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James N.
Colonial Militia
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
October 24 2007
Status: offline
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 Posted - May 24 2011 : 3:31:53 PM
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May,2011, marks the TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY of the beginning of filming for our favorite historical romance! For me personally the month of May, 1991, was one of many conflicting situations and emotions: I endured the second bout of cataract surgery and its aftermath; quit a good job in the housewares department of Macy's in Dallas; packed up and put virtually all my belongings, accumulated over a lifetime, in storage; moved out of the apartment complex where I'd spent the past 16 years; and on May, 17 headed off to the East and the great unknown.
I only got as far as the small East Texas town where I now live, where I spent the night at my Mother's and swapped cars for the rest of the trip. Driving across Arkansas and half of Tennessee, I stopped somewhere outside Nashville for the night. Next day, Sunday, I arrived sometime in the late afternoon in Asheville after driving steadily all day. My only "misadventure" occurred when I accidentally locked my keys inside the car in a rest area somewhere in the Smoky Mountains and had to wait for AAA to send someone to save me! In Asheville I settled into the local Econo Lodge; knowing no one there and never having been there before, I opted to go to the one place I'd heard of for dinner, The Grove Park Inn, which turned out to be fabulous and put me in a much better and more relaxed mood!
The next day I met with Dale Fetzer at production headquarters located in a high-rise office building in downtown Asheville where I was introduced to the other members of our "reenactor core" group and was appraised of the schedule. This was about the time filming began for the principals at the Joyce Kilmer National Forest area across the state line in Tennessee, but we discovered we were not to be used for nearly a MONTH! Instead, on May 21, we had the dubious honor of beginning "training" under the LEGENDARY ( "...in his own MIND" ) CAPTAIN Dale Dye of Platoon fame! Our training camp was out in the woods from town in a volunteer firefighters' training site not far from the French Broad River. I have previously described that the sole benefit of this exercise was the not-inconsiderable per diem we recieved as compensation. It was about this time that we first met and worked with Stephen Waddington and Maurice Roeves there at the Firefighter's Camp.
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I continued the first week at the Econo Lodge, but Dale Fetzer had other ideas for us. He'd arranged to rent for us a couple of UNFURNISHED townhouses in a new addition at Swannanoa, an Asheville suburb. The others happily moved in, "furnishing" them as well as possible using mainly camp furniture and bedrolls; however at the advanced age of 44 and being the oldest member of our group, I opted to pass on this opportunity at "dorm" living! Instead I secured a small room at a weekly rate at the nearby and somewhat shabby Thunderbird Motel, not far from the Swannanoa entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
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Since there was no filming going on for us, I interested myself in visiting nearby historical sites. Unlike previous productions I'd worked on, we actually had most weekends off thanks to Michael Mann's shooting schedule, even after our filming began. The first weekend, I went to South Carolina and King's Mountain, Cowpens, and Ninety-Six National Historical Sites, and Chimney Rock, N. C., later to be an important filming site. Our second week of mainly physical training was exhausting, however, and I could so far wonder just what I'd gotten myself in for as the month of May drew to a close.
To be continued...
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Fitzhugh Williams
Mohicanland Statesman
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
July 17 2005
Status: offline
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Posted - May 24 2011 : 4:31:47 PM
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It's hard to believe it has been twenty years. And it just seems like there should be a Gathering this summer. I have been thinking about a trip to Louise's and Linville, and maybe over to the Dupont Forest. Not all in one day, of course. It's a shame Spirits on the River is not there anymore.
Louise's, not SOTR
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"Les deux pieds contre la muraille et la tete sous le robinet" |
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richfed
Sachem
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 13 2002
Status: offline
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Posted - May 28 2011 : 12:23:17 PM
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| Breakfast at Louise's sounds good right about now! |
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Fitzhugh Williams
Mohicanland Statesman
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
July 17 2005
Status: offline
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Posted - May 28 2011 : 3:58:43 PM
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| What if some of us "locals" were to pick a day this June and meet up there? |
"Les deux pieds contre la muraille et la tete sous le robinet" |
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IWLFNDU
Colonial Settler
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
May 08 2010
Status: offline
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Posted - May 28 2011 : 7:14:57 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by richfed
Breakfast at Louise's sounds good right about now!
Brings back memories of livermush...of which the first foray was dutifully introduced by none other than the illustrious Soldier #2!
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''Only when the last tree has died, the last river has been poisoned, and the last fish has been caught, will we realize that we cannot eat money.''
~ Cree Proverb |
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Twenty Years Ago This Month: May, 1991
