| The Official Newsletter of Das TeufelsAlpdrücken Fähnlein. Published monthly, or whenever I get around to it. Any opinions contained herein are strictly my own, unless they're someone else's, as are any typographical errors. Entire contents copyright 2000 by Paula Peterka, unless otherwise noted or authored. Yeah, like you'd WANT to steal anything out of here! Outlast, outwit, outplay, mate! Where is gay naked Richard when you need him? |
| Volume 8 | Issue 1 |
January 25, 2001 | |
These are the official minutes of the Annual Business Meeting, printed in the Landskonnections at the request of the CEO, Larry Peterka. The Official Annual Unit Business meeting was held on Sunday, January 7, at the home of Larry and Paula Peterka. The meeting was called to order at 1:01 p.m. Present (in order of seating) were Scott Cozad, Heidi Peterson, Don Haithcock, Rob Slater, Linda Taggart, Mike Amos, Kender Green, Megan Haithcock, Janice Partenheimer, Brooke Bruce, Ray Partenheimer, MaryAgnes Costello, Paul Cruise, Elizabeth Partenheimer, Kellie Hendley, Mark Denz, Larry Peterka, Paula Peterka, Katrina Diehl, Kim White, and Peter Langsdorf. Prospective members Brien Langsdorf and Nick were present, as was guest Larry Diehl. Minutes of the previous unit meeting were not read, due to their being picked up in the frantic spate of cleaning prior to the meeting, and put in a "safe place". It was requested by Larry that they be printed in the next issue of the Landskonnections (that would be this one ?ed.), along with minutes from the Annual Meeting. They were unlocated as of press time, but will be published as soon as the "safe place" is uncovered. CFO Drew was not in attendance, but had e-mailed his report to Larry the previous evening. The unit treasury contains approximately $3,781.11, with some reconciliation yet to be done. Rob moved to have an audit of the unit books, which was seconded by Megan, and the motion passed with little discussion. Dues were received from Kender from last year, this year, and food fees for Winter Campaign, MTA, and MTT. A discussion ensued concerning two food plan checks discovered, uncashed, from last season. It was determined that as they had already been given to Drew, and he was aware of their potential staleness, he would take up the issue with the affected members.
The tent painting committee set their next meeting for 1/10/01, at the Peterkas'. The By-laws committee reported that no new meetings have taken place, but that a copy of the revised by-laws, as approved by the membership at the last meeting, would be sent to Rob, MaryAgnes, Linda, and Megan, and that new by-laws would be available for review by 4/1/01. Larry requested that a copy of the by-laws be sent out with the next issue of the Landskonnections. The non-profit committee reported that we have received official approval of our articles of incorporation. We are incorporated as a nonstop corporation in Maryland, meaning we're now known as Das TeufelsAlpdrücken Fähnlein, Inc. The paperwork for the next step in our quest for non-profit-dom is in process.
The unit web page was then discussed. Megan admitted that her efforts to update it have been hampered by the fact that she does not know HTML. Larry offered her use of Front Page, and other of his own personal computer resources, if she wants to learn. Megan stated that the individual biographies really need to be updated, and that most of them are still the one to two sentence blurbs that Paula wrote to hand out at the Maryland Renaissance Festival in 1995. A new bio information sheet had already been developed by Linda for her unofficial page, and she offered it to Megan for her information gathering. It was decided that a copy of it would be included in the next Landskonnections, and should be returned to Megan by April 1. Larry requested that Megan begin her other changes now, and have something for review by 4/1/01. Megan also asked that pictures be sent to her for inclusion on the page, as the current gallery is very out-of-date. Larry requested that the pictures be serious, rather than any of us engaging in anachronistic tomfoolery.
The T-shirt committee reported that they are further behind than they had hoped to be at this point. However, they have found three local companies that are very promising, and are working on a design. They were charged with having a demo shirt to present to the unit by 4/1/01. The next item of business was the promotion of members. The merits and demerits (if any) of the candidates for promotion were discussed, prior to any movements made on their probationary status. Heidi moved to promote MaryAgnes from probationary member to full member. Linda seconded, and the motion passed. Heidi then moved to promote Paul Cruise from probationary member to full member. Megan seconded, and the motion passed. Paula moved to extend Lottie's probationary period by another six months. Mike seconded, and the motion passed. Linda moved to promote Paul Fasciana from probationary member to full member. Heidi seconded, and the motion passed. Linda moved to terminate Rob Taggart's probationary period. Heidi seconded, and the motion passed. Paula moved to terminate Heather and Tom Partanan's respective probationary periods. Don seconded, and the motion passed. Letters explaining the termination of their probationary period with the unit will be sent to those so affected.
Prospective members were then invited to ask questions and submit applications. Nick (who's last name was not available at press time) asked a number of questions about the nature of the unit. Brien Langsdorf then submitted an application for membership. A great deal of discussion ensured over whether to re-admit him for membership. At length, Megan moved to accept Brien as a probationary member. Kender seconded, and the motion passed.
The next agenda item was the 2000 Maryland Renaissance Festival. Larry stated that the festival administration was very happy with the unit, and that we received an amazing number of compliments for other groups, and also from Mark and Justin Smith on our professionalism. Ray also gave praise and kudos to the unit, and Janice said "thank you" to the campfollowers. Scott also added praise. A discussion then ensued about members who obtained passes and comp tickets to the festival, and then failed to fulfill their obligation of working with the unit; specifically people who either didn't work at all or only worked one day, and then used their passes and/or comp tickets to return as patrons, and bring guests with them. It was determined that the unit will charge the most egregious offender for the cost of his pass and the two comp tickets, and that the Board of Directors should follow-up with the other offender, in order to determine whether charging is warranted.
Other old business was discussed, and a date was set for improving our campsite at Marietta Mansion. The Marietta Work Party will take place on April 7 & 8, from 10:00 am until dark. Members are requested to bring tools suitable for clearing land and cutting wild growth, and to dress appropriately. The unit will provide lunch for this work party, probably pizza.
Elections were then held. Larry ran unopposed for Hauptmann, and was affirmed by voice vote. Paula, Janice, Rob Slater, and Kellie were nominated for the position of Hauptfrau, but Kellie declined the nomination. Paula was elected Hauptfrau by a vote of 9-3-3, with abstentions not recorded. Larry ran unopposed for Chief Executive Officer, and was affirmed by voice vote. Paula ran unopposed for Chief Recording Officer, and was also affirmed by voice vote. Drew, Rob Slater, and MaryAgnes were nominated for Chief Financial Officer, but MaryAgnes declined the nomination. Rob was elected CFO by a vote of 16-3, abstentions not recorded. Drew, Kender, Janice, Mike Amos, Kim, Heidi, Kellie, Don, and Ray were all nominated for the position of Director-at-Large, but Ray declined the nomination. Drew and Janice were elected as Directors-at-Large by a vote of 9-1-6-2-4-2-4-4, with the two highest vote getters winning the positions, and abstentions not recorded.
The new slate then took office, and completed conducting the meeting. The calendar for the next few months was set, and events and workshops approved and scheduled as follows: Jo-Mar fabric trip 1/14 Newman Birthday Party 1/21, Bottle Stopper Making Workshop 1/28, Campfollower Basic training Workshop 2/3, Bag Making Workshop 2/4, Winter Campaign set-up 2/16, event 2/17-18, Box Making Workshop 2/24-25, Military Through the Ages, 3/16-18, Marietta Site Work Party 4/7-8, Marching Through Time set-up 4/19, School open camps 4/20, and event 4/21-22. Additionally, Thursday nights are Open House Landsknechting at the Peterkas' from 7:00 -9:00, with topics scheduled ahead of time.
Discussion of the 2001 Maryland Renaissance Festival was tabled until the next meeting, which was set for April 29, 2001, from 1::00 -4:00 p.m., at the Peterkas' house. Janice moved to adjourn the meeting, and Megan seconded. The motion was passed, and the meeting concluded at 4:22 p.m.
Landsknecht Thursdays Schedule
As noted in the previous article, Open House Thursdays have resumed at the Peterkas' house. Landsknechting begins at 7:00 p.m., and ends at 9:00 p.m.. Topics will be set and announced in advance, and suggestions are always welcome. On February 1, our subject will be Intro to Period Foods. This topics will include a field trip to a local grocery store to discuss food items in their natural habitat, and to purchase supplies for the Campfollower Basic Training Workshop the following Saturday (see related article). Please be on time, because we will be leaving promptly. On February 8, Boning will be covered: how it's used, where you need it, and how to make your own. Please bring work gloves and safety glasses. On Feb.15, we will be doing food prep and equipment packing for Winter Campaign, and Feb.22 will be another Movie Night, where we view and review a historically based movie for accuracies, inaccuracies, and the occasional gaping plot hole. See You There!
Campfollower Basic Training Workshop
You're in the Army Now! On February 3, we will have an intensive, all-day training class for campfollowers, although soldiers are welcome to attend, also. It will start promptly at 10:00 a.m., and run until 5:00 p.m. We will cover the Landsknecht daily life and survival skills that every Campfollower should know, including Basic Camp Equipment, Fire Safety, Basic Kitchen Tools and Their Use, and Beginning Camp Health and Hygiene. This is required learning for all campfollowers (and recommended for soldiers). Contact Paula if you can not attend.
Come join us on February 4 at the Bowie City Hall to learn how to make period bags and sacks to carry your personal gear, and help us make bags for unit-owned items. Please sign up with Paula, and bring your own sewing machine and accessories (fabric, needles, thread, bobbins, scissors, etc.), including extension cords. The unit will provide fabric for its own bags, and will have some to sell at cost if you can't find any for your personal bags. Acceptable fabrics are those with a tight, water repellent weave, including wool, linen, and heavy duck canvas. Some commercial patterns will be available, but please bring paper for copying/drafting your own. We will begin at 10:00, and continue until they kick us out at 5:00 p.m., or all the bags are finished, whichever comes first.
Don't Forget!!! The Seventh Annual Landsknecht Invitational Winter Campaign will be held on February 17 & 18, 2001, at the Marietta Mansion Historical Site in Glen Dale, Maryland. We will begin site set-up on Friday, February 16, at noon.
The food plan includes breakfast and lunch both days, and Saturday night's dinner, and costs $12.00 per person. There will be a site fee of $4.00 per person, which is basically to cover the straw, firewood, port-o-potty, and other miscellaneous expenses. Please pay your food and site fees directly to Rob Slater no later than February 1, 2000, and sooner if possible.
Everyone should plan to bring all of their camping gear, personal dishes and other accouterment. This is one of the few opportunities we have to really spread out, and it provides a rare opportunity for everyone to review their equipment to find out what needs to be repaired or replaced before Jamestown, as well as to refresh their memories about 16th century camping. The Field Officers will use this opportunity to hold a kit inspection, and reassess theatrical ranks based on the results.
Schedule of Upcoming Events (at least the ones we know about already)
| Every Thursday | Landsknecht Open House, Peterkas' |
| Feb. 16 - 18 | Winter Campaign, Marietta - Noon Fri. - 3:00 p.m. Sun. |
| March 16 - 18 | Military Through the Ages, Jamestown |
| April | Set up for Marching Through Time, Marietta Mansion |
| April 20 | Open School Demos, Marietta |
| April 21 - 22 | Marching Through Time, Marietta |
| June | Muster on the Maumee, Ohio (tent.) |
| Aug. 25 - Oct. 21 | Maryland Renaissance Festival |
To Bowie City Hall: Take Route 50 (East from 495, or West from 97) to Rte 197 North (Collington Road). Turn right at the first light onto Kenhill Road. The City Hall building is on your left. If you reach the T intersection with Belair road, you've gone too far. We will be in the multipurpose room on the left. (The same place where Paula's baby shower was held.)
To Marietta Mansion: Take 495 to 450 East, and get into the left lanes. Continue on 450, and turn left at route 193. Turn left at the first available turn, just past the brown Historic Marker, onto Bell Station Road. Turn left into the first driveway, and park/unload where indicated. Call 301-464-5291 if you get lost, or for site information.