Clann Tartan in Hudson

[gmcdavid]

On Saturday, Sept. 10, mia_mcdavid and I were part of colgaffneyis camp at the Scottish Heritage Festival of the First Presbyterian Church in Hudson, Wisconsin. As with Fort William, we traveled lightly. Nobody who was going had a vehicle capable of hauling the organization's trailer, so we left it behind and much of its contents behind, taking only what we needed. Once again, this worked quite well. It was a very nice event, although we were once again rather short of Y chromosomes.

We began setup about 7:30 AM, and were finished well before the show opened at 10. Not having the tavern tent, the centerpiece of the camp was the kitchen. The layout of it was similar to that at Fort William. Trooper tents 1, 3, and 2 were lined up in a row. Trooper 3, in the middle, was rigged as a fly, open on both sides.








The Ensign was mounted on a Virginia (14') pike, which lashed to an upright of Trooper 1:



Trooper 4 was used for non-food storage, and marked the other side of the camp. It looked a little isolated. We should have had some more stuff there.


We did not bring the big nasty grate for the fire pit. The pot for our lunch soup just sat in the pit, while the tea kettle was place on a trivet. The pans for washing water were simply laid across the pit. This arrangement could be helped by deliberately makeing the fire pit narrower at one end than the other.


Rich had a good day with the mortar:


He also did a great job working with the children at our afternoon pike drill.
Packing list and logistical notes

(Based on the Staff meeting of September 1, notes by smuzikant, edited as seemed appropriate.)

1. Weaponry
   1. six kiddie pikes
   2. four ten-foot pikes
   3. pike rack
   4. one Virginia pike for ensign
   5. one set armor, for show
      
   6. one musket
   7. one mortar
   8. powder
   9. bandoliers
   10. match
   11. gun box
2. Canvas and Accoutrements
   1. troopers 1, 2, and 3, with poles, enough stakes, and enough rope (or just bring rope bag)
   2. Two extra tent uprights, to rig the middle trooper (3) as a fly. We should have brought four, because we made the fly open on both sides. As it was we had to use two kiddie pikes as substitute uprights.
   3. one more trooper [4] ditto, plus storm ropes and stakes
   4. extra rope for tying ensign pike to upright
3. Metal
   1. one axe
   2. shovel
   3. one stake box
   4. fire tool box. We removed some stuff we did not need from it and added the storm stakes and some tools from other tool box, which we left behind.
   5. stake hammer
   6. We should have brought a length of 3/8" steel rod and a hacksaw, in case any tent pins needed to be replaced. Fortunately, that did not happen at the event, though one did fall out on the way home.
4. Wood
   1. four folding tables
   2. six or seven benches
   3. fire and mortar buckets. We should have soaked in water these in advance. As it was they were dry and we could not used them until the wood was thoroughly wet.
   4. Stake mallet. The McDavids brought two more of these as well.
   5. We got firewood from the Church. That always must be done locally now.
   
   
5. Kitchen
   We had a cold breakfast. The main dish for lunch was a soup. Working this out in advance allowed us to plan our packing quite precisely.
   1. preparing and serving utensils
   2. trivet
   3. teakettles
   4. potje pot
   5. two or three tubs
   6. kitchen basket
   7. handwashing station
   8. two blue water cubes, to be kept in cooks tent
   9. first aid kit (normally travels with HCF)
   10. Two members brought their own canvas buckets.
   
   
6. 
   Transport
   
   Most loading was done the previous weekend. A few items were left for pickup later that week. The McDavids took the long stuff (ridge poles, Va. pike, 10' pikes) on the roof rack of their station wagon.