Much of the craftwork on my other pages is all related to my interest in 17th century Polish reenacting. I typically participate in local timeline events. One is at Ft. Miegs in Perrysburg, Ohio and the other is at Ft. Malden in Amherstberg, Ontario. Each is about an hour from downtown Detroit. While Detroit, Michigan is rich with history and has Historic Ft. Wayne, a mere minutes from downtown, their timeline event extends from 1840-Vietnam, the years when troops were stationed at it.
We typically set up camp Friday afternoon/evening and break camp Sunday afternoon/evening. The number of people attending and event rules will determine our schedule. Much of our time is spent talking with members of the public at our campsite, discussing both 17th century history and equipment. Often there is a fashion show where we speak about our outfits & equipment. Demonstrations include archery, saber fencing, musketry, or even artillery. Recently, we started allowing responsible, well-supervised children to use special foam-covered swords to fence with. The food we eat is typical of the time and place. For example, our Saturday evening meal is typically bigos or Polish hunter stew cooked over an open fire.
Throughout this site, you may notice what appears to be an upside down Polish flag. During the 17th century, there was no national flag as we think of it today. Instead, the King's royal banner represented the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth. The King's arms were prominently displayed on combination of red and white bars. The standard single white bar over a single red bar came much later. If you are interested in Polish royal banners, more information may be found here: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/pl_royal.html#zw. Other flags likely to be seen on a battlefield include a colorful variety of unit flags, as well as pennons and pennants on the ends of lances.
I also travel once or twice a year to other reenacting events to link up with other 17th Century Reenactors.
Pictures from Military Through the Ages in 2002 at Jamestown, Virginia. The first large gathering of 17th century Polish reenactors. Unfortunately, I missed the group photo. We were rained out on the second day, but despite that, it was a blast.
Pictures from Ft. Meigs in 2003, 2004, and 2005 (Perrysburg, OH).
Pictures from Ft. Malden in 2002, 2003, and 2004 (Amherstberg, Ontario). I missed it in 2005 due to a scheduling conflict, but I hope to return there in 2006.
Ft. Randolph, in West Virginia. A 17th century tactical reenacting the Siege of Torun complete with mounted pancerni and hussars, pike & shot, and cannons. It was a blast!
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A picture of my eldest son with a Sherman tank that he helped restore for his Eagle Scout project. The tank was rusting away at Detroit's Historic Fort Wayne. Back when I was a kid, I remember climbing down into the tanks and turning a crank to raise & lower the gun. They were taken off exhibit for a LONG time and left to rust. My son helped to document what the Fort had, and took the last photographs of the inside of the tank before the hatchs were welded shut per military regulations. He's too cool to dress up in armour, but instead, prefers tanks & other armoured vehicles, whether it is restoring the real thing or making models of them. |
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© 2006 Ron Jachim. All Rights Reserved.