Kathy the history sleuth
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2020
I am posting this thread for the benefit of someone who might want to put together a CWT Muster. At this point they have been held for about 8 years and headed up by different event teams. The posts copied below will give you some idea of the process to present a muster, and the unique customs that have grown up around them. We have established that the procedures and events presented are unique to every Muster, but that some things such as "goodie bags" or welcome bags reappear at almost every one. The Quartermaster or organizer has wide latitude about where to travel to and the itinerary. Education and seeing the available sights are the goal, and friendship. Since CWT is a national and international organization members might not meet in person in any other way. Participants pay their own travel expenses and hotel and meal costs. There is usually a meal where everyone gathers and also pays for their own. Once at the Muster rides are shared among the cars present as available.
If a block of rooms are rented or a meeting room is desired the organizer must take financial responsibility with the hotel. This and the goodie bags and refreshments to be provided on the road are some of the costs to the organizers. The question has arisen if these costs should be shared.
An alternative to the Muster is the Mini Muster, a shorter and less formal version, announced much closer to the time of travel. The Musters also frequently include side trips before and after, hosted by other people, to sights that did not fit into the itinerary but are nearby.
Moving forward, the Muster could continue as in the past if volunteer staffing could be found and costs might be shared, or Mini Musters could be held. Or informal gatherings could replace the Muster. Or travel could be on ones own and reported in enthusiastic posts with great photos on CWT.
@War Horse organized the very first CWT muster event at Gettysburg in 2016 and laid the foundation. It started on Friday evening and ended on Sunday at noon. It was a big crowd 60+ attendees. Everyone who attended was expected to provide a battlefield vignette or battle walk on Saturday or Sunday. I didn't know enough or feel confident back then to do one, so I got @@pmuskett to do Barksdale's brigade in my place. Two things were scheduled to happen at the same time and you had to choose. The 2016 muster was a "free" event - participants were responsible for getting there, hotel, meals, etc. but there was no fee for participating in the battlefield walks and presentations --- because everyone gave one. Participants were at several different hotels. There was no transportation and no "war room." There was a book signing and meet/greet Friday evening at the museum. There was a member dinner on Saturday night - dutch treat. And there were goodie bags with schedules and nametags waiting at the hotel desk for participants, generously funded by the event team.
2017 @@War Horse also set up the 2017 muster. It was also at Gettysburg but focused on the retreat. It was a bus tour with pre-paid motor coach and guide fees. It was very different from the first one and entirely different from what the muster has evolved into. Edit: I didn't participate so don't know much more about it.
2018 @@bdtex headed up the 2018 one at Chickamauga. It was more like the first but with a smaller crowd and a small event team. It started on Friday morning and ended on Sunday noon. It was the first event that included a "war room" and it was a good thing. It rained Friday morning - like cats and dogs. So the war room came in handy. Only a couple of attendees volunteered to provide vignettes or battlefield interpretation. @@uaskme did all of Sunday morning. James N. did most of all day Friday. As soon as we realized we didn't have enough participant volunteers, I begged @@Norman Dasinger Jr to do Saturday on the battlefield all day for us. (It's good to have knowledgeable, experienced guides as friends.) @@UCVRelics provided dug bullets for the goodie bags and made a nice display he gave to the hotel manager. He also brought his cannon and set it up in the lobby. @@bdtex made the arrangements without a pre-event scouting trip. I did the roster, nametags, stuffed the goodie bags, and made copies of maps, schedule, handouts, etc. We provided drinks, water, sodas, etc. I carried the cooler and snacks around in my car so nobody got thirsty. The host hotel was a Hampton and the restaurant where we had the member dinner was across the parking lot. There was no door prize drawing. Other than a lot of voluntary enthusiastic carpooling, we did not provide transportation and it was a no fee event.
2019 @@UCVRelics organized the 2019 one at Vicksburg. I wasn't able to attend that one so don't know much about it. I do know that it was ucv's first muster and the first event that @@rebel brit provided an event-specific resin sculpture refrigerator magnet for the goodie bags. I've been to other events @@UCVRelics organized and I imagine it was organized and run much the same as other ones he has done. A larger event team, pre-event scouting trips to make arrangements, a Hampton hotel with a war room as the host location, and snacks, drinks, etc provided by the generosity of the event team. I believe I made the nametags and sent them to him for that event? Or one of them. It was a no fee event. ucv can speak to how the battlefield interpretation was provided - I wasn't there so I don't know. I also do not know if there was a door prize drawing.
2020 @@UCVRelics organized the 2020 one at Shiloh. It was in the middle of the COVID pandemic. The event was supposed to be in the East at Antietam per the rotation. But everything around Antietam was shutdown and everything in Corinth and Shiloh wasn't, so the switch was made. It was a wonderful event and good to be able to get out and go somewhere. It was a Friday evening to Sunday noon event. Friday evening @@16thAL and @@MS2623 hosted a picnic dinner at a nearby State Park with cornbread and all kinds of Southern Food they cooked themselves! Delicious and so much fun to hang out with everyone in that atmosphere. Saturday morning on the battlefield, we stopped first to pick up our guide Larry DeBerry. ucv knows him well and he recruited him to guide for us all day. There was good member participation providing interpretation on that one. A lot of members did vignettes and they were all very good. The host hotel was a Hampton with a war room. The event team generously provided snacks, drinks, nametags, and goodie bags including an event specific refrigerator magnet by @@rebel brit We never had to worry about where we could get something to drink or eat because @@redbob carried the cooler with the drinks around in his truck. Lunch was at Hagy's catfish hotel I believe - which is an experience you don't want to miss if you are at Shiloh. Or the event team may have had box lunches brought in? I actually don't remember. There was a member dinner on Saturday night at a local place with great food. There was a door prize drawing at the dinner. No transportation was provided other than voluntary carpooling and it was a no fee event. Edit: I don't know how I forgot to mention the live range shooting! It was a highlight! The event team made all the arrangements including firearms and cannon, ammo, powder, range master, EMS, etc. and footed the bill. Everyone got to shoot a period CW firearm and fire the cannon. It was a fantastic experience!!!
2021 @@NH Civil War Gal organized the 2021 one at Antietam. You were there and know what a fabulous job she did! She has already detailed the related costs of pre-event scouting trips, goodie bags, contents, snacks, drinks, guide, etc. Box lunches were pre-ordered and delivered - paid for by attendees but arranged and ordered by the event team. That is another financial risk for the event team. If people order them and then don't come, they still have to be paid for. Several people volunteered to do vignettes at the National Cemetery, but I think I was the only one who offered to do something on the battlefield Saturday? @@Stone in the wall may have also volunteered. You can't go to a battlefield without having someone tell about what was happening at all the places - not just two. Well I guess you could, but what would be the point? So Tina arranged for Battlefield interp on Saturday to be provided by a paid guide but no cost to participants. The host hotel was a wonderful Hampton with a war room. She has already detailed how it was provided - based on minimum room reservations - or else she would have had to pay for it. The event team provided snacks, drinks, nametags, schedule, handouts, and goodie bags including an event specific refrigerator magnet by @@rebel brit There was a fun and unforgettable member dinner on Saturday night and a door prize drawing at the dinner. No transportation was provided other than voluntary carpooling; and it was a no fee event.
2022 @@UCVRelics organized the 2022 one at Stones River/Franklin. It was to the same standard as the Shiloh event except he went above and beyond by providing dinner on Saturday night at his own expense -- plus everything else. I know he made at least two pre-event scouting trips to make the arrangements. It was the first event where I recall paying on arrival for box lunch, house tours, and guide fees. I think the total was about $50 per person but it could have been more or less. It was whatever the costs for those things was going to be, just collected on arrival. When you paid they checked your name off the list and gave you your goodie bag. I thought it was a good model to follow so we used the same collection process at check in in 2023. Some participants volunteered to give interpretative vignettes and the NPS folks provided some interp on Saturday. Sunday was paid guide and a house tour. The host hotel was a Hampton property. I'm assuming the war room was free dependent upon enough rooms booked but I don't know that. ucv may have used his powers of persuasion. The event team provided snacks, drinks, nametags, and goodie bags including an event specific refrigerator magnet by @@rebel brit I wasn't on the event team, but brought a box of Girl Scout cookies to go in everyone's goodie bag. The member dinner on Saturday night was complements of Ucv (free to participants) and there was a door prize drawing at the dinner that included that fantastic diorama made by @@rebel brit Transportation was not provided other than enthusiastic voluntary carpooling; it was a no fee event (except for paying on arrival for those specific costs collected in advance.)
2023 Our team organized the 2023 one in the Valley. I know more about it than the others so this will be longer. We did some things different than previous events. The event team made two pre-event visits to the valley to make arrangements, see the hotel, gauge distance between locations, and pre-run potential side trip routes. The host hotel was a Hampton but their group reservations person is overseas. The minimum room reservation requirement was the only way we had to avoid paying out of pocket for the war room. There was no negotiating with the lady in India. Luckily, we made the minimum so the team didn't have to pay for the war room. A request was made for a vehicle for battlefield transportation for persons with disabilities. It was the first time anyone had asked for that and we were of course, happy to do it. In the end, it wound up being unnecessary but we had already made the arrangements and incurred the costs. We collected items for the door prize drawing and chose to do it at lunch on Saturday in the Belle Grove barn where we had lunch - instead of at the member dinner. We had participants who lived nearby and weren't joining us for the dinner and wanted them to be included. Member dinner was still Saturday night and enjoyable as always. Goodie bags, contents, copies (schedule, handouts), name tags, etc. Bdtex generously provided the lanyards -- as he always does. Participants were asked to bring items to stock the war room and drinks for the cooler. It was the first time we have asked people to do that and there was a ton of snacks and drinks to be shared including homemade goodies. It also reduced the financial burden on the event team. We did 3 days (instead of 2) of pre-event side trips led by members. @@pmuskett showed us around at Gburg on Tues; gjpratt led side trips on Wed/Th before the event kicked off Thur night. The Thur night Show & Tell was another first. That was GREAT! A bunch of folks shared stories, relics, collections, and so forth. It was a great way to get to know each other and so much fun! I'd encourage others to include it if they have availability of a war room. Tours started bright and early Friday morning and ended at noon Sunday. Interp was provided by a combination of people - Stonewall Hdqtrs museum staff, participants, Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, NPS, volunteer guides, staff at Belle Grove, etc. SVBF also hosted the wine and cheese reception/ private after-hours tour of the museum on Friday night. As mentioned above, we copied ucv's method of collecting pre-paid fees at check in --box lunch and Stonewall Hdqtrs museum fee $20 per person. Other than those direct costs collected at check-in, it was a no fee event. There was no official transportation, but again, there was enthusiastic carpooling. Edit: With the serious illness and death of my mother happening in the Spring, I neglected to even think about asking rebel brit if he would provide event specific magnets. After her death, funeral, memorial, etc. when I did think to ask, it was too late. @@BlazingSaddles designed an absolutely beautiful custom cast commemorative event-specific medallion to be provide to participants. @@Diane123 funded those as well as fitted cases with a magnet on back in case anyone might be disappointed at not receiving a magnet. It was extremely generous of her and I am not sure participants were even aware that she funded them.
As you can see, there are as many ways to do a muster event as there are ideas of how it "should be" or has "always been." If you look back, it really hasn't always been done any particular way. CWT musters have morphed and changed over time. And there's no reason why an event team couldn't do it an entirely new way. I'm sorry this is so long and I hope it is what you were hoping to get as a reply. Most of all, I hope it is helpful information.
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So to summarize, if a person stepped up to be the quartermaster, they would have flexibility with the format including location, activities, and host hotel if any. And they could charge a pre event fee to cover some of the costs. It would still be pay as you go for participants. Someone thinking about this might want to try hosting a mini muster and see how it goes and if they enjoy hosting .Thoughts?
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We just need to be mindful of the financial burden the muster team has already assumed - and the financial risks - way before the event even starts. Exploring reasonable ways of easing that burden, makes it easier to be a QM. Knowing that people will actually make their reservations at the host hotel so the war room is free is an excellent first step. Stocking the war room, bringing items for the goodie bags, donating items to the door prize drawing (if there is one), paying for the guides' meals, volunteering to do some interp.... If events are to remain low/no fee, it seems there should be a reasonable expectation that every participant will make an investment.
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Well I'm not a sales person. I'm rather plain spoken, probably too much so. But I think we have the facts and the structure of a potential muster. The goodie bags, while very nice, could be eliminated to cut costs, or if it just wasn't the organizer's thing. Keep it simple. No buses. :}
Many proposed itineraries have been presented. Give some thought to how you would do it if you were the quartermaster. Start a new thread and ask for input if you want. But I think the quartermaster has to be a decision maker. They also need to be able to recruit some help. And not be afraid to make a tradition of asking for a prepayment up front.
I think keeping to the weekend format is a good idea for someone starting out, and to keep costs under control for everyone. A less expensive area such as Petersburg or Perryville might be a good place for a new quartermaster to try out. We love cemeteries and battlefield parks and that's what makes this hobby affordable.
I'm glad we were able to have some open discussion and clarification. We all agree we love the muster. Let's find a way to keep it happening and be supportive financially and in your hearts to the team that makes it happen, when and however it does.
Thanks for your kind attention to this thread.
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It's the QM's going the extra step. The Douglas Bast Museum is an example. He died just the year before of 2021 and the place was closed and reorganizing. I tried to make contact but couldn't get through to anyone. Clark and I actually drove there and looked around in Boonesborough and someone was coming out of the house/museum where he had lived. We talked to her and found out she was a member of the board of directors and the were trying to bring the place back to life. We told her what we were doing and she instantly bought into it and arranged a once in a lifetime private showing of not only the museum part, but the vast barn/garage, back lots, everything of what Douglas Bast collected. More cannon tubes than you can guess, the box that supposedly held the body of Gen. Reno, and everything in between. But nothing had been archived or catalogued. They are working on that now with professionals. But it was an amazing afternoon!
That's why you need boots on the ground scooping out stuff, several times, before you nail down your schedule. This was a Providential meeting and something Clark and I could add to the schedule and knock something else off.
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Now that I think more about that, CWT musters have provided access to a whole lot of little-known and/or typically inaccessible resources.
For example, at Chickamauga, @UCVRelics brought his cannon and we had a professional (but complimentary) battlefield guide. At Shiloh, the team gave us CW period firearms range shooting and Larry DeBerry to guide. At Antietam, Tina and Clark arranged a jam up all day pre-event side trip of South Mountain, the Bast Museum, and a professional (but complimentary to participants) battlefield guide. At Stones River and Franklin, @UCVRelics provided an entire complimentary member dinner (!) and the comprehensive guided experience for Franklin. Last year, LBG Phillip Musket volunteered to lead a jam up no-cost pre-event side trip at Gettysburg. The team arranged guided experiences at all the SV battlefields - a combination of NPS, SVBF, professional (but complimentary) guides, and volunteers. And arranged access to resources that are typically inaccessible like the Belle Grove barn, after hours museum tour, and the Miller House.
Access to little-known/inaccessible resources seems to have become a signature for CWT musters. An "unofficial standard." Like goodie bags for participants. If @War Horse hadn't provided goodie bags at the 2016 event, I'm not sure organizers would have ever considered them necessary. Once you establish an unofficial standard or benchmark, it becomes difficult for an organizer to discontinue it.
No organizer wants to be privately (or publicly) critiqued for their choices, acts, or omissions. Even if it's just because they decided to hire a guide OR not have a door prize drawing. And they certainly don't want the participants to be disappointed. Even if it's just because people didn't get a goodie bag. Who needs a goodie bag anyway? Seriously, if you need a chapstick or a Slim Jim, you probably brought it with you.
I guess what I am saying is this: Maybe we (all of us - participants, organizers, teams, and expectations) have created a monster? --- made these events overwhelming (and expensive) for organizers and way more difficult than they have to be? Maybe the "unofficial standard" has been elevated too high for a no-fee experience? Perhaps no volunteer muster organizer can reasonably be expected to deliver on this "unofficial standard"? Perhaps no one is willing to subject themselves to the potential criticism that might come if they decide to dispense with something that has become "standard"? And the result is reluctance of organizers to step forward.
Edit to add: The primary deterrents for me are high expectations based on unofficial standards and the financial risk/commitment. The animosity is just uncalled for and frankly annoying. That behavior likely contributes to the reluctance of new organizers to assume the duties of QM.
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In all honesty the goodie bags were a necessity in my mind for the first muster for several reasons.
1. I wanted everyone to wear identical name badges. The goal was to get as many members in Gettysburg as possible. Since I knew not everyone would attend all events or even any of the battlefield events, I wanted site members to be able to identify one another in passing. Even in the streets of Gettysburg. @MRB1863 and I thought it would be nice if the name tags included both the individuals screen name as well as their real name.
@MRB1863 was kind enough to print them.
2. I reserved a block of rooms at the 1863 Inn of Gettysburg. Because site members made it clear that they planned to use their honors points and stay at hotels of their own choosing and to arrive on different dates. We had people coming in for all three days, some for two days and others for a just one. It became necessary to get the name tags in their hands one way or another. The attendance spreadsheet included the hotel the individual(s) elected to stay at and It seemed easy to leave them at the front desk to be given to the member at time of check-in regardless when they were arriving. For those only coming in for the day we setup a table at the book signing where their welcome bag would be displayed for them to pickup.
3. Because the itinerary keep growing and in some cases there were more than one event taking place at the same time I felt it was important for the welcome package to include a hard copy of the finalized itinerary. So many members with a tremendous amount of knowledge stepped up and volunteered to host events. There were so many I can't thank them all.
4. Because it was an attend all events or attend only what you like it was important this information was easily available to all.
5. Since we were attempting to get everyone on the spreadsheet a name tag and Itinerary we decided to stuff the bag with Gettysburg attraction information just to help the first time visitors have information on different attractions. All totaled I think there were 8 different hotels to drop the bags off to. I have to give a shoutout to @Rebforever. Marshal was kind enough to accompany me while we distributed the bags.
Since the 2016 event the planning has evolved and gotten a lot better. I'm sure there is no longer a need for the greeting bags. The war room is ideal for passing out things like name tags etc.
There you have it. The reason for the original gift bags that haunt the musters to this day
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Thanks to all the Quartermasters who have shared their experiences.
I've only been to the Winchester muster but I thought @lelliott19 & team did a great job. The support of SVBF was wonderful. I hope that working with the NPS and/or local nonprofit historical groups (when practical) will be a feature of musters in the future as it not only brings in local experts and connects them to a receptive audience (mutually beneficial).
While I hope the bigger weekend musters return (even if there's a year without one), I think unofficial mini-musters are also a good thing to encourage as well. And as Kathy or someone else said upthread, they can be a stepping stone to organizing a larger event. They might also draw some locals that can't travel farther away to a full muster.
As those who heard me talk about my post-muster travels know, my vacations tend to be mobile; in two weeks I only stayed two nights in the same hotel/motel twice (and once was for the muster). That's why I'm open to the possibility of mobile musters, following a campaign or stringing together related battlefields. I certainly see the benefits of staying at a single hotel for the weekend, and it works great for a number of locations, especially the larger battles, but also limits the options.
A cautionary tale: the one (non-work) annual event I was ever on the team ran for ten years. I attended starting in year five and joined the team the following year. It started as a small event organized by a few dedicated members of the community hobby. It grew organically. The event lead was different each year, and the team was about half returning members and half new members. It seemed to allow a good mix of fresh ideas and continuity. A few years after I joined, word got out that the latest chair had some ideas that would be more of a departure from the norm. Even though the broad strokes would have been unchanged (same date, same location, same general concept) when a prominent member of the hobby and regular attendee found out, they raised hell. "Nobody will attend if you do that!" Boycotting and badmouthing of the event was threatened by this one irate individual...who wasn't even on the event team and never had been. But they were chummy with one of the event founders still on the team, whom they complained to. The founder freaked out and got into an argument with the chair about their plans; the chair quit. After that the founder steadily became more of a control freak about the event, which turned off people from helping with the team, which put more workload on the founder until they burned out and ended the event. Worst part is, I think the idea the controversial chair had was a good one, as long as they had been flexible with it. Unfortunately, a lot of rigid thinking about how things had to sunk a good thing. SOPs became corporate policy.
South Florida is just too far away for me to ever organize a muster. Maybe whenever I finally move out of Florida, but I don't expect that will be for another decade. Maybe a mini-muster in Jacksonville.
I think important points may have been missed in my previous posts so I will try providing a summary in a more organized fashion.
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WE'VE ALWAYS DONE...
I elaborated on how these events have morphed over time. @War Horse shared details of the original CWT muster. There is nothing that has always been done - except a nametag, a planned itinerary, a dutch treat group dinner, lots of good camaraderie, and a basic goodie bag with list of participants, tourist resources, and snacks. That's it. Those are the only things that have always been done.
EXPECTATIONS
We are eliminating people who might be fantastic organizers. Pressure on a volunteer QM to provide a long list of items (just because one or more previous organizers did) is a serious deterrent to volunteering.
FINANCIAL COMMITMENT
Someone who may be great at event planning and have access to fabulous resources for scheduling a bang-up itinerary may not have the financial resources for all the things. They may not be able to assume the financial risk of potentially having to pay out of pocket for a war room. Or to buy stuff for goodie bags or even the empty bags. Or the blanks and sleeves for nametags. Everyone doesn't know someone who is a master sculptor or have the financial means to design and purchase another event-specific goodie for each participant. Everyone doesn't know people to donate items for a door prize drawing and may not have financial means to purchase them. Even if they could round up enough items so that everybody can "win" something, they may be flying in or not want to haul a car full of stuff across the country.
IMPORTANT TO YOU
Even though one or more of these things may be really important to you, others may not care about a door prize, a goodie bag, a war room, or even a nametag. If another organizer steps up and any of these things are that important to you, you could offer to assume responsibility for that aspect --- and provide it at your own expense. Or if they choose to eliminate it, you could just choose not to attend.
CONCLUSION
Expecting a volunteer muster organizer to pay out of pocket to do all these things (just because we have always done it when we actually haven't) is what is deterring willing volunteers from stepping up to serve as muster organizers. Especially new people.
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Thanks Laura. This is a great breakdown. The prior posts focused on the fun- which is important. But behind the fun is a team effort (the optimal situation) and hours of research and planning. What about mentoring? The Muster event seems to be at a crossroads. Prior volunteers are not available to continue for various reasons, and no one should be expected to keep putting on this event year after year. A pipeline is needed. I was a Lions Club member. They rotated the offices so everyone was expected to take a turn. If one of the prior Quartermasters was willing to assist a new one, that might be helpful. And the group should be open to new ideas and formats that a new Quartermaster in training ( new title) wanted to use. A supportive system and environment would encourage new people. We've seen many suggested itineraries in this thread. The interest is there.
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Richard aka Mr. McCardle aka @@UCVRelics has organized previous events and he assisted @@NH Civil War Gal He wasn't able to be there for the actual event, but she has explained how valuable his help was. Others from his event teams @@redbob @@Ole Miss @@16thAL @@MS2623 might also be willing to help a new organizer learn the ropes in planning an event. You already know what a great job @@NH Civil War Gal did at Antietam and she would be an extremely valuable resource to a new muster event team. @@bdtex and @@War Horse put on fantastic events too and they might be willing to help. Between new responsibilities at work, existing commitments, researching, writing, etc. I will likely not even be able to be a participant and certainly wouldn't be of much use to anyone planning an event.
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I am going to add my two cents in here. I am going to offend some people.
I am new to musters with CWT but not with the Civil War musters in general.
What I am reading and seeing in the previous chats are some great thoughts and ideas for musters. But I am also seeing the bad.
All musters have hiccups. It's going to happen. You can't make everyone happy. I attended Gettysburg Discussion Group Musters, Military History Online musters over the last, OM Gosh 25 years. They all did things differently, and each muster was different. (They usually charged a fee upfront to offset the guides, dinner venue or Rangers that would not do things for free.) GDG musters we had a hot dog dinner at the GAR hall in Gettysburg, every year. Which included Ed Bearss, every year. MHO, we went to the Dobbin house, every year. For their tours Guides, Park Rangers and message board members led the tours. MHO was always Troy Harman leading on Friday's, Tim Smith and Garry Adelman doing the first tour on Saturday.
They all died the same way though. Infighting and egos. (I missed the Winds of Valor tours from over 25 years ago, they died because of the leader. I don't know the facts, but I know the rumors. I won't share them here.) Unfortunately, I see this happening here too.
The Valley last fall was amazing. The whole "War Room" thing was a new concept to me. I enjoyed it. Neat ideas for a place to meet and hang out to unwind after a long day. I thought it could have been used more than what it was, but as it was new to me, I enjoyed the whole idea of a war room. I really look forward to doing this type of event again. It brought back a lot of memories to me from those musters over the past 25 years I attended and supported in various ways. I probably would not be a guide here at Gettysburg if it wasn't for Military History Online. And there are many here in CWT that want to be guides, work in the Park Service and will be amazing guides/Rangers in the future. (3 off the top of my head @@rpkennedy, @@Stryker65, @@BlazingSaddles)
Bottom line, for me is, if someone walks away learning or experiencing something new, that is worth continuing what ya'll have been doing over the years.
We, here at CWT, have an opportunity to continue to educate and inspire people to learn more about history. Don't let it die!!!
Case and point, we had two people follow us when we walked the Third Winchester field this fall. They only stuck around for the first three stops, but they got a taste of what we do. Maybe we inspired them, maybe we didn't. I would like to think they learned something in those 45 or so minutes that they would not have gotten reading a wayside on a trail.
I will help where I can. Unfortunately, unless it is near Gettysburg, I can't be a full time QM and I definitely don't have the bank account anymore to fund things, since I retired.
Again, my 2 cents.
Response
When I get home I will summarize this information in a new thread. That way there will be an instruction manual, so to speak, that could be found again to help a new quartermaster.
Thanks to everyone for speaking honestly and getting some issues in the table. If someone steps up, please support them or offer to be part of a team.
I think I started this thread with the attitude of "when is something going to be done?" . This exchange of information has educated me. We all need to step up and do what we want done.
Thanks again to everyone that has been part of presenting the muster. I wish I had been here for all the great times. The last three were unforgettable.
If you are planning a trip invite some CWT folks along and get your feet wet by starting small. If you join someone's mini muster ask how you can help. If something doesn't work talk about it and make it better. If you didn't offer to help don't criticize.
Thanks friends. Let's find a way forward together and keep history alive!
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I couldn't agree more. There is no size that is to small. Between the scholars, authors, guides and most important of all. The genuinely nice people who are members here and are always starving for information. This site has everything needed to organize an amazing muster each and every time. All you have to do is Suggest, Ask, Accept. Suggest a proposed muster in the appropriate forum. Ask who would be willing to attend, ask for help, Accept suggestions, accept input and accept help. Have a thick skin
Actually the 2nd muster was the retreat from Gettysburg muster and we did have a contracted motor coach. The event was a success but I had to sign a contract and put a deposit down. I certainly didn't want to forfeit my deposit and had no choice other than to have faith and move forward. I'm not sure I would suggest this route to anyone. There is significant financial risk involved. I was very lucky.
If a block of rooms are rented or a meeting room is desired the organizer must take financial responsibility with the hotel. This and the goodie bags and refreshments to be provided on the road are some of the costs to the organizers. The question has arisen if these costs should be shared.
An alternative to the Muster is the Mini Muster, a shorter and less formal version, announced much closer to the time of travel. The Musters also frequently include side trips before and after, hosted by other people, to sights that did not fit into the itinerary but are nearby.
Moving forward, the Muster could continue as in the past if volunteer staffing could be found and costs might be shared, or Mini Musters could be held. Or informal gatherings could replace the Muster. Or travel could be on ones own and reported in enthusiastic posts with great photos on CWT.
@War Horse organized the very first CWT muster event at Gettysburg in 2016 and laid the foundation. It started on Friday evening and ended on Sunday at noon. It was a big crowd 60+ attendees. Everyone who attended was expected to provide a battlefield vignette or battle walk on Saturday or Sunday. I didn't know enough or feel confident back then to do one, so I got @@pmuskett to do Barksdale's brigade in my place. Two things were scheduled to happen at the same time and you had to choose. The 2016 muster was a "free" event - participants were responsible for getting there, hotel, meals, etc. but there was no fee for participating in the battlefield walks and presentations --- because everyone gave one. Participants were at several different hotels. There was no transportation and no "war room." There was a book signing and meet/greet Friday evening at the museum. There was a member dinner on Saturday night - dutch treat. And there were goodie bags with schedules and nametags waiting at the hotel desk for participants, generously funded by the event team.
2017 @@War Horse also set up the 2017 muster. It was also at Gettysburg but focused on the retreat. It was a bus tour with pre-paid motor coach and guide fees. It was very different from the first one and entirely different from what the muster has evolved into. Edit: I didn't participate so don't know much more about it.
2018 @@bdtex headed up the 2018 one at Chickamauga. It was more like the first but with a smaller crowd and a small event team. It started on Friday morning and ended on Sunday noon. It was the first event that included a "war room" and it was a good thing. It rained Friday morning - like cats and dogs. So the war room came in handy. Only a couple of attendees volunteered to provide vignettes or battlefield interpretation. @@uaskme did all of Sunday morning. James N. did most of all day Friday. As soon as we realized we didn't have enough participant volunteers, I begged @@Norman Dasinger Jr to do Saturday on the battlefield all day for us. (It's good to have knowledgeable, experienced guides as friends.) @@UCVRelics provided dug bullets for the goodie bags and made a nice display he gave to the hotel manager. He also brought his cannon and set it up in the lobby. @@bdtex made the arrangements without a pre-event scouting trip. I did the roster, nametags, stuffed the goodie bags, and made copies of maps, schedule, handouts, etc. We provided drinks, water, sodas, etc. I carried the cooler and snacks around in my car so nobody got thirsty. The host hotel was a Hampton and the restaurant where we had the member dinner was across the parking lot. There was no door prize drawing. Other than a lot of voluntary enthusiastic carpooling, we did not provide transportation and it was a no fee event.
2019 @@UCVRelics organized the 2019 one at Vicksburg. I wasn't able to attend that one so don't know much about it. I do know that it was ucv's first muster and the first event that @@rebel brit provided an event-specific resin sculpture refrigerator magnet for the goodie bags. I've been to other events @@UCVRelics organized and I imagine it was organized and run much the same as other ones he has done. A larger event team, pre-event scouting trips to make arrangements, a Hampton hotel with a war room as the host location, and snacks, drinks, etc provided by the generosity of the event team. I believe I made the nametags and sent them to him for that event? Or one of them. It was a no fee event. ucv can speak to how the battlefield interpretation was provided - I wasn't there so I don't know. I also do not know if there was a door prize drawing.
2020 @@UCVRelics organized the 2020 one at Shiloh. It was in the middle of the COVID pandemic. The event was supposed to be in the East at Antietam per the rotation. But everything around Antietam was shutdown and everything in Corinth and Shiloh wasn't, so the switch was made. It was a wonderful event and good to be able to get out and go somewhere. It was a Friday evening to Sunday noon event. Friday evening @@16thAL and @@MS2623 hosted a picnic dinner at a nearby State Park with cornbread and all kinds of Southern Food they cooked themselves! Delicious and so much fun to hang out with everyone in that atmosphere. Saturday morning on the battlefield, we stopped first to pick up our guide Larry DeBerry. ucv knows him well and he recruited him to guide for us all day. There was good member participation providing interpretation on that one. A lot of members did vignettes and they were all very good. The host hotel was a Hampton with a war room. The event team generously provided snacks, drinks, nametags, and goodie bags including an event specific refrigerator magnet by @@rebel brit We never had to worry about where we could get something to drink or eat because @@redbob carried the cooler with the drinks around in his truck. Lunch was at Hagy's catfish hotel I believe - which is an experience you don't want to miss if you are at Shiloh. Or the event team may have had box lunches brought in? I actually don't remember. There was a member dinner on Saturday night at a local place with great food. There was a door prize drawing at the dinner. No transportation was provided other than voluntary carpooling and it was a no fee event. Edit: I don't know how I forgot to mention the live range shooting! It was a highlight! The event team made all the arrangements including firearms and cannon, ammo, powder, range master, EMS, etc. and footed the bill. Everyone got to shoot a period CW firearm and fire the cannon. It was a fantastic experience!!!
2021 @@NH Civil War Gal organized the 2021 one at Antietam. You were there and know what a fabulous job she did! She has already detailed the related costs of pre-event scouting trips, goodie bags, contents, snacks, drinks, guide, etc. Box lunches were pre-ordered and delivered - paid for by attendees but arranged and ordered by the event team. That is another financial risk for the event team. If people order them and then don't come, they still have to be paid for. Several people volunteered to do vignettes at the National Cemetery, but I think I was the only one who offered to do something on the battlefield Saturday? @@Stone in the wall may have also volunteered. You can't go to a battlefield without having someone tell about what was happening at all the places - not just two. Well I guess you could, but what would be the point? So Tina arranged for Battlefield interp on Saturday to be provided by a paid guide but no cost to participants. The host hotel was a wonderful Hampton with a war room. She has already detailed how it was provided - based on minimum room reservations - or else she would have had to pay for it. The event team provided snacks, drinks, nametags, schedule, handouts, and goodie bags including an event specific refrigerator magnet by @@rebel brit There was a fun and unforgettable member dinner on Saturday night and a door prize drawing at the dinner. No transportation was provided other than voluntary carpooling; and it was a no fee event.
2022 @@UCVRelics organized the 2022 one at Stones River/Franklin. It was to the same standard as the Shiloh event except he went above and beyond by providing dinner on Saturday night at his own expense -- plus everything else. I know he made at least two pre-event scouting trips to make the arrangements. It was the first event where I recall paying on arrival for box lunch, house tours, and guide fees. I think the total was about $50 per person but it could have been more or less. It was whatever the costs for those things was going to be, just collected on arrival. When you paid they checked your name off the list and gave you your goodie bag. I thought it was a good model to follow so we used the same collection process at check in in 2023. Some participants volunteered to give interpretative vignettes and the NPS folks provided some interp on Saturday. Sunday was paid guide and a house tour. The host hotel was a Hampton property. I'm assuming the war room was free dependent upon enough rooms booked but I don't know that. ucv may have used his powers of persuasion. The event team provided snacks, drinks, nametags, and goodie bags including an event specific refrigerator magnet by @@rebel brit I wasn't on the event team, but brought a box of Girl Scout cookies to go in everyone's goodie bag. The member dinner on Saturday night was complements of Ucv (free to participants) and there was a door prize drawing at the dinner that included that fantastic diorama made by @@rebel brit Transportation was not provided other than enthusiastic voluntary carpooling; it was a no fee event (except for paying on arrival for those specific costs collected in advance.)
2023 Our team organized the 2023 one in the Valley. I know more about it than the others so this will be longer. We did some things different than previous events. The event team made two pre-event visits to the valley to make arrangements, see the hotel, gauge distance between locations, and pre-run potential side trip routes. The host hotel was a Hampton but their group reservations person is overseas. The minimum room reservation requirement was the only way we had to avoid paying out of pocket for the war room. There was no negotiating with the lady in India. Luckily, we made the minimum so the team didn't have to pay for the war room. A request was made for a vehicle for battlefield transportation for persons with disabilities. It was the first time anyone had asked for that and we were of course, happy to do it. In the end, it wound up being unnecessary but we had already made the arrangements and incurred the costs. We collected items for the door prize drawing and chose to do it at lunch on Saturday in the Belle Grove barn where we had lunch - instead of at the member dinner. We had participants who lived nearby and weren't joining us for the dinner and wanted them to be included. Member dinner was still Saturday night and enjoyable as always. Goodie bags, contents, copies (schedule, handouts), name tags, etc. Bdtex generously provided the lanyards -- as he always does. Participants were asked to bring items to stock the war room and drinks for the cooler. It was the first time we have asked people to do that and there was a ton of snacks and drinks to be shared including homemade goodies. It also reduced the financial burden on the event team. We did 3 days (instead of 2) of pre-event side trips led by members. @@pmuskett showed us around at Gburg on Tues; gjpratt led side trips on Wed/Th before the event kicked off Thur night. The Thur night Show & Tell was another first. That was GREAT! A bunch of folks shared stories, relics, collections, and so forth. It was a great way to get to know each other and so much fun! I'd encourage others to include it if they have availability of a war room. Tours started bright and early Friday morning and ended at noon Sunday. Interp was provided by a combination of people - Stonewall Hdqtrs museum staff, participants, Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, NPS, volunteer guides, staff at Belle Grove, etc. SVBF also hosted the wine and cheese reception/ private after-hours tour of the museum on Friday night. As mentioned above, we copied ucv's method of collecting pre-paid fees at check in --box lunch and Stonewall Hdqtrs museum fee $20 per person. Other than those direct costs collected at check-in, it was a no fee event. There was no official transportation, but again, there was enthusiastic carpooling. Edit: With the serious illness and death of my mother happening in the Spring, I neglected to even think about asking rebel brit if he would provide event specific magnets. After her death, funeral, memorial, etc. when I did think to ask, it was too late. @@BlazingSaddles designed an absolutely beautiful custom cast commemorative event-specific medallion to be provide to participants. @@Diane123 funded those as well as fitted cases with a magnet on back in case anyone might be disappointed at not receiving a magnet. It was extremely generous of her and I am not sure participants were even aware that she funded them.
As you can see, there are as many ways to do a muster event as there are ideas of how it "should be" or has "always been." If you look back, it really hasn't always been done any particular way. CWT musters have morphed and changed over time. And there's no reason why an event team couldn't do it an entirely new way. I'm sorry this is so long and I hope it is what you were hoping to get as a reply. Most of all, I hope it is helpful information.
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So to summarize, if a person stepped up to be the quartermaster, they would have flexibility with the format including location, activities, and host hotel if any. And they could charge a pre event fee to cover some of the costs. It would still be pay as you go for participants. Someone thinking about this might want to try hosting a mini muster and see how it goes and if they enjoy hosting .Thoughts?
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We just need to be mindful of the financial burden the muster team has already assumed - and the financial risks - way before the event even starts. Exploring reasonable ways of easing that burden, makes it easier to be a QM. Knowing that people will actually make their reservations at the host hotel so the war room is free is an excellent first step. Stocking the war room, bringing items for the goodie bags, donating items to the door prize drawing (if there is one), paying for the guides' meals, volunteering to do some interp.... If events are to remain low/no fee, it seems there should be a reasonable expectation that every participant will make an investment.
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Well I'm not a sales person. I'm rather plain spoken, probably too much so. But I think we have the facts and the structure of a potential muster. The goodie bags, while very nice, could be eliminated to cut costs, or if it just wasn't the organizer's thing. Keep it simple. No buses. :}
Many proposed itineraries have been presented. Give some thought to how you would do it if you were the quartermaster. Start a new thread and ask for input if you want. But I think the quartermaster has to be a decision maker. They also need to be able to recruit some help. And not be afraid to make a tradition of asking for a prepayment up front.
I think keeping to the weekend format is a good idea for someone starting out, and to keep costs under control for everyone. A less expensive area such as Petersburg or Perryville might be a good place for a new quartermaster to try out. We love cemeteries and battlefield parks and that's what makes this hobby affordable.
I'm glad we were able to have some open discussion and clarification. We all agree we love the muster. Let's find a way to keep it happening and be supportive financially and in your hearts to the team that makes it happen, when and however it does.
Thanks for your kind attention to this thread.
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It's the QM's going the extra step. The Douglas Bast Museum is an example. He died just the year before of 2021 and the place was closed and reorganizing. I tried to make contact but couldn't get through to anyone. Clark and I actually drove there and looked around in Boonesborough and someone was coming out of the house/museum where he had lived. We talked to her and found out she was a member of the board of directors and the were trying to bring the place back to life. We told her what we were doing and she instantly bought into it and arranged a once in a lifetime private showing of not only the museum part, but the vast barn/garage, back lots, everything of what Douglas Bast collected. More cannon tubes than you can guess, the box that supposedly held the body of Gen. Reno, and everything in between. But nothing had been archived or catalogued. They are working on that now with professionals. But it was an amazing afternoon!
That's why you need boots on the ground scooping out stuff, several times, before you nail down your schedule. This was a Providential meeting and something Clark and I could add to the schedule and knock something else off.
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Now that I think more about that, CWT musters have provided access to a whole lot of little-known and/or typically inaccessible resources.
For example, at Chickamauga, @UCVRelics brought his cannon and we had a professional (but complimentary) battlefield guide. At Shiloh, the team gave us CW period firearms range shooting and Larry DeBerry to guide. At Antietam, Tina and Clark arranged a jam up all day pre-event side trip of South Mountain, the Bast Museum, and a professional (but complimentary to participants) battlefield guide. At Stones River and Franklin, @UCVRelics provided an entire complimentary member dinner (!) and the comprehensive guided experience for Franklin. Last year, LBG Phillip Musket volunteered to lead a jam up no-cost pre-event side trip at Gettysburg. The team arranged guided experiences at all the SV battlefields - a combination of NPS, SVBF, professional (but complimentary) guides, and volunteers. And arranged access to resources that are typically inaccessible like the Belle Grove barn, after hours museum tour, and the Miller House.
Access to little-known/inaccessible resources seems to have become a signature for CWT musters. An "unofficial standard." Like goodie bags for participants. If @War Horse hadn't provided goodie bags at the 2016 event, I'm not sure organizers would have ever considered them necessary. Once you establish an unofficial standard or benchmark, it becomes difficult for an organizer to discontinue it.
No organizer wants to be privately (or publicly) critiqued for their choices, acts, or omissions. Even if it's just because they decided to hire a guide OR not have a door prize drawing. And they certainly don't want the participants to be disappointed. Even if it's just because people didn't get a goodie bag. Who needs a goodie bag anyway? Seriously, if you need a chapstick or a Slim Jim, you probably brought it with you.
I guess what I am saying is this: Maybe we (all of us - participants, organizers, teams, and expectations) have created a monster? --- made these events overwhelming (and expensive) for organizers and way more difficult than they have to be? Maybe the "unofficial standard" has been elevated too high for a no-fee experience? Perhaps no volunteer muster organizer can reasonably be expected to deliver on this "unofficial standard"? Perhaps no one is willing to subject themselves to the potential criticism that might come if they decide to dispense with something that has become "standard"? And the result is reluctance of organizers to step forward.
Edit to add: The primary deterrents for me are high expectations based on unofficial standards and the financial risk/commitment. The animosity is just uncalled for and frankly annoying. That behavior likely contributes to the reluctance of new organizers to assume the duties of QM.
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In all honesty the goodie bags were a necessity in my mind for the first muster for several reasons.
1. I wanted everyone to wear identical name badges. The goal was to get as many members in Gettysburg as possible. Since I knew not everyone would attend all events or even any of the battlefield events, I wanted site members to be able to identify one another in passing. Even in the streets of Gettysburg. @MRB1863 and I thought it would be nice if the name tags included both the individuals screen name as well as their real name.
@MRB1863 was kind enough to print them.
2. I reserved a block of rooms at the 1863 Inn of Gettysburg. Because site members made it clear that they planned to use their honors points and stay at hotels of their own choosing and to arrive on different dates. We had people coming in for all three days, some for two days and others for a just one. It became necessary to get the name tags in their hands one way or another. The attendance spreadsheet included the hotel the individual(s) elected to stay at and It seemed easy to leave them at the front desk to be given to the member at time of check-in regardless when they were arriving. For those only coming in for the day we setup a table at the book signing where their welcome bag would be displayed for them to pickup.
3. Because the itinerary keep growing and in some cases there were more than one event taking place at the same time I felt it was important for the welcome package to include a hard copy of the finalized itinerary. So many members with a tremendous amount of knowledge stepped up and volunteered to host events. There were so many I can't thank them all.
4. Because it was an attend all events or attend only what you like it was important this information was easily available to all.
5. Since we were attempting to get everyone on the spreadsheet a name tag and Itinerary we decided to stuff the bag with Gettysburg attraction information just to help the first time visitors have information on different attractions. All totaled I think there were 8 different hotels to drop the bags off to. I have to give a shoutout to @Rebforever. Marshal was kind enough to accompany me while we distributed the bags.
Since the 2016 event the planning has evolved and gotten a lot better. I'm sure there is no longer a need for the greeting bags. The war room is ideal for passing out things like name tags etc.
There you have it. The reason for the original gift bags that haunt the musters to this day
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Thanks to all the Quartermasters who have shared their experiences.
I've only been to the Winchester muster but I thought @lelliott19 & team did a great job. The support of SVBF was wonderful. I hope that working with the NPS and/or local nonprofit historical groups (when practical) will be a feature of musters in the future as it not only brings in local experts and connects them to a receptive audience (mutually beneficial).
While I hope the bigger weekend musters return (even if there's a year without one), I think unofficial mini-musters are also a good thing to encourage as well. And as Kathy or someone else said upthread, they can be a stepping stone to organizing a larger event. They might also draw some locals that can't travel farther away to a full muster.
As those who heard me talk about my post-muster travels know, my vacations tend to be mobile; in two weeks I only stayed two nights in the same hotel/motel twice (and once was for the muster). That's why I'm open to the possibility of mobile musters, following a campaign or stringing together related battlefields. I certainly see the benefits of staying at a single hotel for the weekend, and it works great for a number of locations, especially the larger battles, but also limits the options.
A cautionary tale: the one (non-work) annual event I was ever on the team ran for ten years. I attended starting in year five and joined the team the following year. It started as a small event organized by a few dedicated members of the community hobby. It grew organically. The event lead was different each year, and the team was about half returning members and half new members. It seemed to allow a good mix of fresh ideas and continuity. A few years after I joined, word got out that the latest chair had some ideas that would be more of a departure from the norm. Even though the broad strokes would have been unchanged (same date, same location, same general concept) when a prominent member of the hobby and regular attendee found out, they raised hell. "Nobody will attend if you do that!" Boycotting and badmouthing of the event was threatened by this one irate individual...who wasn't even on the event team and never had been. But they were chummy with one of the event founders still on the team, whom they complained to. The founder freaked out and got into an argument with the chair about their plans; the chair quit. After that the founder steadily became more of a control freak about the event, which turned off people from helping with the team, which put more workload on the founder until they burned out and ended the event. Worst part is, I think the idea the controversial chair had was a good one, as long as they had been flexible with it. Unfortunately, a lot of rigid thinking about how things had to sunk a good thing. SOPs became corporate policy.
South Florida is just too far away for me to ever organize a muster. Maybe whenever I finally move out of Florida, but I don't expect that will be for another decade. Maybe a mini-muster in Jacksonville.
I think important points may have been missed in my previous posts so I will try providing a summary in a more organized fashion.
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WE'VE ALWAYS DONE...
I elaborated on how these events have morphed over time. @War Horse shared details of the original CWT muster. There is nothing that has always been done - except a nametag, a planned itinerary, a dutch treat group dinner, lots of good camaraderie, and a basic goodie bag with list of participants, tourist resources, and snacks. That's it. Those are the only things that have always been done.
EXPECTATIONS
We are eliminating people who might be fantastic organizers. Pressure on a volunteer QM to provide a long list of items (just because one or more previous organizers did) is a serious deterrent to volunteering.
FINANCIAL COMMITMENT
Someone who may be great at event planning and have access to fabulous resources for scheduling a bang-up itinerary may not have the financial resources for all the things. They may not be able to assume the financial risk of potentially having to pay out of pocket for a war room. Or to buy stuff for goodie bags or even the empty bags. Or the blanks and sleeves for nametags. Everyone doesn't know someone who is a master sculptor or have the financial means to design and purchase another event-specific goodie for each participant. Everyone doesn't know people to donate items for a door prize drawing and may not have financial means to purchase them. Even if they could round up enough items so that everybody can "win" something, they may be flying in or not want to haul a car full of stuff across the country.
IMPORTANT TO YOU
Even though one or more of these things may be really important to you, others may not care about a door prize, a goodie bag, a war room, or even a nametag. If another organizer steps up and any of these things are that important to you, you could offer to assume responsibility for that aspect --- and provide it at your own expense. Or if they choose to eliminate it, you could just choose not to attend.
CONCLUSION
Expecting a volunteer muster organizer to pay out of pocket to do all these things (just because we have always done it when we actually haven't) is what is deterring willing volunteers from stepping up to serve as muster organizers. Especially new people.
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Thanks Laura. This is a great breakdown. The prior posts focused on the fun- which is important. But behind the fun is a team effort (the optimal situation) and hours of research and planning. What about mentoring? The Muster event seems to be at a crossroads. Prior volunteers are not available to continue for various reasons, and no one should be expected to keep putting on this event year after year. A pipeline is needed. I was a Lions Club member. They rotated the offices so everyone was expected to take a turn. If one of the prior Quartermasters was willing to assist a new one, that might be helpful. And the group should be open to new ideas and formats that a new Quartermaster in training ( new title) wanted to use. A supportive system and environment would encourage new people. We've seen many suggested itineraries in this thread. The interest is there.
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Richard aka Mr. McCardle aka @@UCVRelics has organized previous events and he assisted @@NH Civil War Gal He wasn't able to be there for the actual event, but she has explained how valuable his help was. Others from his event teams @@redbob @@Ole Miss @@16thAL @@MS2623 might also be willing to help a new organizer learn the ropes in planning an event. You already know what a great job @@NH Civil War Gal did at Antietam and she would be an extremely valuable resource to a new muster event team. @@bdtex and @@War Horse put on fantastic events too and they might be willing to help. Between new responsibilities at work, existing commitments, researching, writing, etc. I will likely not even be able to be a participant and certainly wouldn't be of much use to anyone planning an event.
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I am going to add my two cents in here. I am going to offend some people.
I am new to musters with CWT but not with the Civil War musters in general.
What I am reading and seeing in the previous chats are some great thoughts and ideas for musters. But I am also seeing the bad.
All musters have hiccups. It's going to happen. You can't make everyone happy. I attended Gettysburg Discussion Group Musters, Military History Online musters over the last, OM Gosh 25 years. They all did things differently, and each muster was different. (They usually charged a fee upfront to offset the guides, dinner venue or Rangers that would not do things for free.) GDG musters we had a hot dog dinner at the GAR hall in Gettysburg, every year. Which included Ed Bearss, every year. MHO, we went to the Dobbin house, every year. For their tours Guides, Park Rangers and message board members led the tours. MHO was always Troy Harman leading on Friday's, Tim Smith and Garry Adelman doing the first tour on Saturday.
They all died the same way though. Infighting and egos. (I missed the Winds of Valor tours from over 25 years ago, they died because of the leader. I don't know the facts, but I know the rumors. I won't share them here.) Unfortunately, I see this happening here too.
The Valley last fall was amazing. The whole "War Room" thing was a new concept to me. I enjoyed it. Neat ideas for a place to meet and hang out to unwind after a long day. I thought it could have been used more than what it was, but as it was new to me, I enjoyed the whole idea of a war room. I really look forward to doing this type of event again. It brought back a lot of memories to me from those musters over the past 25 years I attended and supported in various ways. I probably would not be a guide here at Gettysburg if it wasn't for Military History Online. And there are many here in CWT that want to be guides, work in the Park Service and will be amazing guides/Rangers in the future. (3 off the top of my head @@rpkennedy, @@Stryker65, @@BlazingSaddles)
Bottom line, for me is, if someone walks away learning or experiencing something new, that is worth continuing what ya'll have been doing over the years.
We, here at CWT, have an opportunity to continue to educate and inspire people to learn more about history. Don't let it die!!!
Case and point, we had two people follow us when we walked the Third Winchester field this fall. They only stuck around for the first three stops, but they got a taste of what we do. Maybe we inspired them, maybe we didn't. I would like to think they learned something in those 45 or so minutes that they would not have gotten reading a wayside on a trail.
I will help where I can. Unfortunately, unless it is near Gettysburg, I can't be a full time QM and I definitely don't have the bank account anymore to fund things, since I retired.
Again, my 2 cents.
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When I get home I will summarize this information in a new thread. That way there will be an instruction manual, so to speak, that could be found again to help a new quartermaster.
Thanks to everyone for speaking honestly and getting some issues in the table. If someone steps up, please support them or offer to be part of a team.
I think I started this thread with the attitude of "when is something going to be done?" . This exchange of information has educated me. We all need to step up and do what we want done.
Thanks again to everyone that has been part of presenting the muster. I wish I had been here for all the great times. The last three were unforgettable.
If you are planning a trip invite some CWT folks along and get your feet wet by starting small. If you join someone's mini muster ask how you can help. If something doesn't work talk about it and make it better. If you didn't offer to help don't criticize.
Thanks friends. Let's find a way forward together and keep history alive!
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I couldn't agree more. There is no size that is to small. Between the scholars, authors, guides and most important of all. The genuinely nice people who are members here and are always starving for information. This site has everything needed to organize an amazing muster each and every time. All you have to do is Suggest, Ask, Accept. Suggest a proposed muster in the appropriate forum. Ask who would be willing to attend, ask for help, Accept suggestions, accept input and accept help. Have a thick skin
Actually the 2nd muster was the retreat from Gettysburg muster and we did have a contracted motor coach. The event was a success but I had to sign a contract and put a deposit down. I certainly didn't want to forfeit my deposit and had no choice other than to have faith and move forward. I'm not sure I would suggest this route to anyone. There is significant financial risk involved. I was very lucky.
Bringing the