TSG

SENTRY

Fall Edition 2009

Volume 2 Number 3

TSG National Battle & Meeting

Event Set for Dec 4-6, 2009 at Vincennes, IN 

The annual TSG, Inc. National Tactical Battle is set for December 4 thru 6, 2009 at a new site in Vincennes, IN.  Also scheduled for the event is the annual membership meeting when elections for a member of the Board of Trustees and the office of Vice President will take place.

Camp Arthur, a long time Boy Scout Camp, will be the site for this year’s National Tactical Battle.  The camp, located northeast of Vincennes off of US Route 41, boasts 170 acres of woodlands bordering on a small lake.  This year the sponsoring unit is one of the newest units to join TSG, Inc., the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment.  The unit is made up of members from Illinois and Indiana as well as members of the Indiana Military Museum and is very accustomed to promoting and turning out great events.

This event was originally scheduled to be held on the US Army facilities at Ft. Campbell, KY.   However, demands for training facility time for our armed forces required TSG to find alternative accommodations.

The cost for this year’s event is $20.  The date has not changed, so those who marked their calendars can rest at ease.  The new location will mark the first time a WWII reenactment has occurred at Camp Arthur.  The camp traces its history back to 1945 when it was first opened as a Boy Scouts of America camp under the guidance of the Buffalo Trace Council and still operates as a BSA camp.   

For more details and event info follow the discussions on the TSG Proboard site: www.tsginc.proboards98.com

It’s Election Time Again……

The next “renewing” Board of Trustee position, along with the officer position of Vice President is up for elections at this time.

The current VP, Don Drake, is not seeking re-election and the board member position up for re-election is currently held by John Kuharic.

The TSG, Inc By-Laws required a one, two and three year board member position be created when the organization was formed in order to have a smooth transition of three year term of office board members, instead of all being elected at once.  Currently the two year position is up for re-election.  The newly elected board member will serve for a three year term. 

Next year the three year term position will be elected along with the office of President.

A Notice of Nominations stating the necessary qualifications for the open offices appears on page 3 of this newsletter.

“Battle for Caen” ……is on!

Event Moves from Rockome to Billie Creek Village

The annual Battle for Caen, an event that has become a staple for TSG, has moved from Rockome Gardens 60 miles straight east on US Route 36 and landed just across the state line at Billie Creek Village in Rockville, IN.

The location change grew out of a decision made by the new COO of Rockome Gardens to not have events like the Battle for Caen “that portrayed killing and war.”  Pressure was brought by the local Mennonite Church bishops who felt the current event went against their pacifist views and they did not want to honor or glorify those who had participated in a war (referring to WWII veterans).  The position taken by Rockome management has canceled other similar events held at the Amish themed park.

According to TSG President Mike Lipe “nothing has changed, except we have a better site that is more conducive for our needs.”  A ‘test event’ of sorts held at Billie Creek this past October convinced park owners that it was time for a WWII event at the park, and the agreement was made to move the Battle for Caen.  “This is really a win-win situation for all parties, the buildings at the site are much more like you would find in WWII Normandy and the Parke County community tourism bureau is very capable of promoting such events,” said Lipe.

Billie Creek currently hosts a very successful civil war event that draws hundreds of participants and the decision to include a WWII event seemed like a natural for father and son park owners Charlie and Jeff Cooper.  The layout of the village and the adjacent covered bridges lends itself to a perfect scenario for the Battle for Caen according to event coordinators.

Plans are well underway for the event skits and public battles.  And all the previous attractions at Rockome are being re-vamped to accommodate the facilities at Billie Creek.  Plans had been made for the participation of a B-17 bomber making bomb runs over Rockome.  The Lady Liberty Foundation, owners of the WWII B-17 “Lady Liberty” had previously committed to the Arcola, IL event and it is hoped they will be able to reschedule to fly over Billie Creek. 

Event coordinators, Don Drake, Mike Booker and Eric Gray indicated the previous participation of Allied and Axis armor and other military vehicles would continue along with the skits and vignettes that became so popular among reenactors and visitors alike.  Panzer Grüppe West has committed to bring the SPR Tiger tank to the new site.

Billie Creek Village is located just east of Rockville, IN on US Route 36.  TSG, Inc. members are encouraged to go online to take the virtual tour of the village at www.billiecreek.org and gain a better understanding of what the event site has to offer with its layout of the village and adjacent grounds.

The date for the 4^th annual “Battle for Caen” is June 25 thru 27, 2010, so be sure and mark your calendars for this one.  Details of the event should become available early next year.  If you attended the battle last year or plan to for the next one, just adjust your travel itinerary because everything else is the same.

Thoughts from Our Outgoing Vice President…

Greetings fellow reenactors:

It’s been a fine year, and a busy one at that. I am pleased with the progress we have made, with the new friends we have made and happy to see the involvement of so many of you in helping make this hobby what it is. I want to say thank you.

Rockome was a resounding success and we are working on a new site with a similar setup and hope to make it annual event also. Billie Creek may be a familiar name for all you civil war buffs and the event we had in October there was a hit.

It is also hoped to put Paris, IL back in the schedule for a PTO event next summer. I myself am working on trying to get the many people I met this year in my IJA impression together to field a decent sized IJA force. There are many of you out there who enjoy an IJA impression for a 2nd or even 3rd impression and I urge you to get on the IJA yahoo website here  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IJA/  Right now we are discussing an early June date.

Reports from the museum in Vincennes, IN event indicate a resounding success that was well organized and well run and we look forward to more from them (www.indianamilitarymuseum.org).

The National Tactical is coming up in December at our new location in Vincennes and I look forward to it and planning on attending.

Elections coming up this year are for Vice President and one board member. Let’s get those nominations in!

The reenactment of the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Poland took place this September in Yorkville. My hat is off to the 12^th Podolian Lancers for a job well done.

<S>

Don Drake