PLEASE HELP in voicing your opinion about the proposed budget cuts for Detroit Parks and Recreation that may result in the closing of Historic Fort Wayne after July 1st. I cannot express the urgency or the need for your support in this matter whether you are an active member of the Historic Fort Wayne Coalition or not. Please help keep this history alive and open. Below is an e-mail link to send a message to the president of Detroit City Council. As better contact info becomes available it will be posted.

CouncilPresidentPugh@detroitmi.gov

The ONV needs to support this fort and event. Men if you are not doing anything a week from today go to this event. We would go to Gettysburg or Shiloh to support preservation. Why not help a historic site in the Old Northwest? Jefferson and I are going to make the easy 8 1/2 hour drive to be there. C'mon boys!!
Everywhere the ONV has put on a living history we have been met with praise. We can help keep this fort open.
Holler

Hi gents,

If you can attend and want to make a difference, please contact Jeremy. There still is plenty of room and I am leaving around 7:00 PM (or later) from Wisconsin to attend due to some work responsiblities. It is a great cause to support and enjoy the fort to boot! My offer is still open to pick up anyone from the ONV that can make the trip if you are working late like me.

Also if you can not attend but want to donate some funds to help the Fort, please contact Jeremy here on a PM or post!

Thank you comrades for your support - it is greatly appreciated!

Tom

I just wanted to say what a great time I had at this event. The site is truly awesome! It was great to go to a period fort and not have to drive 15 hours to get there. This site is a gem right in our own backyard.

The fort is really cool and you can completely lose yourself in the 19th century there. I've never done a garrison event before, but I have done garrison in the real U.S. Army and I can say with much authority that this event really captured what garrison life is like.

We had a wonderful tour of the post led by Jeremy Brevard before the event. We got to sleep and eat our meals in the period barracks--a structure I've never seen at another historic fort. We had a good drill--bayonet drill was especially fun using practice targets. Guard duty was, well guard duty--not exactly fun, but a necessary part of garrison life that was well captured. We even had a post sutler ready to provide you with anything you wanted...if you were willing to pay!

It was obvious that much planning and attention to detail went into putting this event on. Thank you Sally Port Mess for a great weekend full of neat experiences and fond memories! I really hope you are able to do another event in a year or two because we need to continue to raise money to save this fort. I will be there for sure.

J. Thomas Atkinson
Formerly, Cpl., Co. G, 30th Michigan

Hi Scott,

I completely agree. Thank you to Jeremy, Will, Tom, Sean, and the rest of the Sally Port Mess. Although I was late for the event, well worth attending and supporting the Fort. My best regards to everyone on the Fort Wayne Coalition for a hard preservation battle ahead.

Tom

Thank you to everyone who made the trip and participated in making this event a successful one. Even with the heat and humidity you all continued your duties.

Special thanks to Will Eichler and Jim Rapai for cooking in that heat and doing a fine job of it. Thank you to Pat Price for doing a great sutler impression. His craft for boosting sales was a help to the preservation cause (“That’s the last pie” or “Don’t you need some baked goods”). Thank you to Larissa Fleishman the hard working laundress. How you sat in that 90 degree heat scrubbing clothes with hands in hot water I have no idea.

Another round of thanks to Will Eichler and Tom Steele for all the help setting up and site prep. Those same two along with Sean Collicott, Jim Rapai and Pat Price for helping tear down. Two days to set up and 2-1/2 hours to take down.

Last but not least thank you to Rod Miller, Andy Ackert, Tom Steele, Holler and Scott Gutzke for being an officer and NCO’s of the 30th Michigan Co G, 1st Platoon.

The first person conversation had in the Officers quarters was outstanding. At each meal and evening we had the sutler or the laundress (once both) for guests. The conversations were always period and very interesting. Sunday morning’s discussion over breakfast about the cause of the war, southern social structure and how large/full someone’s cup of knowledge is or could be was great.

The goal was to have a well research event based on history from Fort Wayne which gave the participates the slices of a garrison life experience. It seems to have been a success!

In the end $335 was raise for the Historic Fort Wayne Coalition. Plus 7 new bed sacks were donated to be used at the Fort and the bayonet dummies and stand.

Thank you to my brothers in the ONV for the support and I will see you in July.

Jeremy,

I had a great time. Only wish Rod or Andy would have arrested me for skipping two formations Sunday. Next time!

The baseball game was fun too!

Holler

You missed to formations with no punishment?!? You lazy volunteers! In my company of regulars you would have taken a tap from a rifle stock and walked the parade ground for two days with a log over your head.

I missed some math on closing out the event. The donation to the Historic Fort Wayne Coailition is actually $360! $25 more then originally posted.