My Artsy Fartsy 1930s Video

Well, this is the video I've spent a month preparing for. Kind of.

[@ScottCarlson-cz7wj]

Love to see a grandchildren camp video. Making and leaving memories with the grandchildren is one of the most important Grandpa missions in life. They will carry those memories and influences with them long after we are gone. Good job.

[@sargevining]

Well, I DO need and excuse to brag on them some------

[@WayPointSurvival]

Sorry the trip didn't work out for you but looking forward to the video and the extra information that you will be sharing!

[@sargevining]

Thanks. The camping trip worked out---there's no such thing as a bad camping trip---but the video didn't. That other vid is coming out this morning.

[@dennismarshall4207]

We understand land use changes, living in Florida we’ve watched high swaths of forest, wet prairie and swamp eaten up and covered by development. Not even a hint of a chance for nature to come back. It’s very saddening.

[@sargevining]

Yes, the good news here is that it isn't permanent, in fact its beneficial. For the next 10 years or so, this will be a feed lot for browsing animals as the sunlight allows leafier plants to grow until the pines get high enough that they reduce the sunlight getting to the forest floor. I've seen this kind of logging a good deal out there, it always results in a healthier forest.

[@jamesellsworth9673]

WOW: You have had plenty of trials and tribulations getting to do this period camp!

[@sargevining]

If anyone was to ask me what the most difficult video I've made, it would be this one, that's for sure.

[@lordnebo]

where I am unless the land is posted and you are about 50 yards for a building you can camp anywhere but do not cut any trees and be careful there is no fire band and don't leave a mess

[@sargevining]

Yah, it was the same in NH where I grew up. Its a holdover tradition, and a good one, from the colonial era when there were few roads and the only way most folks could travel was afoot. Down here, its a bit different in that if the property isn't fenced or gated its OK, but if that purple paint is present its not.

[@honorableoutfitters]

Well said my friend

[@sargevining]

Thanks!

[@ROE1300]

OMG! Sarge, I discovered a big problem with Living History re-enactments. The average life expectancy of American males in 1938 was a little less than 62 years. Men our age (early to mid-70s) out traipsing in the woods and camping would have been very rare birds; in fact, we would probably have been dead for 8-10 years. Seems to me this fact takes historical accuracy out of “Living” History. Even if the time from was the mid to late 1940s (so I could use my 10th Mountain rucksack) or the late 1950s to early 1960s (so I could use my Kelty A4 pack) the average life expectancy was early 60s and mid to late 60s. So, historically, we would either be sitting in a chair with our grandchildren feeding us mush or pushing up daisies. Therefore, if we are going to fantasize an unrealistic persona I believe we should be allowed to mix & match gear from different time periods. Or, perhaps our persona should be 70-somethings living in the 3rd decade of the 21st Century using vintage equipment. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Your thoughts?

[@sargevining]

Well, the first thing I'll say is that the nature of the hobby is such that it is generally practiced by folks who have the money and time to expend on it, which usually means grown children and a stable career of more than just a couple of years, meaning that folks who do it tend to be older than, say, your average softball team. But let's also remember that "average" means that there were just as many people who died under the age of 62 as there were people who died over the age of 62. Now, factor in the fact that the infant mortality rate was a good deal higher back then than it is today, and children also died at a higher rate. Higher rates of work related fatalities because of more dangerous occupations also contributes to working age people dying at a higher rate than today. This then, would tend to bring the "average" down. One of the things that gives us a higher average life expectancy today is fewer people dying at a young age as well as more people dying at an older age. Mixing and matching from different periods is what the Bannerman's Camp idea is all about. The only limitation being that if you are portraying somebody in 1938, you'd shouldn't be using anything produced after that year. Anything made before that is OK. We also make that definition as meaning "design date" for items that didn't change during their production period. For instance, the Primus 71 stove didn't change at all from the day they started making them in 1931 until some time in the 1960s when they stopped making them, so you can use a Primus 71 made in 1957 for your 1935 impression as the only difference between the two is a couple of letters stamped on the bottom.

[@ROE1300]

@@sargevining I understand your point about child mortality, the concept of “average”, and that gear used needs to have essentially been produced during or before the year being recreated. However, thinking back to my early primary education age (late 1950s) I remember my 60-something grandparents who spent their lives in rural Northern Maine and Western Massachusetts (not sissyfied city folk) and would have to compare them physically to people I know today who are in their early 80s. So, I am not convinced that in the 1930s, 1940s, and even early 1950s that the woods (or, any wild lands) saw very many 70-something people hiking or backpacking. Perhaps car camping or traveling via horseback, but even that seems like a stretch to me. Not that it didn’t happen, just that it was a very, very rare occurrence. Having said all that, as Living History is essentially creating a fantasy world (make believe people who live make believe lives) who’s to say that 70-something and 80-something folks could not be-bobbing through the bush. Thank you for taking the time to respond with your thoughts, I always find them interesting.