- Joined
- Dec 4, 2011
I didn't realize this was a contest, but I still have a pretty strong notion that I spent more both in cash and especially in the years spent doing the authentic thing and that means building stuff myself.
Sorry but you come across as condescending. If you want to impress me.... well not impressed yet. I am more impressed with those who are humble rather than those who brag and put others down.
Wow. I thought that we'd have something in common, both having invested a lot of time and money in trying to build accurate reproductions, but obviously not.
I guess if you think of reenacting as some sort of competition, my post might seem like a put-down. I dunno, it's hard for me to read it in that light, because that's not how I meant it.
Perhaps I didn't explain well enough, but our goal was not to be another historic site, but to be different--a replica of a functional period home as if someone had stepped back in time, with no hidden or visible modern things--as much as possible of course, given all the practical limitations. I don't know why you assumed I didn't build any of it myself. We never could have afforded it, if we'd had to pay a timber framer, cabinetmaker, etc.
We looked at surviving homes, but even if we could undo all the changes, removing electricity and plumbing leaves holes in logs and framing. And then there was the problem of viewshed--old roads tend to become new roads. It was easier to start from scratch, clear land, plant pastures in period varieties of grasses, and build from the start, rather than undoing modern changes, because our goal was different than preserving an already-existing historic site.
But in general, I think you'll find I'm not the type to put reenactors down for whatever they do. As I said in my previous post, I don't think there's anything wrong with people who are happy reenacting however they want. I won't pretend to be ashamed of my interests, but I'm not going to put someone else down for pursuing things differently, either.
But I think this thread has unwittingly illustrated how not everybody can get along in living history--or in any hobby, of course.
There's probably a lot of information and research we could discuss in an enjoyable fashion, since we both apparently have an interest in period building techniques. My post was an attempt at sharing similar experiences and continuing the conversation, but if you're convinced it was a put-down, or wasn't humble enough, or was an attempt to impress you, well, that wasn't what I had in mind, so communication between us is going to be darn near impossible.
I'm sure you can find other folks who are happy to discuss period things, though, that naturally have a different way of communicating that works better for you. As I said in my previous post: I stay away from [reenactors] that seem hostile, who of course aren't hostile at all to folks with the same mindset as them, and all is good