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The following information describes our 22nd International Time Line Event.
The event takes you back in time to relive the period. Meet and greet
people who personify characters from times such as the Middle Ages,
Ancient Rome, Civil, Revolutionary and World Wars.
July 12 & 13, 2008
Howe Field, Wilmington, Vermont
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TIME LINE WHAT IS IT?
This event is an educational walk through man's history and is enjoyable for the whole family, as it is presented with hands on demonstrations. The 22nd International Time Line Event hosted by the Living History Association (LHA) with the help and sponsorship of the Celebrate the Valley Committee is an event that surpasses the educational expectations of all their other events. This is an event which characterizes both the achievements and failures of the human race through history and the event is truly unique in the amount of history that it covers.
The LHA Time Line Event attracts some of the association's best volunteer historical interpreters from the time periods of Ancient Rome to the jungles of Vietnam. It is not unusual to see Roman soldiers practicing their maneuvers with sword, shield and pilla while a Centurion speaks to you about the accomplishments of the Empire and the desirability of Roman Citizenship. All of the time that he speaks, our modern eye is reminded that he is served by slaves from conquered lands, and there is a certain callous ruthlessness in most of what he professes. Even though you may be repelled by his demeanor, he seems to be unaware of it and tries to recruit one of your family members for service in the Roman Army by encouraging you to feel the heft of his weaponry and the comfort of his armor. While all of this may seem barbaric, those who portray the middle ages seem to have fallen into an even greater pit of despair, and ruthlessness, punctuated by superstition. It is difficult to imagine our own ability to get from that point in history to where we are today.
But if you move on along this time line of history each camp offers something new, from American colonization and Revolution to Civil Wars and World Wars. Each has their own set of players with a different point of view, some of which will be contrary to your own. Some may even seem offensive in their ideology. Are the interpreters acting, or do they really mean it? They will enthusiastically show you their historical encampments and a huge amount of gear, both reproduction and original. In many cases you get to do more than look, you also get to touch, hear, and smell the history - from the cutting sounds of a World War II German Machine Gun to the light wood clicking sounds of a colonial spinning wheel, to the competing smell of fresh cooked sausage to GI Rations. One past year's event hosted Vietnam War soldiers and their VW love bug painted war protesters with signs and all their trappings. They even had some good arguments from both sides reminding us that history is not a tidy business.
So if you are not afraid of being recruited into the Roman Army of the 3rd century, becoming one of General Washington's Camp Followers in the 18th century, or even of having your papers asked for by a German World War II Military Policeman, - then this just might be a great event for you and the whole family!
There will be guided camp tours throughout both days of the event as well as a pre-scheduled clothing review demonstration on Saturday. There will also be pre-scheduled firing demonstrations of various weapons on both Saturday and Sunday. Units will drill and demonstrate aspects in their camps on both days independently.
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