Welcome to the Online Clann Tartan Newsletter for December 2004

Board Minutes	Staff & Board Directory	Guilds
Calendar of Events	Maps	Event Maps and Notification
Announcements	Captain's Corner	Articles

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Election Results

Staff Elections from the November 6th 2004 Quarterly Meeting, held at Corcoran Park Hall.

Company Staff elected are:

Captain: Marty Byers
Lieutenant: Eric Ferguson
No corporals ran or were elected

Camp Staff elected are:

Head Campfollower: Rob Johnson
Asst HC: Julie Yoder
Goodwives: Judy Byers, Maeve Kane

Many thanks and cheers go to the outgoing staff; Our wonderful former Captain, David Vavreck; Assistant Head Campfollower, Heidi Johnson; and Corporals, Annie Breese and Hellen Ferguson.

Congratulations and cheers go out to the Staff changing positions for 2004 - talk about moving about! Marty Byers, as the once (and still) great Head Campfollower, now Captain; Rob Johnson, once a great Corporal, now Head Campfollower; and Julie Yoder, once a great Goodwife, now Assistant Head Campfollower.

And Staff remaining the same (HUZZAH!) are: Eric Ferguson, Lieutenant; and Judy Byers, and Maeve Kane as Goodwives.

May this season be a wonderful one!

Upcoming Events to plan for:

Saturday, January 1, 2005 we will have the Airing of the Tartans and First Footing. the Airing of the Tartans is held at a local park, and traditionally was a time to lay out all your woolens in the snow to clean them. This would allow all the oils, grease, fats, and assorted critters to freeze out of the wools and you would have "fresh" plaids. We like to have everyone bring all their plaid and see how much we can lay out. Let's go for a record! We also have a short drill (length depends a lot on the weather,) and sometimes shoot off the muskets.

Following the Airing, we descend upon our members houses for a progressive dinner, or "First Footing". It is considered good luck if the first person to enter your house on New Years Day is a dark haired male stranger. Woe betide you, however, if the first to enter is a redheaded woman... To make this happen, we need houses. We generally have a warm drinks and appetizers house, followed by a soup and salads house, a main course house, and then a drinks and desserts house. This is one of our biggest events, and we generally have 30 or more people at a house at any given time. If you want to have a bunch of Clann descend upon you, please contact your staff (staff@clanntartan.org) or board (board@clanntartan.org) and let us know what you would like to host, and where you are. We will get back in touch with you and let you know how it all fits into the schedule. If you have any questions, please email staff or board, or Mairi2@juno.com - that's me, Mary - your Madame Prez.

Saturday, January 15th, 2005 at Corcoran Park, we will be holding our winter Muster. This is a chance to hone skills, try new things, add to your Muster list, and in general, meet and mingle with the rest of us. We can do just about everything but shoot weapons. As a special inducement this year, we will have a guest speaker to talk about how to present to school kids. Perry Vining (Headman at Big Island) has been contacted about this (Thanks, Kali!) and is willing to come and talk with us. Please try to make it - it should be a great time! Again, if you have any questions, please contact your staff or board. Times are yet to be arranged - we will be discussing this with Corcoran.

Board Elections

Saturday, February 5 at noon we will be holding the Annual Members Meeting. This is your chance to vote on the budget for next year and to vote for your new Board Members. The positions that will be open are:

Vice President
Secretary
Company Representative

If you're interested in any of these positions but have questions on the duties and responsibilities, please contact a current Board Member for more information. It's not too early to get your nomination in!

Still looking for thoughts on Why We Do What We Do
—and what will make it more fun for you.

What are you looking for in Clann? What can we do better? What are we doing well? Please let us know—we all want this to be a fun, fulfilling experience for everyone.

Send info to Mary McKinley at the previously posted info—snail mail:
Mary McKinley
1363 Jefferson Ave
St Paul, MN 55105-2410

Drill

Clann's monthly drill will be held on the third Saturday of the month at Bossen Field by Lievtenant Eric and Hellen's home (5732 Bossen Terrace Apt#2), unless there is a scheduled Clann Event that weekend.
The time is NOON.
For directions, Lievtenant Eric can be contacted at: 612-726-6364 or eric@celticfringe.net

Wanted!

Submissions for the Newsletter!
Items you can submit include research articles, character sketches, and other items pertaining to living history and Scottish Culture. Email your items in either plain text, or MS Word format to newsletter@clanntartan.org or snail mail to our postal address.
Items must be received by the 15th of each month to be considered for inclusion for the upcoming months issue. Mailed submissions will not be returned unless requested. All pertinent submissions will be considered as space permits. All research articles must reference at least three sources. Submissions are NOT edited for spelling or grammar, but may be broken in multiple parts.

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Board Minutes

Minutes of Clann Tartan Board Meeting October 4, 2004

BOARD MEETING

In attendance: (Board) Mary McKinley, Herb Lindorff, Bruce Yoder, Glenn McDavid, Rob Portinga, Brenda Bartel

(Staff) David Vavreck, Marty Byers, Heidi Johnson

The minutes from the August meeting were approved.

Old Business -- waived.

============
REPORTS
=======
Vice President: no report.

Treasurer
---------
Detailed financial reports were submitted. We have about $6100 in the bank. The budget seems to be generally OK, but we are still waiting for some items.

Mary gave some checks and invoices to Rob.

The Quartermaster asked about some Company supplies that were budgeted but had not been bought. They should be purchased within the current Budget cycle.

We have received some donations in kind (e.g. venison). We need to give receipts for these to the donors.

Quartermaster
-------------
The new yellow storage boxes did not work as well as we had hoped. They are too large to conveniently manage on the trailer.

We need to take only what is needed to each show. The rest should be stored in the garage. Marty and Herb will work on "downsizing" the trailer contents to achieve this.

Tents: One of the trooper tents needs new uprights. The current ridge poles should be replaced with sectional poles. This will make it easier for members who check out the troopers to haul them themselves, rather than having them carried on the trailer. We also should get bags for the canvas, to make it easier to manage.

The trailer repairs are still outstanding.

The possibility of hauling the trailer by a rental towing vehicle is less likely than we had thought. Most rental companies that offer such vehicles intend them only for use with their own trailers.

Camp Rep: No report

Company Rep: Nothing to report

In regards to the Camp and Company reports in the August Minutes: The President has investigated the reported complaints and found no substance to them. Case closed.

Dance Guild
-----------
Going well. Some of the patrons at Big Island were interested.

Sword Guild
-----------
Rob Johnson and Marty are the only active members. Marty has been actively researching the subject and included much of his work in the Demos at Big Island, assisted twice by several pikemen. He will be doing an article for the Newsletter.

Historic Site
-------------
We need to pay Don faster for his expenses in the annual Tactical. One possibility would be to bring a signed check to the event. In fact, such a check should be taken to all events with a responsible Board Member. This was moved, seconded, and passed.

Music Guild: No report

Fiber Guild: No report

UPCOMING EVENTS
===============
Mankato: There is some question about who is going. We probably have the necessary six people, but this should be confirmed. The event is apparently having financial problems and our income is down.

Winona: Rob has talked to Luke. We can do pretty much what we want there.

First Footing: Need to start looking for hosts. Rob Portinga and Heidi Johnson have expressed interest. We should have a notice in the next Newsletter.

Winter Muster: We are planning for Saturday, January 15, 2005, at Corcoran. Rob Portinga will confirm this with Peter Jaeger, the Facility manager. The new staff (from the November elections) will run the Muster with the assistance of the old staff. Safety will be one topic covered at Muster.

DEMOS
=====
One member complained about having prepared a demo for Big Island and arranging to be there, only to find that she was not included on the demo list and schedule. This is a problem: We need to encourage members to do demos and experiences like this are not helpful. The Captain apologized profusely for the oversight, saying that he had to submit the demo list far in advance. Heidi suggested that higher staff delegate some planning responsibilities to their subordinates, to reduce the chance of incidents like this.

Kali has talked to Perry Vining. He is willing to do a presentation to our membership on how to do a demo. We will try to arrange this for Winter Muster.

EVENT PLANNING
==============
As planned, we did the set up for Big Island the weekend before the event. This worked very well and should be considered for future events.

INJURY
======
One of our members was injured while splitting wood at Big Island. He had to be taken to an Emergency Room. He had no medical insurance and no Tetanus shot. We will try to have Clann insurance cover the expenses of this. If that fails, then since he was injured while doing Clann work, the sense of the Board is that Clann should meet some of the charges.

The President has since ordered this member to get a Tetanus shot.

Safety will be included in the Winter Muster schedule.

MEMBERSHIP SUPPORT
==================
The mother of one Clann member is dying, and others may face the same prospect soon. The Board voted that up to $50 may be spent for Clann to purchase flowers and a card for any member in this situation.

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Board & Staff

If you need to contact someone associated with Clann Tartan, here is where you find out how. If you are unsure who to contact, you can always email us at: info@clanntartan.org

Board Members

President	Mary McKinley	651-699-6853	mairi2@juno.com
Vice President	Bruce Yoder	651-698-8375	bruceyoder@juno.com
Secretary	Glenn McDavid	651-490-1842	gmcdavid@comcast.net
Treasurer	Rob Portinga	651-253-4506	rob@portinga.org
Quarter Master	Herb Lindorff	612-827-4440	deeptinker@hotmail.com
Camp Rep.	Diana Steben	612-728-1189	Rillaspins@aol.com
Company Rep.	Brenda Bartel	651-335-5097	socks142@aol.com

Staff

Captain	Marty Byers	651.483.1173	mjlbyers@msn.com
Lieutenant	Eric Ferguson	612.726.6364	eric@celticfringe.net
Head Campfollower	Rob Johnson	612.702.4274	roguerpj@mn.rr.com
Assistant Head Campfollower	Julie Yoder	651.698.8375	julieyoder@juno.com
Goodwife	Judy Byers	651.483.1173	mjlbyers@msn.com
Goodwife	Maeve Kane	952.461.4666

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Guilds

Sword Guild:
I am now taking names of MEMBERS, who are interested in learning the period correct way to wield the blades we would have used. The methods will be totally Scottish and /or common to the Scottish Island.

But, first I need your name, mailing address, phone number and what type of sword you are interested in...and, do you have such a sword. When I have this information, we will set up a date and time to get together for our first exercise.

I hope to use some of what we learn in a skit or two during the coming years. The more blades we have to be used correctly the better we will be for the public.

So, get me this information soon and let's get started.

Marty L. Byers
651-483-1173

Drum
Drummers continue to meet at 11 am the third Saturday of each month at Eric and Hellen's, followed by Regimental Drill at Noon. The Regiment owns two drums, but drummers are requested to get their own drumsticks.

A note for soldiers - according to the articles of war, it is a crime punishable by death not to learn the drum calls. Be forewarned.

We have set up a yahoo group for the Corps at http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/clannfifeanddrum/ so we can communicate without clogging up non corps folks' e-mail.

Again, drummers will work primarily on period military music for the time being.

All are welcome - no experience neccessary.

Anyone interested in joining up contact Clann's Music Chair at:

David Vavreck
baethan1630@yahoo.com
612-378-1973

Dance
1st & 3rd Wednesdays
One Grenoble Ave, Inver Grove Heights, MN 55076

The community center for Skyline Village, on the east side of Concord St. at 75th St in Inver Grove Heights. About 2.5 miles south of I494

2nd & 4th Tuesdays
Saint Christopher's Episcopal Church, 2300 N Hamline Ave. in St. Paul.

It is at the northeast corner of Highway 36 and Hamline Avenue (Hamline is between Snelling and Lexington). The church is actually encircled by the highway entrance ramp.
The Dance Guild gathers weekly from 7PM-9PM to learn and practice historic Scottish country dances.
For more information call:

Mary at 651-699-6853 or Julie at 651-698-8375

It's a great place to meet people !

Other Guilds
Want to learn about wool spinning, weaving, or dying? Diana Steben (651-489-2881) Kali Pederson (651-730-5437 ) and Sandy Borrmann (651-489-2881) organize the Fiber Guild.

Clann Tartan has our own historic site near Duluth MN. Dun Gowan is an ongoing project, which is the site of Gaffneyis Annual Tactical in July. We are finishing the fort and beginning the construction of a village this year. Contact David Vavreck at 612-378-1973 or baethan1630@yahoo.com for further information, or to volunteer to help.

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This, being my first Captaine's Corner, is a good place to announce some of my plans for the upcoming season. Though it may or may not look like changes are a coming, rest assured that there will be some.

First, I am looking at the idea of doing the intire season portraying a veteran army, during the Second Bishop's War. This will allow everyone to have stories of their own, as well as "fighting" in any battle. This will include veterans, new souldiers, old folks and children( you never know when the camp may be overrun).

Also, during this season, I WILL be insisting on a competition for the Ensign, with the finals being held at the Scottish Fair, in Farmington. I do encourage all those that are interested to participate. Demonstrations and practice will be held throught the season, leading up to the Scottish Fair event.

Now, on to the item that seems everyone is looking forward to, drills. Drills will be held on the third Saturday of every month, starting at NOON, unless we are at an event at that time. This is not a punishment for anyone, but rather a chance to sharpen up out skills with pike, musquet, mortar, ensign, marching about, as well as several tactics and manuvers I plan on using during the season. So, I hope that everyone can spare and hour or so a month to attend these drills and make ourselves better at what we do.

During the course of the season, look forward to being part of several "skits", to help the public understand our way of life. The visual works so much better that just talking about it. No skit shall last over 8 minuets, there by holding the attention of the public. In other words, skits will move fairly fast, and will start on time.

Next, the budget. This has already been started, with an emphisis on fixing, repairing, replacing, or otherwise taking care of our equipment. There will be some purchases for replacing some used goods, ie: powder, match and such as the like. Most of the work will be done at my house, in my garage (as soon as I get some heat in there). We really need people to come and make this part of the season work. And, if we get enough people here to do the work, then I may be gracious to all, but we will have to see what transpires.

This is just a start on the season, but I am sure you all can see where I am headed with this, and know that with this effor being put forward by all, next season may prove to be MORE rewarding than most of us have imagined.

I would like to thank you all, in advance, for the work we put forward this season and the help you give the staff, and staff for the effort you put forward for the membership.

Captaine
Martin Birse
Noblis Est Ira Leonis " The lion's anger is noble"

******************************************************************************************

Captain Emeritus' Corner

Good People -
This is my last Captain's Corner.

I wish to take this opportunity to acknowledge a few folks who helped make Gaffneyis a better organization during my tenure.

Marty Byers did a splendid job as Head Campfollower these past several years. Best of luck as Captain, Marty.

Maeve Kane is definitely the most outstanding member to have joined while I was Captain. She brings many period skills to Gaffneyis. She was very helpful to me this past year, when I didn't have a very active staff. She also has already published more newsletter submissions than anyone in Clann since sometime back in the 1990s (myself excluded). And now she has volunteered to be our contracts person. Thanks, Maeve.

Lastly, I am proud to announce that the Captain's Award for Outstanding Excellance initiated by Corey Pederson is hereby awarded to John O'Duggan for services above and beyond. In addition to being very helpful and hospitable, he also manufactured a mortar, which he then donated to us. Thanks, John.

And thank you all for the opportunity to serve you as Captain for the last two years. It has been an experience.

David Vavreck
Captain Emeritus

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Hello, I as the new head camp follower wanted to introduce myself and say thanks for electing me. I am excited about the challenges that the position offers.

I also wanted to take this time to address two things that came up at the November Member meeting. Mary had read from several emails she received regarding how to fix Clann. Several good points were made. Two, however, really stood out to me as the new Head Camp Follower.

First, it was pointed out that a lot of members on our roster join (most at an event) and then don't come to other events. I would like to personally invite those members that fit this description to tell Clann why this is the case. If you are uncomfortable doing this in public, then please send a letter to Marty or myself privately. I have only been in Clann for 2 seasons now and I want you all to know that I know it is hard for newcomers to fit in sometimes.

Having said that, one of the things I want to start as Head Camp follower is an ongoing article in the news letter devoted to things one can be doing to make their time at events fun. Next month I will do a list of things people can be doing to help newcomers fit in and have fun. Please send suggestions to me at roguerpj@mn.rr.com.

The second thing that was brought up at the meeting was in regards to several awards that were given out at events. Honestly I don't recall the name of them but they were apparently awarded for things like the best demo and the like. I am truly sorry if I got that incorrect, but what was shocking to me was that in the 2 years I have been with Clann I had not heard of these. Yet, the letter writer was sad that they not only were not given out, but apparently missing in action. I was struck by how much Clann history there is and how much of it I don't know. I would like the membership to rack your brains and come up with Clann traditions that you don't see happening and tell me about them.

I look upon my time as Head Camp Follower as a chance to breathe fresh air into events. I am not looking to totally change things but instead to reinvigorate events. Oh, I have things I want to do, but most of them, like labeling trooper tents and polls, are academic. My real intent is to make going to an event easier so more can have fun.

In closing, thanks once more for electing me.

Rob Johnson.

P.S. Plans for First Footing are indeed underway. Get in touch with Julie, Judy, Maeve or myself if you wish to host.

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Calendar of Events

Be sure to contact your staff
if you plan on attending a show event. Try to give at least a ten day notice when possible. This allows proper planning for the feeding of our members, and in some cases is required by event organizers to allow entry as a participant.
You can call any of the staff members listed, or send an email to staff@clanntartan.org.

December 2004

SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
	1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8 Dance	9	10	11
12	13	14 Dance	15	16	17	18 Drill
19	20	21 Night At the Pub Molly Quinn's Minneapolis @ 7PM	22 Dance	23	24	25
26	27	28 Dance	29	30	31

January 2005

SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
	1 Airing of the Tartans & First Footing Augsburg Park Richfield
2	3	4	5 Dance	6	7	8
9	10	11 Dance	12	13	14	15 Winter Muster Corcopran Park MN Guest speaker: Perry Vining
16	17	18 Night At the Pub Molly Quinn's Minneapolis @ 7PM	19 Dance	20	21	22
23	24	25 Dance	26	27	28	29
30	31

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Map to Inver Grove Heights location- Dance	Map to St. Paul location St. Christopher's- Dance

Map to Board Meetings Boltt Corporation, 509 Sibley Street Suite 200 Saint Paul, MN 55101	Map to Board/Quarterly/Annual Meetings Corcoran Park, Minneapolis

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January 1st 2005, Airing of the Tartans-Augsburg Park, Richfield, MN at 12 NOON

From the North, take the Portland Ave exit south from Crosstown/ Hwy 62, and follow it to 70th Street. Turn right (West) and go to Nicollet Ave. Cross Nicollet and Park is on the left.
From the South, take the Nicollet Ave exit North from 494 about 1/2 mile to 70th St. Turn Left (West).

70th Street & Nicollet Avenue South in Richfield

January 1st 2005, First Footing Schedule

News about First Footing!

We are excited to report that we have a schedule of houses and courses for First Footing! On Saturday, January 1^st. 2005, we will gather beginning at 1:00 p.m. at the home of our new Head Campfollower, Rob Johnson, and his partner, Heidi Johnson, for beverages and appetizers. We will proceed thence at 3:00 to Cate Hesser’s home for soups and salads, then at 5:00 will progress to Bruce and Julie Yoder’s for the main course. At 7:30, we will move on to Marty and Judy Byer’s for desserts. First Footing is a potluck; the success of the event depends on each of us contributing. Please plan on bringing a contribution to at least two of the houses, and please R.s.v.p. to Julie Yoder at julieyoder@juno.com or 651-698-8375 with the number of people attending and what you plan to bring. Please respond by Friday, December 17. We the staff thank those who volunteered their homes, whether we were able to use them this time or not!

R.s.v.p.s REQUIRED BY DECEMBER 18!

Here’s what we have so far; updates will be posted periodically to the Member elist:

Appetizers and Beverages, 1:00

Rob Johnson and Heidi Johnson
629 Kenwood Parkway, Minneapolis