British Troops Occupy Fort Meigs!

No, it's not a joke, they really did get inside the fort this time. The last weekend in May was a busy time at this local historic site. However, the troops were reenactors taking part in a documentary about the War of 1812.

You faithful readers of The Herald might recall an article I wrote a few years ago about another film being made at the fort (Herald #34). In 2000, the topic was the Battle of Fallen Timbers and the fort was being used as a stand-in for Gen. Anthony Wayne's Fort Deposit. This time, Ft. Meigs will be used for several sites. Gary Foreman is the director of both films and returned to Ft. Meigs because of it's many outstanding qualities. He was able to shoot scenes that will depict events that took place in Baltimore and New Orleans. The new documentary, called "The First Invasion: War of 1812" is set to air on The History Channel in 2004.

I was able to get some nice photos of the action. The reenactors should be praised for their hard work in making this film. Getting the details right is very important to the director, who has been a reenactor in the past. Watching about 100 British soldiers file through the gates at the fort created quite the photo opportunity. The officers had bright, clean uniforms but the rank and file were a bit tattered and dirty, again historically correct. It's a shame we can't print color pictures in The Herald!

Drums Along the Maumee 2003: A Big Success

Well, another Great Lakes gaming convention is now history. Drums 4 had more attendees (143), recruited some new members and renewed many old ones. The raffle, flea market, T-shirts and Hot Dog Cart were all very profitable. I am proud to say we doubled our net profits from last year for the chapter.

The highlights this year are hard to choose. I think the variety of events is the greatest thing about the convention. You could pick from many historical periods and types of games (naval, air combat, infantry), or try something you can only do at a convention like one of the mega-games. Our many thanks go out to Steve Smith for running our first DBA tournament. This event makes Drums a bona-fide historical gaming convention!

We started planning for Drums 5 the day after Drums 4 was over. One item we will be dropping is the Sunday Event. I started it as something extra for our attendees to do on their way out of town Sunday. The first two years we had tours of Ft. Meigs by special arrangement. Last year, we toured the Wolcott House Museum Complex. This year, we invited everyone back to the fort to see, the completed reconstruction and Museum. Since the fort will be open all year now, our attendees can take a lunch break there on Saturday of Drums 5. The fort is only 10 minutes down the road. The addition of another room for gaming is also in the works for next year.

And the big news -- real name badges next year! One thing that doesn't need fixing are the games. The variety and quality offered by our hard-working GMs is top notch -- a perfect "10." A smooth running convention needs commitment from many people. I would again like to thank our game hosts, the dealers for taking the time to support us, the Great Lakes Board for helping us get established, and to you gamers for driving to Toledo on that fine spring weekend. I would like to say it's hard work, but I really do enjoy making this event happen!