| Gadget Girl |
Posted - March 03 2004 : 09:41:32 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Wilderness Woman
Hey... as far as I am concerned, just about any man in a kilt is verra sexy!
Judging from her recent comments regarding "kilt lifters", I think Gadget Girl would agree with me quite heartily, right GG?
WW, I think your signature quote says it all!
You see, for YEARS I have been seeking the answer to that age-old question..."What is worn under a kilt?" If I simply ask... I am given one of two answers:
1) NOTHING - everything works just fine!
-OR-
2) Nothing but lipstick!
Therefore, since there is not a consensus I must remain "in search of" until after YEARS of exhaustive investigative trials, I reach my own conclusion! It's a tough job and all PURELY scientific!
GG  |
| Wilderness Woman |
Posted - March 03 2004 : 08:20:53 AM
Hey... as far as I am concerned, just about any man in a kilt is verra sexy!
Judging from her recent comments regarding "kilt lifters", I think Gadget Girl would agree with me quite heartily, right GG?
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| richfed |
Posted - March 03 2004 : 05:55:16 AM
Hey - I love you guys as is ... AND, ya do a fine job! Thanks ... |
| SgtMunro |
Posted - March 03 2004 : 12:52:59 AM
quote:
Jumonville observes: Several of those Highlanders need to lay off the pizza, pierogies and beer before those belts break.
Well Mr. Jumonville, I'll be the first to agree that my current physique is not 'Historically Correct', but I am also at the age of which I would have been retired as 'Unfit For Active Service'. When I was in my late teens/early twenties (The average age of a British Soldier of that period), I was also in very good physical shape. During that period in my life I was also 'playing soldier' in the real world, with real enemies that shot real bullets. I appologize if the reenactors (both British and French), myself included, were not as visually appealing as you had wished. I hope that it did not detract from the overall production.
Your Most Humble Servant,
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| Seamus |
Posted - March 02 2004 : 9:29:02 PM
That seems to be a common malady in this game! T'is all the modern-day good living.....
me ownself included! |
| Jumonville |
Posted - March 02 2004 : 9:18:11 PM
Several of those Highlanders need to lay off the pizza, pierogies and beer before those belts break. |
| SgtMunro |
Posted - February 18 2004 : 6:48:35 PM
I'm partial to the sabre myself, Fitz. I am also studying the use of the broadsword and backsword in 'Highland Style' fencing. One of these days I might actually complete an excercise without hurting myself.
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| Fitz Williams |
Posted - February 17 2004 : 09:58:32 AM
quote:
My favorite weapon is the epee or dueling sword
Doesn't anybody like sabre? The first time I fenced sabre was at a small competition. I entered foil only, and that was finished first. Then the epee. There were only a few entries in sabre, so this guy in our club, who was from the Czech Republic, said that if I would enter sabre he would too. We thought we could treat the sabre like a foil and do fairly well. WRONG! They beat on us like a drum! Quite an experience. After that I tried to learn sabre, but no one seemed interested around here. |
| Seamus |
Posted - February 16 2004 : 12:47:45 PM
Bezahn Lonewolf,
I misspoke the steel mill my uncle was at....it WAS Allegheny Ludlum, not J&L.....sorry about that. That's what comes of thinking faster than I type and THAT is slow! His name was Allen Stewart. Possible he and your father knew each other........
You are right about small town businesses and ghost town business districts. It is sad going home.........
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| lonewolf |
Posted - February 16 2004 : 11:17:41 AM
Bezahn,
I figured that one of you would recognize me from Ligonier. The people at the fort won't let me in without paying admission. I told them that next time I had to pay, I was going to bring a book of matches and finish the job that my ancestors didn't. LOL! They really don't know what to do with "real" indians. Seamus; maybe you can "sneak" me in!
I taught fencing at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte for about fifteen years in the evenings. This school is the biggest college in the state of N.C. My favorite weapon is the epee or dueling sword. No rules, just bash your opponent! It's great. Our junior college used to go to Duke and Chapel Hill and kick their butts. We also fenced at Wofford and Furman. Went to a few matches in Atlanta, as well.
I vaquely remember Elliot's Jewelry store in Leechburg. I hate to drive through what was our shopping district, since half of the stores are now closed. It was nice before shopping malls ruined the small businesses. Of course this is true of most of the small towns. My late father retired from Allegheny Ludlum Steel in Leechburg. He worked there for over thirty years. Things are kind of bad in the area, since so many jobs went overseas and to Mexico. I never thought that I would see the day when the Pittsburgh steel mills were bulldozed. Of course, I never thought that it would be possible to see "blue sky" in Pittsburgh either. LOL! Have any of you been to the Heinz museum in the strip district in Pittsburgh? If you haven't, I highly recommend it. Plan an entire day there.
I wish that they would remove the fountain at the Triangle, and reconstruct Fort Pitt. Sad that it was used as a brick quarry in the early 1800's. The real Fort Pitt is now the foundations of several buildings in Pittsburgh. What is left of the original fort displays fantastic masonry work. A real tribute to those who made the bricks on site and put them up. They were skilled military engineers. Restoring it would be a real tourist draw. They can put the fountain over by the football stadium.
I will post the exact date of our Saltsburg pow-wow, as soon as I learn the exact dates. It will be in August. It is held a few miles out of town in the middle of no-where. In fact it is about a half-mile past "nowhere". Good pow-wow though.
Amazingly, there are thousands of indians in Western Pennsylvania whose ancestors hid in the mountains during the "indian removals" of the 1830's. Therefore , there are still many of us around, even though a lot are mixed-bloods like myself. All indian blood in me comes from my mother's side. The important side!
Take care,
Ken Lonewolf
P.S. Highlander's racism didn't bother me as much as his "attitude". I didn't wish to run him off. He simply has much to learn. You wouldn't believe some of the racist remarks indians have to put up with. I attribute it to lack of Native American history education in the public school systems. And the federal government's attitude that they wished we would all "go away".
We are having a big "grand opening" of the "Museum of the American Indian" in Washington, D.C. this Sept. I am planning on going.
President Bush probably won't show up, since his treatment of indians starts at "deplorable" and works down; but hey, we won't miss him.
Hope people put him out of office in November.
Gotta run, take care,
Ken Lonewolf
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| Seamus |
Posted - February 16 2004 : 05:20:16 AM
Lonewolf,
Do you remember Elliott's Jewelry store in Leechburg? Everett (Junior), the proprietor, is my mother's cousin. His brother, Kenneth, was the State Farm agent. Ken and his wife still live there, Junior is deceased. My uncle worked at J&L Steel as a roller for 30-some years. |
| Seamus |
Posted - February 16 2004 : 05:11:04 AM
Bezahn Lonewolf,
I know well these places of which you speak, and am familiar with the locations of the villages of the Shawnee. Today I have relatives in Leechburg, friends in Saltsburg (played SHS in basketball long ago!)whom we visit at least annually, friends in Apollo and dated a girl from Vandergrift in my youth. She and I discovered, to our great surprise, that my father and her mother dated when they were young! We all had a good chuckle over that! I have shot rifle competitions at Ft. Hand Sportsman's Club.
Yes, I portray Armstrong at times. And while I do that, I am keenly aware of all that happened to OUR peoples during that dark and bloody period of history, and my heart hurts for them all....on both sides. I feel it is important for people today to know and understand what happened and why, and my role in that is to do what I do....on the field and off.
When I saw your Profile picture, the 'where have I seen him before' syndrome kicked in. I know now who you are. I have seen you at Ligonier. Our unit goes to Ft. Ligonier Days in October; I have seen you there. We are the green-coated Provincials. When in August is your pow wow? If it is possible, I would like to come to it. If I cannot, perhaps I will see you at Ligonier in October. We will be there Friday, probably in the larger Officer's hut. I will be there Thursday night at the Ramada in town. Maybe we can get together. |
| Fitz Williams |
Posted - February 16 2004 : 02:08:46 AM
quote:
Part time fencing instructor
At which college? I was involved with a program at Furman University in Greenville, SC, and with a local Fencing Club also. We had a good group of "older" people for a time, but now it seems that the only ones interested are the kids (18 and under). It's a shame that when a university provides all the equipment and facilities, no one takes advantage of it. Last fall, at the Camden reenactment, I met a sutler who loves fencing, so this year I am going to carry my equipment and hope he returns. |
| lonewolf |
Posted - February 16 2004 : 12:44:38 AM
Wanishi (thank you) Theresa and Seamus,
I was born in Vandergrift on what was left of a white ancestor's English King's land grant from the mid 1700's. The grant was for what is now the entire town of Vandergrift. I graduated from Leechburg High School. I am real familiar with the town of Kittaning (Kit-hanne) or "place at the wide river", a former Munsee Delaware town. I also know who Colonel Armstrong was, as I lived in Armstrong County.
I go there and sprinkle tobacco at the river's edge to honor the ancestors who are buried at this beautiful location.
I have been living in Charlotte, N.C. for over thirty years, working here as a Mechanical Engineer, and part time fencing (swordfighting) instructor at a local college.
I visit Penna. every year in the summer. We hold our Lenni-Lenape pow wows at Saltsburg every August. Mostly Shawnees and Munsee Delawares. Saltsburg was the site of Shawnee Chief Kekenapaulin's village. Chief Blackleg's town was further up the Connemaugh River, (Conn-e-makke-sipu) or river of beavers. Shawnee Old Town, the most ancient village was between Vandergrift and Leechburg on the opposite side of the Kiskiminetas River. The village of "White Plains" became Leechburg. All four were Shawnee villages. Saltsburg was the site of indian salt mining before the whites came. George Croghan and Christopher Gist traded at these villages. Raids were conducted up the Loyalhanna Creek from Saltsburg, in an attempt to burn Fort Ligonier.
We never suceeded at that objective. But I am in their Ft. Ligoneir Days parade every year in October, representing the Shawnee side of the battle. The parade people welcome me, and the fort people treat me like crap. Oh well!!! Fort Hand is just down the road from where my sister lives between Leechburg and Apollo. We attempted to take that blockhouse, but the women loaded muskets so fast and handed them to the men, that the rapid fire drove us off. What's that phrase about "women scorned"? LOL!
Take care my friends,
Ken Lonewolf
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| lonewolf |
Posted - February 16 2004 : 12:04:47 AM
Greetings,
Highlander has much to learn. I am probably much older than him, as I am a sixty four year old Shawnee elder. I have probably had more time than him to experience the joys and the downsides of life. I have met many kinds of people, and the overwhelming majority are very good people. I have noticed that those lacking in real education and being insecure with themselves, tend to say things for shock value. This is sad. By acting in this manner, they diminish themselves in the eyes of others. One of the greatest joys of life is listening to what others have to say, listening to their stories. I don't think that the Creator ever meant for us to all agree on everything, but I do believe that He expects us to treat each other with respect.
We are all brothers and sisters on this earth. We need to treat each other as such. When you say things to hurt your brothers and sisters, you are not living "in a good way".
In our culture "thought comes before speech". Maybe Highlander could spend more time thinking, prior to talking. Let's hope that he improves himself.
Aho,
Ken Lonewolf |
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