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Sample Newsletter

We put out a monthly member newsletter to keep members apprised of events, meetings, and social activities. This is a sample:

New Date for February Member's Meeting and Sewing Bee! The February Clann Tartan Members Meeting is now happening on Saturday, February 16th at the home of Julie and Bruce Yoder at 4736 12th Ave S Minneapolis MN 55407. The meeting will begin at 11am with the sewing session following. The position of Board Secretary is up for election. Sorry for any confusion.
 
Change for the Music Guild! The Clann Tartan Music Guild meets at the home of Julie and Bruce Yoder. like the February Members Meeting. It will, now, begin at 6pm and go until 8pm on the first Thursday of each month. Hope to see you there!
 
 
The 26th Annual Albert Lea Big Island Historical Faire is scheduled from 10am-6pm on Saturday, Feb. 9 and from 12pm-4pm on Sunday, Feb.10 at the Northbridge Mall in Albert Lea, MN.
 
From The Fruit, Herbs & Vegetables of Italy by Giacomo Castelvetro, written in England in 1614

pp 124 - 125
 
Under the heading "Sweet chestnuts" (Castanea sativa), Giacomo writes the following.

Next we have sweet chestnuts, which are so beneficial to mankind, but which you do not have here. They are good to eat raw or cooked, but cooked is best.

We roast chestnuts in a perforated dish over the fire and leave them for a while under hot ashes. Then we clean and peel them and eat them with salt and pepper.
 
Another way is to to cook them on a grid over hot coals and cover them with ashes, as explained above, and eat them seasoned with orange juice rather than sugar, as you do here.
 
Many eat sweet chestnuts instead of medlars for the "Ventura" with a sip of wine after each one, which leaves them reeling if the wine is young and sweet.
 
Simply boiled in water they are food for peasants and young children rather than discriminating adults.
 
We also cook chestnuts in good-quality sweet white wine, and when they are done strain them and put them to dry in the smoke. They are marvellous preserved this way, and last for a whole year.
 
Even larger quantities of chestnuts are dried and smoked, uncooked, in baskets, and then shelled by putting them in sacks and bashing them. They will last for two years or more.
 
When roses are in bloom our ladies take quantities of these dried chestnuts and mix them with rose petals in coffers and baskets, where the chestnuts soon become soft and very fragrant.
 
We make bread out of flour made from the smaller ones, which tastes sweet, and is far from insipid. This flour will keep well for several years, so our rulers keep great stores of it in their fortresses as wartime provisions. Once dried it deteriorates very little.
 
The poor are well-nourished on dried chestnuts and cook them in various ways. Some stew them with vegetables such as beans or grass peas. Others soak them, remove the inner skin and cook them until soft, and then mix them with ricotta or cream, which is really very nice.
 
Peeled chestnuts are used with prunes, raisins and breadcrumbs in a stuffing for roast chicken, goose or turkey.
 
Chestnuts are the main food for thousands in our mountainous regions, who hardly ever see wheat bread. When the chestnut crop is poor, and the price of wheat high, they suffer a great deal. So long as they have plenty of chestnuts and milk, bread and wine means nothing to them, and yet they are fine, robust people.
 
Board Meeting Minutes of 11/3/2018
Meeting Begins: 11:05am
Present: Bruce, Ann, Laura, Sharon, Eric, David, Laurie, Carl, Kaitlyn
President's Report: none
Treasurer's Report: Clann has had close to a break even year. All stipends are in.
Secretary's Report: November newsletter has already been sent out.
Quartermaster's Report: Musket is still getting repaired.
Guilds: Still dancing the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. Music continues on the first Thursday of the month.
Old Business: Skirrets to be tried, next year.
New Business: Inventory will be scheduled for Spring, 2019. A new family may be joining Clann. Laurie's tent has been offered for their use. A friend of Carl's may, also, be joining in 2019. If an under age person wants to attend shows without a parent, a parental permission form is needed. David will research what the law requires for firing muskets by youth. A sewing bee has been scheduled. This will be at Yoder's on Saturday, February 2nd after the 11am Quarterly Meeting. Laura to send out notification to Members with dance dates and location. Email being received is still an issue. Shall we go to Google Groups and start fresh? A question was asked if Clann should have a gathering for First Footing, or Lady Day. Lady Day occurs on March 23, 2019. Suggestions made included a public demo at Merlin's Rest, or on Burns Night. Decision deferred to Staff for working out. Carl offered to start up a WIX website for Clann. Dot servant is paid for the next year, already. Motion made to accept Carl's offer. Vote carried with one abstention. David to help with inaccuracies with historical content. Sharon suggested doing a voluntary demo in Eau Claire, WI with the library to promote Scottish culture, and Clann Tartan.
Elections: Carl and Justin were elected Corporals. David was elected Captain. Ann was elected Goodwife.
Contracts: Siege of Woodville is only show scheduled, so far. It will be on May 10th, 2019. We will be asking to camp overnight at the Fire in the Shire event in Alma in 2019.
 
Meeting Adjourned: 11:30
 
 
Currently Scheduled 2019 Events:

Big Island Historical Faire
Northbridge Mall, Albert Lea, MN
Saturday & Sunday, Feb 9 & 10, 2019
 
Siege of Woodville
Viking Middle School, 550 Highway 12, Woodville, WI
Friday, May 10, 2018
 
Dundas Armed Forces Day
11988 Faribault Blvd. Dundas, MN
Saturday & Sunday, May 18 & 19, 2019
 
Fire in the Shire
Alma, WI
 
MN Scottish Fair & Highland Games
1501 Central Parkway, Eagan, MN
Saturday, July 19 &20 2018
http://www.mnscottishfair.org/
 
Muster
August, 2018
 
Big Island Rendezvous
Thursday - Sunday, October 3-6, 2018
 
Mankato History Fest
Wednesday - Saturday, October 9-12, 2018
 

Guilds:

Sword - Not active at this time.

Dance - The Dance Guild gathers twice a month from 7PM-9PM to learn and practice historic Scottish country dances. Dance will meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at Saint Christopher's Episcopal Church, 2300 N Hamline Ave. in Roseville.It is at the northeast corner of Highway 36 and Hamline Avenue (Hamline is between Snelling and Lexington). The church is actually encircled by the highway entrance ramp.

Music-We will sing and play music of many styles and places from our period. Bring your voice and/or your instrument(s). Neither need be period correct. The Yoders have graciously offered to host music once a month. We will meet at their house at 4736 12th Ave S, Minneapolis, from 6-8pm the 1st Thursday of each month. To contact the Yoders, call 612-825-4519 or email to Julieyoder at juno dot com.To contact your Music Chair, call David at 612-353-1237 or email to baethan1630 at yahoo dot com. Thanks, and I look forward to making some noise with y'all! - DavidWe have a yahoo groups email list for the guild that we use for reminders about the meetings and topical discussions. If you want to be on the email list, request an invitation to join from Bruce at bruceyoder at juno dot com.

 

Board Members

 

President David Vavreck 612-353-1237 baethan1630 at yahoo dot com

Secretary Laura Swenson 715-497-9792 needlesandpins1630 at gmail dot com

Treasurer Bruce Yoder 612-825-4519 bruceyoder at juno dot com

 


Staff Members

Chief of Staff Vacant

Captain David Vavreck 612-353-1237

baethan1630 at yahoo dot com

Lieutenant Vacant

Corporal Justin Hohn & Carl Swenson715-684-4221

act_history at hotmail dot com

Head Camp Follower Laura Swenson 715-497-9792 cell
needlesandpins1630 at gmail dot com

Assistant Head Camp Follower Vacant

Goodwife Ann Peters


Quartermaster

 

David Vavreck 612-353-1237 Baethan1630 at yahoo dot com

 

Advertisements:

Two Panther Primitives canvas tents continue to be for sale! Joseph Croft of Celtic Croft writes that they don't do any reenactment events anymore, and they are switching over to modern style metal-frame tents. So, it's time for our canvas tents to go.

12'x12' Panther Primitives Marquis

Made with Panther Primitives heaviest canvas (13 oz. Sunforger With Flame Retardant). Includes tent and walls, 12' sun-porch fly, ridge poles and uprights, and several 6' poles for the fly. Perimeter poles (7 foot), ropes, and stakes are not included (but fully compatible with those included with the 24'). The tent is in excellent condition, and 2 of the walls are in excellent condition — normal dirt and wear and tear for a gently-used festival tent. The 3rd and 4th walls have some mold stains because our shed unfortunately leaked a couple winters ago. I'm guessing it can be bleached in an industrial-size washing machine, but I'm uncertain about restoring the water-proofing after going through the wash. The mold-stained walls are perfectly functional, just ugly. We had the tent set-up last summer for a backyard party. No holes, and it's still waterproof. It would make an excellent camp or kitchen tent. The tent is about 15 years old, but was really only used for 5 seasons before we replaced it with a larger tent and put it in storage. It's been up about once a year for small events. I'd like to get $200 for it.

Custom 24' Panther Primitives Tall Marquis

Made with Panther Primitives heaviest canvas (13 oz. Sunforger With Flame Retardant). Only 4 years old. Original invoice available on request. Really big and really nice. Still looks nearly new. We weathered the storm a couple years ago at the Minnesota Scottish Festival & Highland Games, and suffered very minor damage. We lost a couple of the little brass hooks at the top of a couple of wall sections, and a couple of string ties. We had some minor tearing in the four corners, but we repaired and reinforced the corners with matching canvas from Panther Primitives. It looks great and is now stronger than new.

We paid $2500 for the tent, walls, and ridge poles. I would like to get $1000, which will include all perimeter poles, ropes, and stakes — the complete package needed to setup the tent.

Please email me at

or call our office number (763-569-4373), if interested in either one of these tents.

Thanks!

Joseph Croft

 

Reasonably priced, accurate 17th century shoes, boots, and other leather items, are available from member Pegeen Rozeske. 218-491-5036

Want to quit smoking? Lose weight? Sleep better? Deal with other issues? Your good Auntie/Cousin Mairi has opened her hypnotism clinic! For more information or to schedule a session, contact me at Mairi2 at juno dot com, or via cell at 651-307-2977. I look forward to working with you! Mary McKinley

 

GAS/MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT POLICY

The group has a policy for the reimbursement of fuel expenses for travel to shows and for payment for hauling the trailer to and from shows.

Personal reimbursement of fuel expenses: Members can request reimbursement for fuel for travel to and from shows. Everyone is eligible for this although the board requests that you only make the request if it is necessary. If everyone who attended a show also requested reimbursement, the total payout could exceed the stipend that the group received. The procedure is as follows: at the start of your journey, fill your tank and note the odometer reading on the receipt. Upon your return home after the event, fill your tank again and record your odometer reading again. This receipt along with any other fuel purchases made enroute represents the fuel used for the trip and the total is the amount to be reimbursed. Send the receipts along with your name and address to the Treasurer. Remember, please don't request reimbursement unless it is necessary, but it is better for you to attend and get reimbursed than for you to stay home because of financial considerations.

Payment policy for hauling the trailer: Because hauling the trailer or a substantial amount of gear can be hard on your vehicle and requires you to perform additional work for the company, we have a different payment policy for hauling. If you haul the trailer, the payment is $.48 per mile from the garage to the event and back to the garage. If you use your own vehicle to haul substantial company equipment from the garage to the event, the payment rate is $.24 per mile. Submit a request stating the number of miles you drove and send it to the group treasurer.

My address is 4736 12th Ave S Minneapolis MN 55407

WANTED: SUBMISSIONS FOR THE NEWSLETTER

Items you can submit include research articles, character sketches, and other items pertaining to living history and Scottish Culture. Email your items in either plain text, or MS Word format to Laura Swenson at needlesandpins1630 at gmail dot com or snail mail to her address at 615 Willow St. Baldwin, WI 54002.

Items must be received by the 15th of each month to be considered for inclusion for the upcoming months issue. Mailed submissions will not be returned unless requested. All pertinent submissions will be considered as space permits. All research articles must reference at least three sources. Submissions may be broken in multiple parts.

GARAGE

Our garage is located at 4352 Nicollet Ave S in Minneapolis. Access is in the alley on the west side of Nicollet. South bay of the double garage. Minor problems or issues should be reported to Bruce. In the event of an emergency, the landlord is Brad at 763-670-9200

food demonstration for shoocl group
food demonstration for school group