Summer is in Texas

And it is hot! Today was the second Texas Civil War Grange. Deborah, Kimberly and I attended. Even though it was just us three we had a good time. Cut out a shirt for the soldier's box and talked. We discussed the soldier box contents, our expectations for Henkel Square and what we want from our living history experiences. Came up with some great ideas for Henkel Square such as Henkel Square money, what to include in the general store and reconnecting with the group at Boonesfield Village with letters, etc.

We all want basically the same thing from our living history; we are not satisfied with, as Kimberly puts it "camping with a theme". We talked about how other living history organizations such as SCA work and would like to incorporate some of their features such as handiwork competitions within a bazaar scenario and their mentor and laurel system. We also wanted to use contacts with other groups such as the Boonesfield Village participants as a network since currently it is just us three wanting to do this. We are realistic; we know most in Texas will not be interested in something like this. We don't intend this to become something as big or as formal as the SCA--no officers, no dues--just an informal tool for others who feel as we do and want something more from Civil War living history than cooking, laundress, and sitting in camp sewing. We would like more of a challenge and a purpose to what we do.

So that was the second Grange. We have decided to cancel the August Grange because of the heat; even with the church air conditioning, staying over night in the houses would just be too miserable. Pictures of this Grange can be found on my website.