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Pirate Fest, June 2011 - Put-in-Bay, OH
Photo: Sam
Sam, Ed & Jay: A likely looking lot
Chapter 7th. Of what occurred Sunday during the day, including packing up the camp; the Sunday version of the pirates display in DeRivera park, with a discussion of the surgeon's setup (it's funny how that always seems to appear in these Journals, isn't it?); some of the other cool displays going on in the park and some pre-battle preparation.
I got up Sunday morning having managed to retain most of my stuff (unlike Saturday) so that I knew exactly what time it was. After a leisurely shower, I threw on some shorts and went across the street to Ty's restaurant across the street for eggs over-easy. His restaurant is called Pasquale's Italian Restaurant. Be sure to check out the history
Photo: Mission
Ty's restaurant: Pasquale's
page. Back in my hotel to throw on my Michael Bagley original outfit, featuring the shiny new red sleeved waistcoat and then I headed for the camp, with my wheely luggage (whose name is Phydeaux) trailing behind me.
Much of the crew was busily engaged in tearing down the campsite in preparation for leaving that afternoon. We were told the ferries got crowded after 5pm and a lot of people didn't want to be worried about packing up after later that afternoon.
It's always a little distressing to watch a site being put away because you know the end of the event is nearer than farther. Of course, I didn't really have anything in the camp to take down, which is yet another advantage of staying in a hotel for an event. So I again joined George/Ken in the shuttle business. My job? The guy in charge of holding stuff to make sure it didn't fall out on the way over. (George was very solicitous, warning me when we were about to hit a bump. He had made this trip so many times that he knew right where most of them were.
 Photo: Mission The desolation of the camp tear down. *Sigh* |
 Photo: Mission Call Two Guys and a Golf Cart Movers at 555-1212 |
Photo: Mission
Ken aka. George smiles pretty for the camera
Regular readers will recognize George from the Columbus Santa Maria Surgeon's Journals. He actually works for the ship and he gets paid to give tours. When we first met him, he wouldn't tell the Thatcher kids his name, which is Kenneth. So someone started calling him George, which is where I got the name from. I like nothing better than a stupid inside joke, so now I always call him that. (Note: This name thing is not unusual in the re-enacting world. Kate Bagley's real name is Jessica, but she admitted to me that sometimes when she gets back to work on the Monday after an event, her coworkers have to say, "Jessica!' two or three times before she realizes they are talking to her. Some of them give up and just call her 'Kate' on those Mondays.)
Ken is a really great guy, very even-tempered, and willing to put up with all your surgeon's silly comments in these Journals. He had had so much fun hanging around with us on the Santa Maria pirate events, that he decided to take a vacation from giving tours on the ship so that he could join us at this event. It was his first non-Santa Maria pirate gig. It was terrific having him along and I hope we get to see him at future re-enacting events. (Now how about that? A whole entry on Ken where I don't give him a hard time. I didn't even mention that sort of looks a little bit like a leprechaun in that photo there. Except he should put his pipe in his mouth upside down.)
Photo: Margarita
What are they doing to that fish fly?
There were many strange things were going on when we arrived in the display site. Some of the crew had decided to do fish fly surgery using your surgeon's tools. They were picking them up with dental forceps and preparing what appeared to be a mustard plaster for the poor little insects! Mark Gist's cannon was pointed at the golf carts parked in the street! Perhaps the crew had tired of seeing them there and had decided to take action. A woman had gotten hold of one of M.A. d'Dogge's swords and was practicing her moves while making bunny ears over her own head! M.A. d'Dogge had a baby! (Well, he didn't have the baby - that would have been more than just strange, it would have been revolutionary - he was just holding the baby. That was still cause for alarm, though.) And off to the side, Michael Bagley was hugging Shannon while Shannon was licking Kate. OK, that's not all that far outside of normal. Still, that would have been a bit strange in a normal group, so I put it here.
 Photo: Mission We'll show those golf carts! |
 Photo: Shannoni Elegant pirates? |
 Photo: Mission Looks like trouble... |
 Photo: Shannoni OK, maybe not so strange after all |
Photo: ThatchersThatchers
Dan, Bryan and Mission have to act as the voice of reason. (Yikes!)
Clearly a voice of reason was required here to save everyone from themselves (and the tourists from our weapons.) Clearly a level-headed voice of authority was needed. Clearly we didn't have any of that, so we improvised. Dan Needham, Bryan and I came into this scene of utter madness and give it our most serious and frowny looks. Well Dan and Bryan did. I appear to be staring off into space. Those of you who have met me will readily understand this.
Bryan was ready to draw his black powder weapon. Dan was ready to take another sip of coffee. I was... still staring off into space. I wonder what it was that I was staring at? The others at the site, recognizing the lunacy they had succumbed to quickly returned to normal (Ha ha!) and we set up the site for the day.
Photo: Mission's Camera
Your author standing at his table on Sunday
As I have mentioned, I was given my own tent for my surgical display. This was a good thing because I keep acquiring more stuff for the display and I can hardly fit it on a single table any more. Having my own fly allowed me to spread everything out so that it was easier to show the tools to their best advantage. There was a nice steady flow of interested folks. I was as impressed this year as I was last by the questions and comments I got from people as I was going through some of the instruments and procedures.
After going through my presentation on how to do an amputation using my tools, one woman told her friend that, "That was the best explanation of an amputation that I've heard yet." I can't help but wonder how many other presentations on how to do an amputation she had seen? And where did she see them? And why? Still, it's nice to be able to talk with people who already have a feel for my field.
 Photo: Mission The left side of the surgeon's table from Saturday |
 Photo: Mission The right side of the surgeon's table from Saturday |
Photo: Mary Diamond
Mission, Mary and the Pocket Kit
Over the winter, I had gotten several new surgical instruments, one of them from Mary Diamond. As I mentioned previously, Mary and I go all the way back to the beginning of my career as a surgical re-enactor. She had been at an event last year where she found an odd-looking wallet. She asked the leather vendor what the wallet was for and he told her it was a surgeon's pocket kit. So she bought it for me. You can see us holding it at left. A period surgeon would have always carried such a kit containing the basics like a scalpel, needles, forceps and other 'emergency items.' So I had her pose with me for a photo of it.
Photo: Mission's Camera
Mission & the medium bone saw
Kate Bagley had asked me to pose with another one of my favorite new items, so I picked up the medium bone saw that Shay of the Keys had had her son make for me. Commodore Swab usually makes weapons, but he did that special for me. It actually looks more authentic to me than some of the real antique surgical items I have acquired.
Lisa, playing Bess (Mary Diamond's servant), wandered over to the display and decided that we should play. First she requested that I bleed her, as that would have been one of the more common operations during the Golden Era of Piracy. Since I broke my barber's/bleeding bowl a few months ago, we borrowed a wooden salad bowl and improvised that scene (below left). I think Lisa's expression is spot on here. Then we decided to use the dental pelican for a mock tooth removal. Kate Bagley stepped in to play the Surgeon's Mate (which is what they called surgical assistants at that time). First Lisa wouldn't open her mouth, so the Mate did her job and pried it open. Then the Mate held her hand tightly while I pretended to fasten the pelican. Based on her expression, I think Kate enjoyed this process entirely too much. I really like the way these came out, so I owe Lisa thanks for the idea. Look for more such photos in the future.
 Photo: Mission's Camera The surgeon bleeding Lisa/Bess |
 Photo: Mission's Camera The dental pelican scares some patients |
 Photo: Mary Diamond but the surgeon's mate can help with that. |
Photo: Mission
Lisa/Bess explaining medicine to an attentive group
While Lisa was there, she decided to explain the surgeon's role to a passing family . It's sort of interesting to hear another person's take on your role. Usually when someone decides to explain my table, they give them a version of the things I say during my presentation. Lisa had a whole different take on it. She particularly mentioned leaches, which I never do because Mission the surgeon doesn't use them. She thinks the leach thing is fascinating for some reason. I was reminded of the slogan she and Kate Bagley had come up with at the Blackbeard Festival in 2008: "Reach for a leach!" Uh huh.
Lisa proved to be multi-talented for a servant. After leaving my booth, she went over to the Forsaken booth where she explained M.A. d'Dogge's weapons of war (and helmets) for quite a crowd of people.
Speaking of folks filling in for me, Michael Bagley once again stepped into my place while I was away and gave a presentation in my stead. I must be explaining this stuff to well (or too often) because he's actually getting pretty good at it. Personally, I blame George/Ken who started all of this stepping in for the surgeon at the Santa Maria in the fall last year.
 Photo: Mission Lisa/Bess explaining M.A. d'Dogge's gear |
 Photo: Mission Michael explaining my surgeon's tools once again. |
Photo: Mission
The crowd at the Gillmor Ordnance table
Several other folks had displays of interest around the park. Among them was the Gillmor Ordnance area. There was usually a crowd at their table, so it was tough to get a photo of just that, although I did manage it. I suspect this was because anytime there was a lull in their crowd, the Gillmors fired off another cannon. Nothing gets people's attention quite like noise. Bob Gillmor casts the cannons and sells them at events like this one. They range in size from a table-top model, like you see below left, to a regular full scale cannon.
On Saturday, a couple came to visit our booth with a cannon about the size of the one you see at the guy's feet in the image below left. He was carrying it about like you'd carry a baby. "What are you going to do with it?" someone asked him. "Scare the hell out of the neighbors." See? It's all about noise.
Someone else loved firing the cannons: our own Kate. Those of you who recall the All Girl's Cannon Crew from Pirates in Paradise in 2008 will probably not be surprised. I seem to recall her announcing on at least three different occasions that she was going over to the Gillmors fire the cannons. Later on Sunday during our ferry crossing, Michael proudly revealed a cast medallion that the Gillmors had given him to show their appreciation for his help. He announced that, "I think I'm safe in saying I'm the only one who received one of these." Well the Gillmors must have liked Kate, too, because she immediately produced another one. (Our pal Richard had gotten me the one you see below right - it's actually from 2010.)
 Photo: Mission Some of the smaller models of the Gillmor Ordnance Cannons for sale |
 Photo: Jessica Bagley Kate the cannoneer |
 Photo: Mission The coin |
Another display right across from ours was the Faire Wynds Entertainments clowns. Michael had met them at another event and suggested them to Ty. Ty brought them out for the Pirate Fest. The had rolled into camp Friday night and started setting up their tent, explaining the period of the tent, that pattern and so forth. Although I didn't talk to them very much, Michael told me that they had done a lot of research into making their presentation authentic. I got the impression that they made their living doing shows like this one.
They really had quite the show. I didn't catch the whole thing in one sitting because I was busy with my surgical display, but I caught glimpses of it. Eric ("The Professor") would start by announcing that a show would start soon, threatening not to do it if there weren't enough people or otherwise cajoling folks into stopping and waiting. Then he and wife Susan ("the Lady Penelope" - no I don't know how you get that from Susan either) would perform their show. It had a light, fun touch involving stories, oranges, jokes and fire. They could not only attract a decent-sized crowd to their display, they could keep them there for 15 or 20 minutes.
 Photo: Mission The Faire Wynds Entertainers gather and keep a crowd |
 Photo: Mission Eric and Susan doing tricks with fire and patter |
As morning turned into afternoon, the crew started busily rolling black powder cartridges for use in the battle later on in the day. Paper cartridges are used to hold the powder so that it can be easily poured into black powder weapons. I settled into the Surgeon's routine, explaining my trade and tools for the groups who stopped by.
 Photo: Mission The crew busily rolling cartridges for battle |
 Photo: Mission Sam rolling something else |