Gas Prices!!!!!!!!!!

[Historicaly Correct]

How is gas price effecting your reenacting this year? We will be doing 5-6 reenactments and living histories within a 50 mile radius of home.
Hurricane WV in March (reenactment)
Albert Jenkins Plantation in Greenbottom WV (living history)
Barboursville WV in July (reenactment)
Summerfest in Huntington WV in August (living history)
Raid on Guyandotte in Guyandotte WV (reenactment)
Ramsdell House in Ceredo WV (living history)
We might get one more (thats to be seen), the boys have band and football starting in August so that puts a halt to reenacting. Kids come first!
HC

[johan_steele]

I have a dozen or so lined up but w/ my son coming in a little over a month I expect I'll only make half that.

[unionblue]

If it ain't in state, I ain't doing it.

I'm keeping close to home and doing local events, which in my view tend to be a better gig when doing living history.

The shoot 'em ups and nationals, not so much, although I have been asked to do an event in Mumford, NY, sharing the ride and the gas money. That I think I will do. Heard that its a great event.

Sincerely,
Unionblue

[9thKYCoC]

My unit has 8 events planned and half are out of state. Fortunately, a couple guys have vans that we load up and split up the costs of everything. It works out really good, money wise.

Pvt. Kirk

[blue_zouave]

My reenacting has been on hold for a couple of years, and likely will continue to be, especially with current gas prices! I have to drive 8-10 hours to an event of any size. The group in Boise (120 miles away) holds an event once a year but it's hard for me to get excited about "camping with a musket."

Zou

[Parault]

People will see less participants at events. Reenactors, Soldiers & Living Historians will be more selective deciding which events will be made. I am only doing one in March and one during the summer months. I live only twenty minutes away from Old Washington Ar. I have done several events there with a few other one day only activites. I will be doing more if the gas prices keep rising.

[sarah1864]

I just heard today gas is expected to go up another 30 cents! Not only is it hurting events that we can go too, but also the public/tourists who would drive to see these. Sad state of affairs...

I read an article dated around the turn of the last century, how people were hoping the new gas fired automobiles would be cheaper to own than a horse. Just for kicks, has anyone done the comparison to these two modes of transportation with our standards of income then and now?

[Blockaderunner]

If only you knew how lucky you are! I filled up today at £1.02 a litre. I am still imperial so I always convert roughly to gallons. That is about £4.60 a gallon, which is about $9.00 give or take. A US gallon is slightly smaller, so how do you fancy $8.50 a gallon?

[ole]

Your price includes National Health Service and other benevolence. If we get so unlucky as to have such, I'll expect we'll be back on bicycles.

A chance for a sneak question: we look for lots of Federal and State revenue on a gallon, but we're at the same time frantically looking for alternative sources of fuel. So we're simultaneously trying to destroy a big source of revenue. If we're successful in reducing our reliance on gasoline, do you think the need for revenue will be reduced in equal proportion?

Same for the folks campaigning for increasing taxes on tobacco to stamp out its use. Think that need for revenue will go away?

ole

[9thKYCoC]

If we're successful in reducing our reliance on gasoline, do you think the need for revenue will be reduced in equal proportion?

We could only hope. However, it's extremely doubtful, at least any time soon. Government is big business and big business requires big revenue. The success of reducing our dependency on oil is in direct proportion to the general population changing their habits and/or relying on other forms of energy. Historically, people are quite resistant to change. There will always be someone holding onto what makes them "comfortable". In other words, when a paradigm shift happens, most people fight against it rather than embrace it. Examples within the past 20 years would be vinyl records to MP3s, rotary phones to digital handhelds and carburated engines to EFI. Did anyone ASK for these changes? Ok, maybe a few. But for the rest of us, change just happened. We either went with it or we didn't. Where the difference is, is the time span between going against change and running with it. Vehicles that no longer run on fossil fuels are in the works, a few are being produced. People are still weary about buying them though. Before too long, buying a car that runs on hydrogen or something else other than gasoline will be your only choice. Until people start getting on board and riding the wave of paradigm shifts that are happening right now, changes will come slowly.

Pvt. Kirk