Where have all the persona's gone?

Photo by Ethan Yazel

 It was Friday night at the immersion event. I was sitting with Jim Jacobs sharing a pipe when suddenly he says "I've been thinking about why an old man like me might be out here with you fellows. Let me run this by you and see what you think." And like a switch suddenly flipping on, I was no longer sitting next to Jim Jacobs the 21st century man, but Jim Jacobs the Indian Trader suddenly came effortlessly into view without pretense or blundering. He began to tell me a complete and detailed life story. 

In the late 1740s, James (Jim) was an assistant to a Mr. Crawford. He was sent eventually to the village of Pickawillany in the Ohio Country. This village belonged to the Miami and in 1749, George Croghan established a trading post alongside the village. In 1750, after the French placed a bounty for Croghans scalp, the Pennsylvania Provincial Council sent along some gifts to the village requesting to build a "strong house." William Trent describes the fort thus : 

Having obtained permission from the Indians, the English, in the fall of 1750, began the erection of a stockade, as a place of protection, in case of sudden attack, both for their persons and property. When the main building was completed, it was surrounded with a high wall of split logs, having three gateways. Within the inclosure the traders dug a well, which furnished an abundant supply of fresh water during the fall, winter, and spring, but failed in summer. At this time Pickawillany contained four hundred Indian families, and was the residence of the principal chief of the Miami Confederacy.  - William Trent, Journal of Captain William Trent from Logstown to Pickawillany, A.D. 1752

 

Trent later describes the storehouse : 

...ordinary log cabins, the trading being carried on below, while an "upper storey" or "loft" was used as a place to store away skins and combustible material ... The articles of traffic on the part of the whites were firearms, gunpowder, lead, ball, knives, rings, rum, medals, hatchets, flints, blades, cooking utensils, shirts and other articles of wearing apparel, tobacco pipes, paint, etc .... Some of the traders would run regular "caravans" of fifteen or twenty horses, making several trips during the year.

This persona of a trader has been Jims bread and butter since the 90s, when the longhunter craze was in full swing. Jim, being the discerning reenactor that he is, decided to dive head first into a less romantic impression without all the bluster and shrouded in so much mythology.  

    As I sat and listened to this story, I was taken back to a time in this hobby when the 'persona' was an all important aspect of what it meant to be a reenactor or a living historian. Not just knowing what year it is, but what happened to you as a person 5, 10 or 15 years prior. What lead you to this moment that you are portraying. This idea of having a backstory to go along with what you were doing. This idea was more than mere public engagement. Dare I say it, it was almost a kind of role-play. For many, aside from this hobby having a certain educational value where the public is concerned, there's an element of escapism, of trying to walk in the shoes of a person long gone in a time and place long gone simply for the curiosity and personal satisfaction. This play acting isn't just mere story telling or fantasy though. It's informed by the research one does about history. 

   This approach appears to be absent in the progressive wing of this hobby. It would seem  that those who revel in nailing an impression and showing up for a "living history" or who have multi impression disorder (I'm guilty of this), are not as interested in this mode of reenacting. They are excited to show up for the hardcore interp event, only to grab a pizza and pull the six pack from the cooler at 5 o'clock when the public is no longer there to observe them. In some ways I think they view their impression as just a notch on the impression belt. They showed up, had an experience, they've got the photos to prove it and they're on to the next impression to conquer. The people like Jim who have dedicated their entire reenacting career to one specific time and place complete with backstory and persona would appear to be a bit of a curiosity in todays hobby. The idea of getting in the zone, to have a time travel moment after the public leaves. Staying in it for the 48 hour duration of the weekend event. This type of thing was the norm when I was growing up in this hobby at places like Manskers Station, Martins Station, Caesars Creek and Fair at New Boston among others. Not that everyone was walking around talking in some fake accent as another person. But they knew something about the who, what, where, and why of their person in the context of the 18th century. 

    This approach also managed to find its way home. While most folks pack up their kit at the end of the weekend and only see it again at the next event, some folks integrate their reenacting and experimental archeology into their every day lives, maybe trying to garden in an 18th century manner, hunting of course, maybe learning a skill or trade of the era, and all of this contributing and even becoming part of, to use the current hip kid lingo, the "lore" of your chosen characters persona. 

    I wonder if this way of reenacting is destined to be a memory, or if there are those who don't wish to merely give an impression, but who wish to adopt a persona. 

    For more thoughts on this, I'd recommend Cathy Johnsons book "Who was I?"