War of 1812 - Interview Series

by Judi McWilliams

Anne Brooks - Part One

It is fortunate that the Festival Nomad and I met Anne Brooks in our travels. Anne is the Marketing and Communications Coordinator at Fanshawe Pioneer Village in London, Ontario. Located in a beautiful setting on the Upper Thames River Conservation Area, Fanshawe Pioneer Village tells the story of rural communities in the former townships of Westminster, London, North Dorchester, Delaware, West Nissouri and Lobo in Middlesex County, from 1820 to 1920, and the founding and development of the City of London up to 1840. Since our meeting, Anne has become a Festival Nomad Correspondent with our Ontario Visited websites, attending several events. She has written articles and taken photos for us. Although Anne is not a member of any re-enactment group, she does work with the Upper Canada Military Re-enactment Society (UCMRS) since 2008 at Fanshawe Pioneer Village. She also keeps busy with the Upper Thames Military Re-enactment Society (UTMRS), since 2009, on a volunteer basis, with events that they plan such as a living history conference and the Bicentennial activities for 2012- 2014.

With this in mind, I thought it would be interesting to talk with Anne about her knowledge and experience with re-enactments and living history. I wondered how someone gets started with their involvement! Anne tells me … “I remember my dad taking my sister and me to re-enactments and all the Ontario forts when we were very young. He is a big history buff. I didn’t learn about living history or re-enactments till I started at Fanshawe Pioneer Vilaage in 2008.” As I have traveled to re-enactments, I always wonder how re-enactors obtain the uniforms/equipment needed in re-enacting, and what kind of cost is associated with these? In Anne’s case, she told me … “I had a bonnet made for me and I have made a dress, and purchased other items from merchants at re-enactments. Most re-enactors either make their own outfits or they buy them from someone else in the re-enacting community, this way their outfit is more authentic then some random person who isn’t familiar with re-enacting. Re-enacting is very expensive, for a soldier to get started it will generally cost around $2000, but it can cost a lot more or a lot less depending on how you go about it. One can purchase old uniforms and guns from other re-enactors, or you can purchase brand new. I know there have been re-enactors that have spent thousands just on their soldier’s jacket.”
(To Be Continued)