Tessera

Volume I, Number 2 January, 2007

Avete, Comilitiones.

I delayed the publication of this newsletter a week so I could include a roll-up of the superb event that many of us attended in Mobile from 1-4 Feb ‘07.

News:

January was another super month for Legio XI. Our website is off and running and continues to make a difference in attracting new milites. I can’t stress it enough – especially to the new members – how important it is to study the information it contains, especially the standards in the “Handbook for Legionaries.” Don’t waste your money on kit items until you’ve checked the handbook and spoken to myself or Chris.

Many of our guys also completed their basic kits over the past month. Alex Kyrychenko and Andy Booker now have completed basic kits and are leaning forward on their Full/Marching kits. Laudes to you, Brothers. Just as a reminder – I am available almost any weekend to assist anyone with making kit items. Just give me a call and we can set something up.

Events/Workshops:

Events:

“Night at the Museum” at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, 20 January ’07.

This was a very nice event. Many, many re-enactors from ACW to American West, and even included Jesse Bailey from Conroi FitzOsbern with a superb Viking impression. The theme of the event was to attract folks to the museum by capitalzing on the popularity of the movie of the same name. Alex, Chris and I attended, and I estimate that we had over 1000 visitors to the museum. All in all, a good event and great opportunity to meet other re-enactors in the Atlanta area.

Castra Romana-Mobile: Gulf Coast Exploreum, Mobile, AL 1-4 Feb ’07.

Again, an absolutely superb event choreographed by our hero, Rusty Myers from Legio VI FFC. We set up the camp on Thursday/Friday, and immediately started interaction with the thousands, yes thousands, of visitors that came to the museum and toured our encampment. My best guess on legionary participation is on the order of 35 legionaries with the odd Celt, German, or family member thrown in.

Friday, we marched in the Mardi Gras Parade (my feet still hurt from those hobnails), and Dan Peterson arrived with a host of kit to enhance the event. By Friday evening, I would estimate that the camp included close to 15 tents – over a full-century’s worth. Included in the century were our new brothers, Kyle and Jimmy. It was great seeing you there and we hope to see you again, soon.

Saturday was drills, demos and a large amount of public interaction. Gladiatorial combat was featured every day thanks to our intrepid stalwarts Martin Kealey and Marty Howes. That night, we received our free tour of the Pompeii exhibit (that alone was worth the trip) and consumed our feast – a grand feast I might add – of period Roman food. My only regret was that Michelle, Chris’ wonderful wife, could not be there to eat a Roman feast that she did not have to cook herself! Maybe next time, but we missed her nonetheless.

By Sunday, most guys figured that we’d tear down and get rolling, but then the public started showing up in droves so we kitted out, the gladiators warmed up, and we were going full-bore until 2:00 PM when Rusty finally called ENDEX. Wow. I never would have believed that so many folks would come out on a Sunday morning to see the Romans, but they did.

Bottom line – if you missed Mobile, you missed a wonderful time.

New Members:

Brian Lauthen, a latin teacher here in the Atlanta area, has joined us. Although not able to make it to Mobile, we hope to see Brian soon. He is very excited to get started on his kit, and we are more than prepared to assist. Welcome to the ranks, frater.

Upcoming Events:

I would ask all of you to check the Legio XI website (www.11thlegion.com), Chris has posted our 2007 Calendar to include all workshop dates. Of note, a couple of near-term events to mention.

3 March 2007: Workshop (at my house for now – unless someone wants to host in which case we will change the venue). Email me for directions. Our focus for this event is to make the frame we will use to construct historical scuta. I’ll bring the materials we’ll need. In addition, we should have enough expertise to assist any new members with any kit items they need to complete.

Remember – if you need kit help, email or call me and we can get together most anytime.

22-25 March: Lafe. Lots of info on the Yahoo! site and also on the web. This will be a premier event and I expect that we will all have a great time. Contact me for more details if you need them.

You will note on the Calendar (posted on the website) an event tentatively scheduled for June called “Castra Romana Atlanta.” This is taking on more fidelity. The US Army is planning an Army Birthday celebration on Fort McPherson here in Atlanta on Thursday, 14 June 07, and has asked us to participate. This would be an easy event to support, with great interaction with the public. I see no reason why we could not segue into an encampment off Fort McPherson after the actual birthday celebration. More details to follow, but please let me know if there is a particular activity you would like me to include.

Finally, any comments about what you would find useful in future newsletters would be much appreciated. I’m always looking for feedback to make things better.

Regards,

Edge