Cedar Creek Thoughts?

[Helena]

Ok it took me some time to finally read this thread.  I'm really new to all this and have been only doing living history with the wonderful people at Bushong Farm in New Market Battlefield State Historic Park (NMBSHP) since this past June.  My first ever CW reenactment we ever attended (after living in Va for almost 20 years) was only last year at Cedar Creek.  And the bug hit so hard we couldn't wait to get started.  Luckily for us, we found a welcoming family at NMBSHP, right in our "backyard"!  We live in Shenandoah County (Fort Valley) and it is pretty much equi-distant to Cedar Creek and New Market.  It really is too bad that there is only living history done there once a year.  If they got Heater house up and running, so much more could happen year round like in New Market.  The kids  have a wonderful experience and a great time.  I find it so important that any event during the school week, is enough for me to declare it a personal "field trip" day.  And off they go to their "other" school!

So back to Cedar Creek... We will be going on Sat and possibly Sunday for Mass.  We are coming as spectators since I believe we are just not ready to take the plunge by ourselves onto the bigger stage of this kind of event.  So I will definitely come by.  I have 4 kids (one doesn't participate- 13 yr boy)but my 16 yr old daughter, 10 and 9 yr old sons do and they love it. 

I'm glad you have spearheaded the civilian side of this.  You have another local supporter here.

Helena

[Vivian Harrington]

  Anyone coming to Cedar Creek - please stop by our photography studio and say hello! Todd and I will be set up doing wet plate photography Friday, Sat and Sunday.....Todd willl also be doing a photography demonstration daily at noon outside Belle Grove Plantation.

I love events close to home....get to sleep inside in my own bed!

[Stephanie Brennan]

     Unfortunately Cedar Creek will be very wet and cold this year. My family and I will have to make adjustments so I apologize for any inconvenience. My dh is the general for the Union side ,with the weather being as miserable as it could be, he will have to make changes.  This includes the use of our larger tents. With this in mind and the kids working through sore throats and sickness, we will now be day tripping for Saturday and possibly Sunday. I would still like to get everyone  together for Saturday as before but we will now be meeting at the Union headquarters.                                                 I'm so sorry and Thank you-   Stephanie

[Helena]

We have a saying in spanish: " Hombre propone y Dios dispone."  In english you probably have a similar saying but I can't think of the correct phrase right now.  It means : Man proposes ( a plan ) and God implements (His Plan) !!  So for what its worth, all your efforts and ideas were great! but as a mom we all know plans can change in an instant.  Bad weather and fairly sick kids is a bad combination.  We are still coming as spectators this year but next year may be a different story.  Let's keep in touch because I'll be better prepared to add another family to the living history section at Cedar Creek... that is if one of my 4 don't come down with something at the last minute ! 

Hope your kids feel better.

Helena

[Elaine Kessinger]

Stephanie-
If there is some way to work it all out and you would like to, I have a fairly spacious fly I could come put up today for the weekend (I'd offer the tent but the ridgepole is being repaired...) That way we could still have our own area without putting out Yankee HQ.  Let me know what you'd like to do.
-Elaine
(301) 302-4279

[Stephanie Brennan]

Thank You Elaine but I have already put out the word to other freinds. At the meeting time, the union troops should be out in the field for line up and preparing to go out to the field, so we should be okay            Stephanie

[Elaine Kessinger]

Okay, then. I'll find you there at some point on Sat. 
-Elaine

[Helena]

AHHH! 

I forgot where and when the meet time was and all I did was circle around the sutler area, watched the battle and went to the living history area.  It was cold, rainy and my dd began to complain of wet, cold feet...the Union camp was a bit out of the way for her by the afternoon.

I'm sorry I missed meeting you all there.  I'm really interested in participating in something next year.  Please keep in touch.

Helena

[rmassella]

Stephanie,

We had planned and were looking forward to participating in the many wonderful events you had planned, but the weather had other ideas.  Our youngest daughter Mollie (2 yrs old) was just getting over the croup from the previous week, so we thought that it would be more prudent for the girls and their mother to drop me off and continue on to Staunton to visit with their grandparents.  It was disappointing in that I had hoped to have the girls and my wife wear the clothes that I spent so much time making, but there will be other opportunities.  We continued to hope for the weather to clear, but unfortunately it was not in the plans so I enjoyed a cold, wet, windy weekend under my rain fly.  It was very nice to visit with Elaine Kessinger and I enjoyed talking to Mr. Mesher about all of the different types of children's toys.

Bob Massella   

[Stephanie Brennan]

Cedar Creek tuned out to be pretty yuck this year and I missed many faces but did manage to talk to several people by phone after I got back home.We were there approximately 6 hours on Saturday, by the time we left the temp was already in the mid 30's with icy rain. The kids were freezing ,their shoes could not keep up with the wet and cold. I did much better with my rubber overshoes and wool quilted petti.  But Cedar Creek is always questionable for weather. What can I say but we will try again next year.     
   Mr Massella- I'm sorry I know you worked very hard on the girl's clothes. As parents- we always do what is best for our children.                                    Stephanie