West Boylston - June 2008 - Sunday

On Sunday there was no battle. The plan was to have some friendly games with the boys and their guns. But the heat was so intense, that all events were tentatively canceled. Even by early morning the boys looked like they were ready to melt.





We started the morning with a lovely breakfast prepared by Debbie. Starting with sausages …



and pancakes …





and finally some melons cut by Kitty …



After breakfast the men went behind the tent and cleaned their guns from the day before.







A lot of people left early in the morning, and I can’t say I blame them. Some of them had a ways to drive, and the heat was just horrid. We decided to wait it out for a bit because we didn’t have as far to drive (comparatively speaking) and we figured it would be easier to pack up after some of the other regiments were gone. I made sandwiches and pasta salad for lunch, and someone decided that they would have one of the competitions that had originally been cancelled. It was a “Last Man Standing” competition. The instructions, as relayed in an email, are as follows:

The final event is known as "The Last Man Standing". All registered participants, including members not part of a team, are encouraged to participate. This event will determine who is the fastest individual within the BB or CL. Time will begin at 35 seconds and count down by 5 seconds until 25 seconds. Time will count down by one second thereafter until there is a last man standing. Time starts from the firing position and ends when the musket is at the shoulder. If time is called -usually through a whistle blow - before the musket is at the shoulder, that individual is disqualified. When the musket is fired, if there is a mis-fire, that individual is disqualified. An individual moves to the next round only when the musket has got to the shoulder within the allotted time and has discharged. If the top three individuals are part of a participating competitive unit, then points will be awarded to each unit that the individual is part of.



I didn’t quite understand how it would work, but it ended up being a lot of fun to watch. Basically the men that were participating lined up and someone would start a timer. Each guy then had to do a dry fire and reload their gun and have the gun to their shoulder ready to fire once time was called. If they made any mistakes they were disqualified. Then they went down the line and each person fired their gun, if it mis-fired they were disqualified. If it fired they continued on to the next round.



It was a quick, but fun, event. I hope they do it again at another event. I think it really engages the crowd. No one from the 1st NH participated, but I think they would if it was done at another event.

Sunday was a fun day and it was so nice to only have an hour drive home. I don’t think we have any other weekend events that are that close. I hope West Boylston makes this a yearly event, though it was small in size, it was big in fun.

If you want to see all the pictures from Sunday check out my gallery here.

Believe me yours faithfully,
Rachel