ADLOCVTIO
NEWSLETTER OF THE TWENTIETH LEGION
Vol. XVII, no. iii, March 2007
MARCHING THROUGH TIME
Richard Campbell is the Official Legio XX Contact
for Marching Through Time this year, so let him know if you will be
attending, richsc AT usa DOT net. April 14-15 is the date, and
Marietta Mansion is the place. Anyone who is lacking
equipment should sing out quickly, so that we can arrange for you to
borrow what you need.
Public hours are 11 AM to 5 PM both days, and
admission is $8 for adults and $3 for ages 4-18. The public
parking area is at the Glenn Dale Community Center just up the road
from Marietta, and shuttles will run continuously. The
participant parking area is at Holy Trinity School on Daisy Lane, off
Rt. 193 just north of the fire house. (From Bell Station Road at
Marietta, turn left on 193, go past the firehouse and turn right on
Daisy Lane.) The local Civil Air Patrol will be providing
security at the lot. The shuttles will run mainly Friday evening,
and Saturday and Sunday mornings and evenings. If you need the
shuttle during other times, tell one of the event coordinators or
security guards. Many participants park along the edge of 193,
and this is legal but very much "at your own risk". The
intersection of 193 and Bell Station Road is dangerous, and there have
been some spectacular collisions during the event! PLEASE be
careful!
There will (probably) be school groups visiting on
Friday during setup, so anyone who can get there is encouraged to come
(though it is certainly not required!). This will run from about
10 AM to 2 PM, and cars are not supposed to be in the camp area during
that time. Get there before 9:30, unload your vehicle, and move
it out.
Same basic deal on Saturday morning: cars should be
out of the camp area by 9:30 AM. Cars will not be permitted back
into the camp area until SUNDAY after 5 PM.
There will again be a barbecue dinner on Saturday
night for participants. The cost is $6 per person, and the money
is due in by April 7. So you MUST get your money to Richard
BEFORE then if you want to partake! Guesswork and "maybe"
won't do this year--pay him in advance or don't eat.
Hopefully there will be a new legionary or two,
otherwise I think we know the drill! The Legion is usually the
first to perform at 11 AM, so DO be there well before then to get ready
to march. Legio XXIV is planning to attend with their catapulta,
for a nice addition to our marching drill. And you already know
that Quintus and Cnaeus are going back a millennium or two to play in
the Bronze Age, this year! There will also be a couple Celts
between them and the Romans. I'm sure everyone will behave!
And have fun!
MTT FILMING, by Kris
Duffy
I wanted to be sure you had received the message from Susan at the
Marietta Mansion about our doing some filming at Marching Through Time
this April. This is for a TV project we're producing for the US Navy
and the Armed Forces Network. The project is called "Voices From
Home," and involves filming video messages and well-wishes for our
troops serving overseas. Those messages are then broadcast on the
Armed Forces Network for a period of about one year and are seen by
almost one million troops from all branches of the military.
Having been to Marching Through Time a few years ago, I had the idea to
film some "warriors of the past" sending messages to "today's
warriors." The Navy Project Manager really loved the idea, so I'm
looking to set that up with the various groups who will be there this
year.
If you’re interested in participating, here’s a bit of guidance.
- You can offer them words of encouragement, support, good luck, and a
safe return.
- You could offer them a salute that would be in keeping with salutes
given to warriors in your time period.
- You can compare warriors of your time to today’s warriors, if it’s
done briefly and in a positive way.
- The messages can be either serious or humorous.
- The messages should probably feature just one or two primary
spokespersons, with the rest of the group seen in the background.
-We’d also like to get one or two group "shout outs" that would be
appropriate for your time period. (One of these might be your "salute.")
What we DON’T want is:
- Lengthy history lessons about your time period
- Messages that give servicemembers "professional advice" on how to
wage war or do their jobs.
- Any political statements or statements that denigrate any particular
country or ethnic group.
Please don’t be negative toward any particular military branch, rank,
or military job. Good natured, "inter-camp ribbing" is okay, so long as
it doesn’t come across as harsh or spiteful. That being said, I
want to encourage you to be original, have fun with this, and be true
to your characters and time period. In terms of length, we’d like
to keep each statement to no longer than about 15 seconds.
We can film multiple segments with your group, so feel free to prepare
a few different things to say, if you’d like. We might combine these
into one single 30-second spot, or use them in a few different spots.
And keep in mind that we’ll have lots of videotape, so it’s no problem
to film your messages a few times until everyone’s happy with the way
it turns out.
In addition to filming your on-camera statements, we might also film
some of the activities in your camp and any field demonstrations you’ll
be giving. Once we see how many groups will be participating, I’ll
develop a filming schedule that I’ll share with everyone before the
event.
Please contact me to let me know if you are interested or if you have
any further questions. My e-mail is: kris AT venturemedia DOT
tv and my office phone number is: (954)474-7368.
On behalf of our company and the US Navy, I’d like to thank you again
for your help with this exciting project.
Kris Duffy, Production Manager
Venture Media, Inc.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
BLACKSMITHING, by Henry Irving
Today I went to the monthly meeting of the
Blacksmith Guild of Central Maryland (http://www.bgcmonline.org) and it
was great. The meeting started at 9am this morning with a
demonstration on how to make a tomahawk. The demonstration
generally runs an hour. Afterwards you work on your
personal projects until 12 when lunch happens (folks bring stuff
- today was a chili cookoff). A general meeting occurs at 1pm and
a board meeting at 2pm. You can attend the meetings or
continue in the forge room on your projects. They made me
feel very welcome and started me on a steel coat hook as a first
project. Afterwards, they had me dish out a brass bowl for
a laddle which I will put a handle on next month. Let's
review: I was made to feel welcome. I was given instruction in
working steel and brass. And I learned a lot that will
apply to the Roman period. The instructor is going to help
me do a pilum shaft next time. I think you would really
enjoy this activity and I encourage you to try it out. There is a
Potomac blacksmithing guild around Alexandria (http://www.bgop.org), this one meeting
in Westminster, MD, and one up toward Havre de Grace. The latter
one has an armourer who manufactures chain mail. Also,
Blacksmithing Days is coming up in May at the Howard County fairgrounds
and they will have lots of tools to take care of your metal working
needs. I'm trying to find a source of wrought iron
through them for lorica and other projects. Finally, check
out http://www.admiralsteel.com.
Doing it yourself beats waiting months and paying through the
nose. I calculate the costs for 5160 steel for a 20" Pompei
gladius at about $4-5.
Henry
MITHRACON, by Jane Sibley
Mithracon, an informal conference on cults and
religion in the Roman Empire, will again be held in New Haven on
Fri.-Sun. April 13-15; OK to come a day early so as to get two days in
Yale's library system. Unfortunately, the Dura Europos mithraeum
is still in the part of the art gallery which is being renovated, and
is not available again this coming year. Please see our web site
at http://www.mithracon.org for
more information.
CALENDAR
April 7-- Legio XX Workshop? (Not confirmed)
April 14-15 --Marching Through Time, Marietta Mansion, MD
June 1-3 --ROMAN DAYS, Marietta Mansion
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ADLOCVTIO is the Official Newsletter of the Twentieth Legion,
supposedly published on the Ides of each month. I am Quintus, aka
Matthew Amt, the Legion's Commander and Editor of the Newsletter,
matthew_amt AT yahoo DOT com, http://www.larp.com/legioxx/
.