[MR] [Moo] From my blog: A long strange trip

[JL Badgley via Atlantia]

Thank you for posting.  It is good to hear our history from one who's seen
it.

Ii

PS: So what is a "stierbacher", I wonder?  A type of donut (Apple
cinnamon?), a venison Frankfurter?  Come on, we should have a signature
food.  ;)
On Jun 17, 2016 9:53 PM, "Dexter Guptill" <3fgburner at gmail.com> wrote:

> In the Society for Creative Anachronism, we're celebrating 50 years of the
> Society. The Kingdom of Atlantia, comprising Maryland, DC, Virginia, and
> the Carolinas, turne 35 years old last month.  Roughly the first half of
> August (and a day or two in July), will mark the 45th Pennsic War.
>
> For me, personally, this night is bigger.  Tomorrow is the Birthday
> Celebration of the Barony of Stierbach. Now, it's been a Barony for
> 20-something years.  As a group, starting as a Shire, Stierbach is, like
> Atlantia, thirty-five years old this month.
>
> Once upon a time, around 40 years ago, a group started in what was then
> the southern middle-of-nowhere in the East Kingdom. It was a college group,
> centered around UVA and called Isenfir. That was my introduction to the
> SCA.  In the Army, in Oklahoma, I endured an SCA-less dry spell of three
> years, until the Shire (now Barony) of Eldern Hills cranked up outside Ft
> Sill, Oklahoma.  Returning east, I was not going to suffer another dry
> spell. I became an actual SCA member, and started reading my newsletters as
> they came in.
>
> I remembered sneaky tricks of group founders. Started a D&D game in the
> basement that my parents rented to me while I was back in school on the
> GI bill. Got them interested in my, admittedly, crude armor. Soon, I told
> them about this group I belonged to.
>
> I actually brought my newbies first to Markland. Got them hooked on
> fighting there, because Markland swords didn't hurt that much.  Then, in
> February, took 'em to Ice Axe in Yarnvid. They were hooked. In April, I met
> this Knight, Sir Strykar. He went out of his way to be casual, and not
> trigger White Belt Phobia.  He introduced me to Sir Kenneqrae of Gilchrest,
> who lived in what we'd started calling "our" turf.  These two Knights, and
> their households, did us the huge service of serving as multi-godparents to
> the fledgling Shire.
>
> This brings us to the meaning of this weekend's Birthday.  Thirty five
> years ago, the not-yet-even-incipient Shire of Stierbach held its first
> event.  It was at a campground in the middle of nowhere, out past Front
> Royal. It rained cats and dogs.  The feast hall was a couple of tarps, over
> a couple of picnic tables. The feast itself, was a bucket of Bambi stew, a
> heap of bread and cheese, and a keg of beer. Things were different in those
> ancient days.
>
> This was the first of our signature melee tourneys. The King of the East,
> Siegfried, came down. He brought along sundry notables of the East.  His
> Royal Highness, Bertrand de Flammepoing, came up from Caer Mear.  Despite
> the rain, everybody had a freakin' blast.  Bertrand, in fact, had so much
> fun that he invited us to host his Coronation feast.
>
> In September, my brother roasted beef for 200 in the ovens at the Manassas
> National Guard Armory.  I, meanwhile, cooked a hundred Cornish game hens
> over a charcoal-filled trench in my parents' back yard.  There was a
> tournament.  The feast was well received, and the Shire was recognized as
> being a going concern.
>
> Most of the ancients are long gone -- moved on, moved out-Kingdom,
> gafiated, some passed away. One of Sir Kenneqrae's Squires, Viscount Sir
> Richard of Gilchrest, has returned to the Barony, with his household.
> Scattered around Atlantia, are former Stierbachers, gone on to serve other
> branches.
>
> Stierbach taught me what it meant to Do the Job.  I was a pretty good
> Exchequer. Seneschal, meh. That's despite having been the first, third,
> fifth, and (for a week or two) seventh Seneschal. I was, for a brief time,
> a Herald. The warrant I still hold, from those days, is Marshall -- since,
> if I remember right, around 1985-ish. Of course, I've also been a
> Chirurgeon (formerly warranted, now a Master Chirurgeon in the Guild) for
> 17 years now.  It was this group, that taught me how to be more than just a
> beer-guzzling stick jock.
>
> I've seen drama in this group. Before learning better, I've contributed to
> it.  I've seen the group have its ups and downs, and I've seen it saved by
> some extremely wonderful people.  I've seen it grow to the mighty Barony
> which it is now, with each set of Baronage striving to build the Barony
> higher than the last.
>
> Our Fighters are some of Atlantia's mightiest. Our archers are the bane of
> the foes' existence.  Our cooks, crafters, artisans, and bars are the equal
> of any in Atlantia, or any other Kingdom. It is my honor, my joy, and my
> privilege to proclaim, "Ich bin ein Stierbacher!"
>
> I love this place.
>
> Lord Erich von Kleinfeld,
> Perpetrator of Stierbach
> Mka
> --
> Dex
> http://www.3fgburner.net
>
> "Maxim 37: There is no overkill. There is only 'Open Fire', and 'I need to
> reload'. " http://www.schlockmercenary.com
>
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>
>