Fannie & Vera want to keep you safe and healthy at reenactments. Like any outdoor sport or activity, you need to be aware of possible hazards involved. A few precautions and preparations can insure that you always have a GOOD time at reenactments.
The number one safety problem at reenactments is heat stroke. Government records of Civil War deaths count 313 deaths caused by sunstroke. To prevent heat stroke and improve your energy level you need to drink water. Lots of water! Experts recommend eight ounces or half a cup of cold water every 15 minutes, before, during and after exercise. Cold water is absorbed out of the stomach and into the blood stream faster. The benefit is that it quickly re-hydrates and cools the body. Have a glass of electrolyte replacement i.e. Gatorade, for every 6-8 glasses of water. You will need to replace the minerals that you lose through sweating.
When taken during exercise, fruit juice can slow the absorption of fluid into the blood stream because of its high sugar content. However, it's fine after exercising. Carbonated drinks can make you drink less because the gas in them makes your stomach feel full. They can also cause an upset stomach. The caffeine in coffee and soft drinks works as a diuretic and can cause you to lose more fluid from your system. When the weather is excessively hot (and you are running around in a wool coat and pants or fully crinolined) you will experience a greater increase in your body temperature and therefore loose more fluid.
I found
out the hard way what happens when you don't drink enough water while re-enacting.
By the time I realized that I was getting really thirsty it was already too
late. Our bodies' thirst mechanism lags behind our actual need for liquids by
about one third. And as we get older, it gets slower. Fluid loss causes an increase
in your heart rate and a drop in blood pressure. It can make you feel dizzy
and cause cramps or nausea.
Before events, freeze water in half-gallon jugs and keep them in your ice chest rather than a bag of ice. It is a good supply of ice water as it melts. Be neighborly and remind your fellow re-enactors to drink a lot of water, too.
Keep Cool. Stay in the shade during the hottest parts of the day. Do your living history presentation under a shade fly. When you are walking around, use your parasol or wear a large hat to keep the sun off in a period correct manner. When it gets really hot, soak your chemise in ice water--as it is worn next to the skin it will keep you very comfortable. Drop a few ice cubes down your corset. Another trick for keeping cool if you are going to be sitting for a while, take a gallon jug of ice and slip it into a little bag made from old sheeting. Use it for a footstool or just keep it under your hoop. It will be as if your hoop was an air-conditioned little room.
Use sunscreen and lip balm to keep from getting sun burned. Don't forget to apply sunscreen to the part in your hair. Nothing itches worse than a sunburn on the top of your head. You can apply sunscreen and then pat your face with powder to give yourself that period correct lily-white skin.
In the era of the hoop it was not uncommon to hear of women burned to death when their skirts caught fire. It is rather difficult to stop, drop and roll with a hoop on. Be very careful around the fire. This is a good reason to avoid hoop skirts made from polyester. Synthetic fabrics will either burst into flame or melt and leave red-hot blobs sticking to you.
Kids are fascinated by the campfire and will have an irresistible compulsion to toss little sticks and things in it. Please do not allow this. Every time, almost without fail, they will get their hands too close to the flames and burn themselves, or their clothing will catch on fire. This became such a regular problem that we now enforce the rule that no one may toss anything in the fire.
Never throw glass or metal in a fire, they don't burn and glass can shatter. Don't throw plastic trash into the fire - it creates poisonous fumes. (You're not supposed to have any farby old plastic around anyway!)
If you find yourself in the toilsome duty of camp cook build some fire safety into your outfit. Keep your skirt width small, use cotton material and wear a large apron. Keep a few wet cotton kitchen towels handy while you are cooking. They are good for wiping your face and hands or to tie over your nose and mouth when the fire is very hot or smoky. Wrap your head in wet towels to keep your head cool and your hair clean.
As a former camp cook, the best advice I can give you is to avoid cooking, by all means, whenever possible. Tell your soldier boys that it will be more historically correct if they eat jerky and hardtack. Then take yourself over to the town site and enjoy the good company of other kind ladies.
When it comes to food, think of a re-enactment as a two day picnic.
Food Handling Safety When preparing food, always wash your hands with soap and warm water. If this is not to be had, use some hand sanitizer. Do you really want to be responsible for making everyone at your dinning table ill? Pack meals that don’t need to be cooked if possible. Make sure perishables are kept on ice. You don’t want to spend the weekend running back and forth to the porta-potty with a period correct case of dysentery...
Breakfast Morning is a busy time devoted to dressing and setting up impressions. I usually have a quick, uncooked breakfast of fresh fruit and bread or cereal. Miss Vera opts for a glass of instant breakfast, her idea of a balanced meal. Since you will be snacking during the day, a light meal at breakfast works well at reenactments.
If you are going to cook, make a one pot meal and keep it simple. Hot cereal or a skillet of sausage, potatoes and scrambled eggs all in one pan.
Dinner
(AKA lunch) The public will be in camp during this meal, so make it as
authentic as possible. The mid-day meal was traditionally the largest
meal of the day, but in the heat of summer, big meals can really bog you down.
We usually prepare a lovely picnic meal and take extra pains to make it look nice. Use your nice serving dishes, table cloths and napkins. Our favorite is a big bowl of fresh seasonal fruit and a huge sandwich. We take a round loaf of unsliced sourdough, split it in half and pile it with sliced meats and cheeses. Each diner cuts off a wedge of this sandwich to eat with their fruit. Fruits such as grapes and melons have a high water content and can help rehydrate thirsty reenactors.
Dill pickles are popular. Sometimes we bring a big jar of pickled eggs for their decorative effect and delectable flavor. Pickling was a basic period food preservation method, so any food you pickle and serve in a crock will be right at home. A big pitcher of lemonade or a decanter of "wine" (red or grape Gatorade) tops off this repast.
If you must cook, bring a pre-cooked meal that you can put in your Dutch oven
and reheat. Too much time over a fire in the heat of day is just asking for
a collapse. And breathing all that smoke is bad for your health.
Snacks Frequent nibbles are a good habit at reenactments. It's easy to get busy and neglect eating, and in the heat big meals are unappealing.
Keep a basket or bowl of apples and seasonal fruit in reach at all times. The kids, especially, will be hungry often and need to refuel. Goobers (AKA peanuts) were a favorite goodie in Civil War times and make a dandy snack today. Keep the goober bowl full. Crackers and cheese are a quick and substantial munch. Avoid candy or sugary treats during the heat of day.
Drink, drink, drink Keep lots of good, cool water around and keep drinking it. Get yourself a period crock or jug to keep your water supply within easy reach. If you have to go into that hot tent to get a drink of water from a plastic bottle, you won't do it often enough to be healthy. Make lemonade and tea to tempt thirsty folks. Herb tea is better for you in the heat, it looks like real tea to visitors.
Supper (AKA dinner) Although camp visitors will not be around in the evening, do not spoil the magical illusion of times past by bringing out the hot dogs, hamburgers and marshmallows for your evening meal. If you or the kids want such fare, get thee to the local McDonalds.
This is the time to relax after a busy day and enjoy the companionship of your reenacting friends. It is perfectly acceptable to have another nice picnic style meal, with cold chicken or sandwiches to avoid cooking. You really can survive for two days on uncooked meals. If you will be cooking, bring a prepared meal from home that you can reheat in the Dutch oven; you will be too tired for a big production.
In winter and early spring, we often enjoy a pot of stew or beans cooked from
scratch. If it is cold at night, THEN it is nice to have an excuse to hang out
around the fire for hours...
Camp life, idyllic as it is, hides a few risks. Be aware of those little things that will trip you up--tent ropes take a delight in tripping both the unsuspecting reenactor and the general public. Period correct boxes and unused gear can be placed between tent ropes to make them more visible. Don't pitch your tent in such a way as to have a rope cross a pathway. Don't build your campfire too close to the path, if you do, you can be sure that someone will trip over it in the dark.
Late at night, when you are up to answer nature's call, by all means use a flashlight. It's hard enough to walk around in the dark at home let alone in some strange field.
Remember when walking that you are not on a paved sidewalk. Beware of the likes of gopher holes and rocks that can cause you to take a tumble. Ladies, you had better have your drawers on if you go head over heels...
Creepy
Crawlers Always carefully check the ground you have chosen for erecting
your tent. An anthill in the middle of your tent can make things pretty jumpy
in the middle of the night. Some types of hornets (called yellow jackets or
meat bees in these parts) live in holes in the ground. Burrows could harbor
varmints or reptiles. Get a canvas floor for your tent, not only will this help
keep the bugs out, but you will not lose jewelry or small items in the grass.
Be sure to look above if you set up under a tree. Trees can harbor wasps nests and bee hives. Ticks can dive bomb you en masse during tick season. Pines can drop big, heavy cones on your head and big, sticky blobs of pitch on your tent. Be sensitive to nesting birds in the spring. And a special California treat--Jays dining on blackberries in the fall can gift your tent with a plethora of purple poops providing permanent prints.
Ticks During certain times of the year tick infestations are very heavy. Avoid setting up near bushes during this season. Don’t let your kids run wild in the underbrush. I have picked a tick or two off some younger reenactors over the years. If you know infestation is heavy, check yourself and your kids when dressing and undressing. Be sure to shake out your skirts regularly, skirts dragging on the ground give ticks a great jumping on site.
If you have a tick bite, don't be shy about asking for assistance with removing the tick as soon as possible. Lyme disease is a real threat, but quick tick removal is the best preventative for this hazard. If you get a tick bite that gives you ANY kind of rash see a doctor ASAP. Lyme disease is curable if treated promptly, but if not treated within a reasonable amount of time, it can mean a lifetime of illness.
Snakes If you are city folk, a lesson in good and bad snakes is recommended for yourself and your children. Nothing is more reassuring than that Friday afternoon comment from the site manager "Yeah, we saw a couple of rattlesnakes out here this morning when we brought the hay bales in."
If your bedding is on the floor, check under the blankets before you get into bed. At one event I happened to look into my tent and notice the last 8 inches of a 4-foot gopher snake disappearing under my quilt. Now that would have been a surprise after dark!
Most snakes will avoid a bunch of noisy reenactors, so this is rarely a problem
in camp. Keep the kids in camp if you have been advised of snake sightings,
as they are more likely to encounter snakes in the surrounding wilds. The best
advice to give them is to leave ALL snakes alone. Even non-poisonous snakes
can bite, and handling can injure or kill the snake.
Furry Critters Most animals will avoid a noisy camp full of reenactors and weapons that go boom, so they are rarely a problem. If the locals have warned you that nightly raiders frequent your camp area, take these precautions:
Be sure
to store your ice chest and grocery bags OUTSIDE of your tent at night. Be sure
to take your trash to the cans or dumpster before retiring. Some State or County
parks may have regulars (usually raccoon, skunk or bear) who nightly raid the
camp for victuals and do not fear humans. If they are going to grub your groceries,
so much better for them to chow down outside the tent, than to come inside and
help themselves. Protect your provisions from raccoons by placing them in your
sturdiest boxes.
If bears are the neighborhood bad boys, I also recommend that you DO NOT store
groceries or trash in your car. I have seen bears peel open some sizable sedans
for the snacks inside. If they are determined to devour your cooler, then by
all means, let them have it. A cooler is much cheaper to replace than a Chrysler.
Making lots of noise will usually shoo them away, but don't press the issue.
Bears are bigger and stronger than you and they are quite secure in that knowledge.
All reenactment organizations have safety rules. Usually, only battlefield combatants are required to read and be tested on these rules. All civilians, young and old, should read these rules and know them by heart. Even if you never go onto the battlefield, you will be around weapons & artillery and will need to know this information to insure your safety.
Know the standard safety distances and do not violate them. Combatants are very careful, but you are responsible for your own safety - do not depend on them to watch out for you.
Never handle or touch another reenactor's weapon without their
express permission and presence.
Reenacting horses are well trained, so respect them and train yourself to use care in their presence. Even the most gentle animal may accidentally injure you. Tell your children not to touch or feed a horse without the owner's permission and presence. Do not make any sudden movements or noises that may startle an animal. Should a horse spook and start to run loose, don't try to stop it, just get out of the way and let someone with horse experience round up the horse.
Many units have a first aid kit available for emergencies. Do not depend on this resource for your every need. Everyone should have a basic first aid kit for their own use, with the bare necessities well stocked. Packing a small bag or box with some remedies can be very helpful.
Basic Kit Contents
Band-Aids
Neosporin or antibiotic cream
Tylenol, Aspirin or Motrin (any all purpose pain reliever and fever reducer)
Insect repellent: Avon Skin-So-Soft, Citronella Oil, or commercial spray
Sunscreen and a lip balm with sunscreen
A couple of moist towelettes - water is not always handy for cleaning up an owie
Pump bottle of hand sanitizer for use after visiting the porta-potty and before handling food.
Optional items that you might consider: Ace bandage, gauze & tape, aloe gel for sunburn, hydrocortisone cream for itches, sting-kill swabs, burn ointment, chemical cold packs, triangular bandage. I also add a few strips of cotton sheeting to wrap over Band-Aids for period correct camouflage on my boo-boos.
Medications If you are on a regular medication, be sure to bring enough for the entire reenactment + a couple of extra days. If you drop a pill in the grass and can't find it, it is good to have spares. Anyone who is allergic to bee stings should have an EpiPen handy and let your friends know about your allergy in case of an emergency. If you can, pack your medications with your first aid kit well in advance of the reenactment, so you can't forget.
Emergency Personnel All clubs and many units have
members who are trained Emergency Response Personnel. Don't wait until you have
an emergency to meet these folks. Ask veteran members to introduce these folks
to you, and then if you need someone you know whom to seek. In our club, the
RACW, if you need medical help in an emergency situation you can holler MEDIC.
Other club members will respond with help or will track down the nearest EMT.
Parents, please educate your children on the safety rules for your organization. Know where they are and have them check in with you regularly. Children should never do anything, even go to the restroom, alone. They must know to stay with you or their designated buddies at all times. Teach them to be cautious around strangers and to seek out any reenactor in costume for assistance in an uncomfortable situation.
Remind your child that it is period correct for children to always obey adults and do exactly what they're told. It may be years before they see through that story.
In an ideal world, kids would always do what they are told. Reenactors, if you see anyone's child in jeopardy or breaking safety rules, step in and correct the situation yourself, immediately. There is always time to tell their parents later, but children can get into a risky situation all too quickly.
Please leave your pets at home or with a sitter during a reenactment. There is a lot of noise and confusion at events that can traumatize a sensitive schnauzer. Unless you can effectively restrain your pet and keep them under your eye at all times, they can become a pest to others.
Many clubs, our own RACW among them, ban all pets at reenactments other than horses necessary for battles. This is because for every well behaved pet and responsible pet owner, there is a pet that is allowed to bark, whine, run loose and tinkle on the tents.
If your club allows pets, please be considerate and have a period
correct collar, harness and leash. Keep your pet on the leash and in your presence
at all times.
