The thrilling days of yesteryear
|
| More than 60,000 people around the world enjoy spending their free time exploring a time long past through the Society of Creative Anarchronism. Local participants include Dixie Schroeder (from left), Ken Schroeder, Stacey Mihallik, Michael Mihallik, Jessica Schroeder and Cliff Peddicord. (BCR photo/Barb Kromphardt) |
| Buy Bureau County Republican Photos » |
PRINCETON — Do you yearn for the past? For the days when men were men and women were women? For the days of gallantry and chivalry?
Is your idea of a good time torn between watching “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and “The Princess Bride?”
Then return with me to the Canton of Athelington, the local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism.
The SCA is an international organization dedicated to the arts and skills of pre-17th-century Europe. Participants dress in the clothing of the Middle Ages and study and take part in activities including combat, archery, equestrian activities, costuming, cooking, metalwork, woodworking, music, dance, calligraphy, fiber arts and more.
The SCA began in 1966, and the local chapter has been in existence for about three years. It was created through the efforts of Ken Schroeder and Cliff and Elizabeth Peddicord, all of Princeton.
“I’ve always had an interest in medieval times,” Schroeder said. “The era is just fascinating. A lot of our culture, some of it comes from that, and some of it really should revert to a lot of that. The thoughts of chivalry, the thoughts of respect were definitely there that you don’t get now.”
Cliff Peddicord first became aware of the SCA in the early 1990s in the state of Washington when he saw a demonstration of heavy combat.
“It was very interesting watching these guys beat up on each other with their rattan swords,” he said with a laugh.
Peddicord’s wife was involved with the group, so he began going to events with her.
Peddicord said he still enjoys watching the combat, but there’s more to the appeal of SCA.
“It’s the social structure of it,” he said. “It’s very much a social kind of family, like ‘Hey we’re all in this together, let’s all have a fun kind of atmosphere,’ which is very attractive to me.”
The Canton of Athelington is part of a larger baronial structure that includes 19 kingdoms all over the world and about 60,000 participants. The local canton gets advice and support from Michael and Stacey Mihallik of Peoria, also known as the Baron and Baroness of Illiton.
“When the Peddicords and the Schroeders contacted us and said, ‘We want to form a little group,’ obviously we were thrilled and wanted to help them in any way we possibly could,” Michael Mihallik said.
Mihallik said the SCA embraces a huge variety of interests from the time period.
“Anything that was being studied during that time, being done during that time, is open game for us to explore,” he said. “We’re trying to recreate the very best of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance without any of the plagues.”
But the SCA is willing to overlook certain modern flaws.
“We’re not fanatical as far as you have to be wearing period underwear, you can’t wear glasses, your shoes have to be correct,” he said. “We’re not the Society for Compulsive Authenticity.”
Dixie Schroeder said she became interested in the SCA because as an English teacher, she has read a lot of that era, and that both she and Ken are “rather theatrical.”
“You find people who are interested in it for all sorts of reasons,” she said. “Some like the skills of being able to play with bows and arrows, and some people like the skills of smacking the stuffing out of each other.”
People can participate in the SCA on a variety of levels. Locally, the group holds monthly Arts and Science meetings at the Prairie Arts Center. On a larger level, there are events almost every weekend within driving distance.
Dixie said she appreciates all the assistance of the Baron and Baroness.
“The nice thing about us having a parent group, we get the benefit of that knowledge,” she said. “Say if one in our group got really into cooking and locally here we don’t do much with that so far, but we can go once a month to the cooking guild meetings in Peoria.”
Dixie, whose daughter Jessica also participates, thinks the SPA is great for families.
“It’s something you can do in an inexpensive way because it’s real tough nowadays for a family to meet the bills and everything and still be able to provide kind of a cool environment kids can be involved with,” she said.
Another family member is Marcia Peddicord, Cliff’s mother. Marcia Peddicord describes herself as a sideline participant.
“I don’t go to a lot of the events, but I’ve kind of gotten into it because my son and daughter-in-law were very involved,” she said. “My love is the history, and there’s so many things you can learn. At each of these events they actually have classes, where you can learn how to brew, you can learn how to bake, you can learn how to do beadwork, you can learn how to do illuminations.”
The Canton of Athelington is going to introduce itself to Bureau County residents in a big way on April 10 when it sponsors the Rites of Spring event at the Bureau County Fairgrounds. The public is invited to watch the members dressed in clothing of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, as they have archery tournaments, battles with medieval weapons and prepare a great feast.
“It is for other members, but at the same time, one of the reasons we wanted to have it in a very public place — and the Bureau County Fairgrounds is about as public as you get around here — is to kind of show what we are and to be honest, drum up a bit of membership,” Ken said with a laugh.
Comment on this story at www.bcrnews.com.
