[Gatesedge] Re: Pavillion

[Darlene Vandever]

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BlankHello Everybody,

Last night at populace, Iaen brought up the pavillion and the care it has or has not recieved in the past. Others spoke up to voice their observations and thoughts.   I would have put in my two cents last night but I had a terrific headache and so prefered to remain silent.

However, I believe I can add a bit to the knowledge of the group concerning the history of the pavillion.

First, I believe there is a misconception concerning the age of the pavillion.  It was purchased during the senechalate of Patrick of Kilkenny, early at the end of his first year of service.  Since then the senechalate's of Anna Marie, Signy, Myself, Stephan, and now Caitlin were part of that history.  Adding up these senechals,  Patrick as 1 year, Anna Marie 1 1/2, Signy (2), Myself (2), Stephen (1) and Caitlin (3 mo.), that puts the age of the pavillion at close to 8 years of use and not 5 as stated during the meeting last night.

As to that use, my impression is that some folks at the meeting last night may have the idea that the pavillion is only used once a year.  That has been true for several years here in the recent past, but in its first years of its life it was borrowed or asked for several times by Stargate for various events.  We have taken it to a number of Raven's Fort events and even have an award given in Sept. of 1995 when we entered their heraldic banner and pavillion contest.  I believe it has been also used up at the Ren Faire at least once.So it has been used a bit more than just 5 times, and not always by our own people.

Most of the damage and stains to the pavillion seems to have occured when it was stored at HL Ihon's garage for the better part of several years.  We were grateful for a place to keep it as at the time, no one in the canton had the means to store it, but HL Ihon was also blessed with a number of wild cats that called his garage home.  Several of them chose to use the canton canvas as their marking post.  Their signs stay with us today.

The first year or so of its life it stayed in Lord Patrick's garage, and since its leaving HL Ihon's garage, the canvas had resided in my house with the posts in my shed.  It was stored in my laundry room where my cats are not permitted to go.  It how resides in the shed outside which has a door that closes well.  My greatest concern is that it will become a home for the pine (red) roaches that seem to love that shed.

In my knowledge, I can remember at least 2 other times the canton got together to clean the canvas.  Both times were at Baron Talmon's.  It had stains and marks each time and those stains stayed with us despite our best efforts.  This last time, the canton came to my home to clean the canvas.  I can attest that it was cleaned more thouroughly this time than in any other time in its history. It was scrubbed with oxyclean and mops and brushes.  It was soaked overnight in a wading pool purchased for that purpose with 15 pounds of oxyclean in it.  It was sprayed with a bleach/water solution.  It was rinsed thoroughly.  This I know because of the increase in my water bill which came later that month.   We let it sit out in the sun for two days to make sure it was completely dry.  I want to give word fame to Bowen, Seren and Trion (sp?) as they came out 3 days in a row to work on the canvas and the last day Bowen and Seren (pregnant no less) singlehandedly took down, folded and put away the canvas and the poles.  I did not take it down but I can state that it looked cleaner than at any other time since it was bought even tho' you could still see stains.

I did not go underneath the pavillion at our event a couple weeks past but I do remember looking at it from a short distance and thinking that the cleaning had done a good job as it was very bright in the sunlight.  I do not doubt that there are still stains visible.  I remember fighting those dang stains several times in years past.

I also want to remind folks that for a significant part of the history of the canton, we were a *very* small group, consisting at times of 6 to 9 people with very limited resources, time, money and energy to take care of things as they should have been.  Right now, we are bigger in numbers and strength than we have ever been in terms of people who come to meetings, fighter practices etc.  Each time I come to populace I see faces that are unfamiliar and new and the numbers in the room are greater.  This is good.

 However, even with all these numbers of people, it took us two tries to get the canton to get together to inventory and clean up our stuff.  There were at least 25 people there last night.  There were more than 40 at the meeting the month before.  However, I recall 4 people (Gwyn, correct me if I'm wrong) at the first attempt to clean things up.  The second one faired much better with a total of 15 on the first day.  But even for the second turn out, many in the canton were unable or chose not to come and help.

Does the pavillion show wear?  I have no doubt it does. I have seen it with my own eyes.

 Could we as a group probably have taken better care of it?  Perhaps we could have but to tell you the truth, there were several years where we just did the best we could with what we had.  And for many years, that wasn't much.

 Should we resolve as a canton to increase our vigilance and care of our most expensive item?  I would heartily hope so.  But that will mean a lot more people wanting to work than has been shown even in the recent past.

I don't want people to think that those of us who have been in the canton for years or since the beginning have been unaware or uncaring where the pavillion is concerned.  I remember many sweaty hours dealing with it and the sun and the bleach and the hoses.  I don't want people to think that the stains are recent because they aren't.  Lastly, I don't want people to think that pavillion is nearly new because it isn't.

My two cents,

Annes
Dear God,  Help me to be the person
my dog thinks I am.  Amen


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