ARMA in Wonewoc. (Where the heck is that?)

[Jeremiah Backhaus]

Fellow Scholars,

This last weekend was a special occasion in small town Wisconsin. We had the privilege of ARMA-Appleton doing a demonstration for the Lutheran boy and girl pioneers (that is the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod's version of boy and girl scouts). I have been training with the Appleton group for going on a year now, but I am in my third year of Seminary training and got assigned to the village of Wonewoc, WI which is 2 1/2 hours away and can't make training anymore on a regular basis. So we set up the demonstration for Nov. 9th.

The guys showed up right on (revised) time. Set up was very quick and the fun began. The presentation lasted for an hour and a half. There were probably about 30-40 people in attendance.

The thrall was complete. In small farming communities they really don't think of many things involving swords and fighting in a real sense. A special treat for them.

Aaron Pynenberg was the main presenter, being backed by Kevin Peterson, Eric Winkler and myself. Starting without words Aaron began by Flouryshing and catching everyone's attention. Then with steel he did some basic absetzen und versetzen. That was enough to make it worthwhile for everyone. Then Kevin walking them through the making of a sword was able to let some of the kids have a hands on experience. I am sure that there will be a few Christmas lists this year that have "plastic sword" written on them thanks to Eric. Eric also brought many of his collected goodies (warhammers, axes, coifs) which were donned by many when the opporunity arose. Toe touch drills and hitting a pell allowed some more hands on experience for the audience (young and old). And also allowed Aaron to put on his armour for the end of the demonstration. Where we talked about the "juggernaut" that armour made a noble. That brought an end to the evening. Though a few did sit back and ask some further questions when we were done.

I have been recieving compliments from many people about the attitude of the group. The wonderful demonstration and the pleasant time that everyone had.

I want to thank publicly ARMA-Appleton for coming down and making a wonderful evening for many people in the little town of Wonewoc.

-Jeremiah (GFS)

[Jeremiah Backhaus]

The next day we trained.

We got back into the training area at about 10ish am. And started with our regular routine of warmups.

Practice was pretty normal for Appleton, except we stopped at about 3pm. A hard workout, with a lot of payoff.

A few visitors came a watched for a bit. And I was reminded of the people asking about how our group is formed. So at lunch/dinner after the training, Aaron and I began talking about getting some of the people who expressed interest in a little deeper by offering a 1.0.

Of course, no one really knows where Wonewoc is. The closest ARMA member to Wonewoc is in LaCrosse. That would be Scott Hansen. He and I have been talking about this as well. And we are tenatively announcing a 1.0 in LaCrosse in February(2-3). Aaron Pynenberg will be the SFS leading. We have a lot of room in the gym and I believe there are hotels fairly close by.

Using the demonstration as a springboard we are hoping that this could be a successful event. And I just want to start getting the word out so that people can plan for a fun time in a fridged town!

-Jeremiah (GFS)

[Eric E. Winkler]

Jeremiah, Thank you again for everything! I personally had a great time at the demo and catching up with you! I hope we can get out by you again soon. I also wish you and Scott the best getting a study group going. Please thank everyone who came out to see the demo for me! I hope to see you soon ....P

[Aaron Pynenberg]

There is something about small-town WI. The people are a little more sincere, they give you more of themselves, as everyone usually knows each other so well. Thanks jeremiah for giving us this opportunity. I really enjoyed myself at this event. It makes you want to give evrything you have, as a presenter. The crowd was very engaging, and interested in the topic, which helps. They stuck around asked questions that made sense, and were just very nice.

Thanks to ARMA Appleton again, Members Kevin Peterson, and Eric Winkler, were instrumental in getting this op going. These guys loaded vehicles with equipment, took over set-up at the site, and organized the floor. They then assisted with the presentation, helped demonstrate techniques, fielded side-bar questions and were excellent reps for ARMA as a whole, again nice work guys!

After the demo, we had a home-cooked meal prepared hot and waiting for us, as well as a few cold ones, cold and waiting! (they even had garlic bread and salad prepped for us). Then on top of it threw together a very respectible sum for gas money, which we did not ask for, as we were going to train with the Big J-man the next day anyway.

Anyway, the next day we spent about 4 hours training with each other, we rigged up J's music system in the gym and went to town, practiced did about an hour of test cutting, polishing armor etc...it was a great day!

Thanks again Jeremiah, I saw one of the flyers you posted for the event, and it was very well-organized-I cannot wait for the 1.0-it's going to be a very cool event, I promise! -AP