SC - Bizaare hobby-NOT!-OT

[LrdRas at aol.com]

In a message dated 5/19/00 6:59:59 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
CBlackwill at aol.com writes:

<< Aside from a few  here who probably have degrees in medieval history, 
aren't we all just a  bunch of yokels who share a pretty bizarre hobby? >>

No, most of us are not 'yokels'. Most of us are serious students of 
historical cookery. Most of us are professionals in one form or another. Most 
of us are extremely active in an organization which has the main focus on 
education and research. Most of us like to have a good time doing it. A good 
portion of us bend over backwards to disassociate the organization from D & D 
and other fantasy activities and have little understanding why anyone would 
think our hobby is any more 'bizarre' than any other hobby. Not a few of us 
put hundreds, if not thousands of dollars into both our hobby and the 
organization annually. Many of us have had our works displayed in libraries 
and museums. Many of us have published learned treatises on our various skill 
areas and some have contributed to university knowledge banks in a way that 
will be recognized for years to come. A yokel who is a party animal that 
thinks of the SCA as a bizarre hobby lasts about one event in our shire. 

 <<From an outsiders point of view, don't you think they might consider it 
the same as asking a group of Dungeons and Dragons players for a dissertation 
on life in medieval times?  >>

Not in my area. We have at least a dozen schools ranging from kindergarten to 
high school that, we do demos for every year. The James V. Brown Library has 
us do a series of weekly classes on medieval subjects annually. 

The Lewisburg Museum recently set up a room on medieval history where many of 
our shire members displayed accurate reproductions and authentic artifacts 
from the middle ages, including pottery, illumination and calligraphy, 
costume, weapons, etc. They also have us set up a medieval village in the 
park every year where folks can wander through and enjoy vistas of pavilions, 
calligraphy, firepit cookery, metelsmithing, embroidery, etc., including a 
complete setup of an herb garden. 

For several years we transformed an actual reproduction of a German medieval 
castle into a medieval castle for the day with archery, fighting, spinning 
weaving, weapons displays, animal husbandry and agriculture, cooking and 
eating, etc.

Once a month period dancing demos are performed at the Lycoming Mall with 
demos occurring there throughout the year and we have become the major 
consultants for a community medieval fair in Wellsboro, providing both 
technical and practical help. They in turn provide a madrigal group and 
background musicians for Will's Revenge.

Our entertainer's guild produces plays for a number of groups and churches 
throughout the year.

Perhaps there are groups within the SCA that are all fun and fantasy and D & 
D types, but that certainly is not the case in our shire by any stretch of 
the imagination. Our shire and it's members are a respected part of the 
community and in no way thought of as 'yokels' or bizarre.

There are other shires who do the same thing including Nithgarrd, Eisental, 
Silver Ryll, etc. Maybe it's just an Aethelmearc thing but most groups around 
here are serious and their communities take them seriously.

Off the soapbox.......

Ras