The Loon
Campagine Du Nord
Sanford Brigade
December 27, 2005
Happy New Year!!!
We hope everyone had a good new year and happy holidays. Last year was a very busy one for the Brigade and we look forward to a good time in 2006.
Brigade Annual Meeting will be held January 28, 2006 starting at 1 p.m. at the Brigade Cabin. You can pay your annual dues at this meeting for 2006. The Brigade book will not be available at the annual meeting to allow members to pay their 2006 dues at that time. If the 2006 annual dues are not paid by this date, you will be removed from the Brigade mailing list. So if you have not paid your annual dues, please take note of this.
Please note that annual dues for 2007 will be due by December 31, 2006. Annual dues are $15.00 and Life membership is $150.00. This will allow for better tracking of our members and to allow for us to distribute the Brigade book at the 2007 annual meeting.
We have a full slate of events that we are sponsoring this year again. We hope that the Brigade members will take advantage of as many of the events as possible. The tentative schedule of events (so far to date) is:
Annual Meeting - 01/28 - Brigade Cabin - Donnie Blizzard Chief Pontiac - 02/18-19 - Lloyd Baker Camp Agawan - 04/29-30 - Lloyd Baker Saginaw Zoo - 05/18-21 - Saginaw - Bob Pence Frankenmuth - 05/26-28 - Frankenmuth, MI - John Blizzard Heritage Days - 07/1-5 - West Branch - Sean Blizzard Isle Royal - 08/09-20 - Isle Royal - Mike George Baldoon - September - Port Hamton - Don Verhaeghe River of Time - 09/21-24 - Bay City - Donnie Blizzard Chatham - 10/1-3 - Chatham Thanksgiving - October - Cabin - Don Marquardt
If you have specific questions, contact the bourgeois for that event. We will be getting specific information on each event throughout the year in the Loon. All bourgeois are required to provide a report after the event with expenses, number of brigade attendees, and number of camps at the event. This will assist us in tracking the events as well as providing a basis for applying for grants.
The Chief Pontiac Trail Committee of the scouts is planning two living history events this year, The Davisburg Living History Show on February 18th and 19th, and the Friendship Rendezvous at Camp Agawam in Lake Orion on April 29th and 30th. We would like to invite the Brigade to have a table at the show to advertise and recruit, free of charge. We would also like to invite any brigade members to come to the Camp in April. It is a 1776 theme event this year. We will provide Saturday dinner to all reenactors camping at the event.
Come along this summer as the Sanford Brigade embarks upon a trip to the island called “Minong”. Minong, a native people word which roughly means “a good place”, is the island called Isle Royale. Isle Royale is an archipelago group of islands located in the western end of Lake Superior and possesses one of the longest running ecological studies of a predator/prey relationship - that of wolf and moose. We will immerse ourselves in this relationship and visit and relive the history of this rugged and magical isle.
The dates for this trip are from Wednesday 9 August 2006 through Sunday 20 August 2006. Our activities, while at the Island, will include providing three to four interpretive programs for the public, while still having several days to explore on our own. The plan is to take a Montreal canoe over to the Island on the National Park Services boat, The Ranger III. Only ten seasoned voyageurs will be needed to make up the crew. Some long and open expanses of water will confront us as we explore this magnificent island, while at the same time re-living for us and providing, to the public, a sense of what it was like plying the temptress lake called Superior.
Because of the nature of our visit the National Park Service will wave the normal fees associated with travel to the island. This also includes free passage for the Montreal canoe and the normal per/person/per/day user fee. The cut-off for signing on for this trip is Sunday February 12th 2006. If we get the number of crew needed, a pre-trip meeting will be planned to go over details, individual needs and financial responsibility for the trip. So if you have a desire to engage in this opportunity and bring history alive contact me for more information.
Michael George, 13487 Hawk Woods Trail, Fenton, Mich. 48430, PH# 810-714-3132 or mike.george@metroparks.com
Rifle River Rendezvous, West Branch, Mi.
July 2005
It was another outstanding reenactment in West Branch this year. The weather treated us considerably well, with only one day of rain. The day of the parade of course. We were treated to plenty of amenities and we had a steady stream of public visiting camps and listening to the music groups. The Bagpipe group and Tittabawasee Valley Fife and Drum Corp. performances were outstanding and enjoyed by all. I received numerous compliments on their participation and performances. The paddle dance held on Saturday evening was enjoyed by all of the camps as well as by members from both musical groups. We provided several days of kids crafts for the public as well as for the members of our participating groups. The reenactor events were a big hit again this year with the highlights being the tomahawk competition and the tug of war. Unfortunately for the French the British conquered in the tomahawk, but in true French fashion made the British suffer severely in the tug of war, taking first place and able to proudly display the trophy as champions of the event. A first this year were some battle skirmishes performed by Dan Chapman and his British military group. They were quite a hit and the crowd really enjoyed the show. We look forward to planning another outstanding event in 2006 for all to enjoy.
Event Bourgeois
Sean Blizzard
What else would you like to see in the Loon? Articles on clothing, members, firearms, canoes or other things of interest? Do you have anything you would like to place in the Loon? If you have ideas, comments, articles or suggestions you would like to see or place in the loon, you can e-mail them to jvbliz@chartermi.net or send them by snail mail (U.S. Post Office) to:
John Blizzard, 1000 N. Hampton St., Bay city, MI 48708
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