It vill teach you a lesson….eh?

I have been attending that show 16 out of the 19 years and yes, they have been taking things away from the re-enactors over the years, but still, it is a worth while event to attend.

Being a former and/or ex Viet-Vet (is it fomrer and/or ex?) that I don’t really get iritated by such antics and I just enjoy talking to the public, fellow reenactors, veterans themselves from WWII to Irag and Afghanistan and to the viewing public as well.

You’ve been in it longer than me, so you have a lot more perspective. My problem is living so far from the east coast that most events are a haul. So if I want to go to a big one, I have to be very selective. There certainly a lot of negatives to Reading. Probably the only way it will ever get better would be for large groups of Reenactors to threaten to pull out. I can’t imagine such an independent group of folks actually doing that. Anyway, your points are certainly well taken.

To say it’s changed would be a very large understatement.

A friend of mine remarked to me that he thought of Reading now as “the Old Soviet Union”. While that is a bit of a joke, there is some truth in it as such.

What used to be a fun and joyous event to attend has become something of a trial. Space is more limited every year, reenactors are not treated as well as they should be, gate restrictions are irritating, and the list goes on.

Another friend remarked to me that “every year they (the event planners, organizers, etc.)take something else away from the reenactors”. I can testify that that is true.

I could list all the things that used to be available to reenactors, but suffice to say, they are things remembered that gave Reading a certain draw that no longer exists.

The air show (WWII Weekend)is a huge fund raiser for MAAM. The public pays, the planes fly (if they can or if they show up), the reenactors entertain the public with all the stuff they have humped, bought, collected, researched and acquired. The public gets the show, MAAM gets the money and the reenactors get a mug.

Of course, the real reason reenactors go is to have fun, see each other, etc. But that said, there is something wrong with this picture.

If I am being totally honest here,I think that if you stay in reenacting long enough, you get a sense of how events evolve or go the opposite way. IMHO, Reading has gone the opposite way. I can only say that I have seen it go, and in a way, it’s expected.

I will note that there are many other events along the road these days. There is a budding air show in Geneseo, NY in July held at a private air field that is getting much interest. There are smaller events through out the summer months and early fall.

There will always be people that want to attend Reading, and that’s fine. As of this writing I will no longer be one of them.

Regards to all,
Patricia

The company we kept that night was excellent however and the singing along with the accordianist was grand.

You have done a wonderful job with the write up once again Jim. I look forward to the upcoming Rowlesburg event.

See you (and Bill) there!

Mike