Well, so you are new to reenacting and for the first time ever, you have heard the term "Farb." From what you've gathered it's like a disease, worse than the getting the "Clap." Because once you've been labelled a "farb", then you and everyone you associate with will be known as "farby." So what is this word "farb?" Here are a couple of definition that I consider first class. The first one's from Mike Gonzales -- 3K/J.R. 23 There seems to be a lot of confusion out there about the definition of a "FARB." Folks, if you’re DOING it right, THINK you’re doing it right, TRYING to do it right, or just WANT to do it right--as long as you are doing all that you can to up grade your impression--YOU’RE NOT A "FARB." However, if you have items you KNOW are wrong but don’t care to ask, seek info about, or attempt to improve these items, or worse, when a better reproduction IS widely available and you won’t upgrade to it, (despite a universe of peer pressure), then my friend you ARE a "FARB." A "FARB" will never utter these words: Say, that’s very authentic looking, where did you get that? How do I make one of those?Can you help me do that? Or...well, if we can’t do it right, lets not do it at all. Rather, "Farbs" are proponents of that old standard of "farbicity", the ten-foot rule, it’s close enough, is their mantra. On the other hand, I have never met a hard-core authentic, in ANY hobby, who would not bend over backwards to help someone who asked for it. Bottom line: If you’re not a "FARB (and don’t want to be known as one)" when you see someone doing it better than you...ASK! And then, don’t associate with known "FARBS" and/or "FARBY" units, because you WILL be judged by the company you keep. The next definition is from Tim Fensch -- 3K/J.R.63 The above definition of a "FARB" is the best I’ve seen! As long as someone is TRYING, they’re no "Farb." No matter how authentic someone is trying to be, they’ll never be 100%, but the effort is what’s important. Ever notice that "FARBS" always use the 100% criterion as a way of blowing off authenticity: "Oh yeah, well you guys don’t have trenchfoot, so you’re not authentic!" I have seen cases where guys were thought to be "farbs" but it turned out they just started - off in one of those ’doesn’t matter’ kind of units and didn’t know any better. Then, however when someone took the time to "HELP" them, they did improve. It takes, as others have said, all of us encouraging each other to push it a little more each event and rejoicing in each others’ efforts. "So what is living history? Sounds like an oxymoron to me." Some people equate "Living History" with costumed role-players portraying life in a different time. Some think that it is only the group of folks who put on uniforms of past wars and have a good time reenacting battles. While the Past can not change, history -- which is an interpretation of the past -- is always changing. What we call "Living History" is a relatively recent development in the interpretation of history. The concept of an "open air museum" dates to Skansen in Sweden in 1891, the idea being to preserve the material culture, especially the buildings, of a pre-industrial era -- a folk culture, in a rapidly industrializing world. A similar idea was at work in 1929 in the United States; the year work began on the privately funded development of both Greenfield Village, in Michigan, and Colonial Williamsburg, in Virginia. A new twist that developed in the American scene, however, was the effort put into placing the houses and objects collected into an appropriate context and in using them as educational resources in public programs meant to capture the imagination of visitors. Attempting to breathe life into static exhibits, staff were put to work recreating the work and the daily life of the people who populated these historic environs. Within JR459, "Living History" is taken to mean just this, the efforts of historical interpreters to immerse ourselves into the lives of the common everyday soldier and his enviroment. This is accomplished by using historic objects, the environs and appropriate recreations to tell the stories of the people who used those objects. In this sense we attempt to portray Imperial German soldiers during the Great War. We wear correct uniforms, use correct equipment, study their drill and attempt to re-live their experiences. Yes it is true that we can never recreate it 100%. We will never have the disease, the death and the constant fear of dying everyday. We as historical interpreters can only tempt fate as we charge against a machinegun firing blanks or against a bomber throwing a simulator. It's the sights and sounds of battle and afterwards which truly makes "living history" successful. Because J.R.459 cares about recreating the time period, we encourage our members to participate in "living history" scenarios and "first person" conversation. In the "living history" scenarios we pre-arrange a specific time during a battle reenactment and try our best to recreate the mood. For example, we may try our hand at "Christmas 1917." Members of J.R.459 will attempt to make a Christmas tree out of chicken wire and decorate it with cardboard ornaments. The unit members will then buy or make small gifts to exchange with other. Also, members are encouraged to write "first person" letters. In this way each soldier will be drawn into our scenario. You now have seen me mention the term "first person", and I can guess that you're wondering what that is. "First person" is exactly what it might seem and it's really not as hard as it sounds. At every event, as we try to recreate the experiences that the German soldiers had, we also must talk to each other. "First Person" is basically the attempt to have a conversation from the period but actually it's the omittance of modern terms while conversing. The explanation is easy. While sitting in the trenches trying to avoid getting noticed by the NCOs, we don't want to hear about your gas mileage to the event or about your new computer. What we want to hear are things that the homesick soldier would have talked about: his wife, his farm, how the army sucks, and anything else in general that may be good or bad. What is "first person" and how can I develop a "first person" impression? "First person" is a method of speaking with spectators and other reenactors as if you were actually from the 1900's. A "first person" interpreter discuss situations which would have involved yourself in the present tense as opposed to discussing the life of someone who lived during the time period you have chosen. Conversing in "first person" requires practice and its success depends opon several factors, the most important of which is how well you've researched your subject and the various aspects of the soldier's life, before and while he is in the Army. A perfect knowledge of your character is not mandatory when you first begin to portray the character. You should feel more comfortable with it as you continue to research him and add to your general knowledge base. A first person impression is like clothing and any other aspects of living history -- it is progressive and if you're good at it and continue, you can only refine your impression. The success of a "first person" impression can also depend on the setting. If you're standing in the middle of Manassas Airport, it may be hard to imagine it's Belgium 1918 and even harder to convince the tourist you're speaking with. On the other hand if you're at the Neuville Battlefield it's really easy to convince yourself and others you're in Belgium during 1918. Your success also depends on what you have read of the period. It is up to you to read books, diaries and newspapers that the soldiers and civilians of the region left behind. This makes it easier to describe any situation which you may face. Your "first person" impression should be able to converse with a knowledge of general conditions of the period, the hardships endured, and how he may have felt about this. Your impression might be married and have children. It will be up to you to name them or keep all of this straight. In JR459 you have three options to developing a "first person" impression. A) We ask you to take on an original name of a fallen soldier killed in 8 Kompagnie, JR459. This way you will already have your "first person" name, his birthdate, and where he was born. For the rest of the information concerning your impression you will have to make that up... B) If you wanted to honor a relative by adopting his name, you will still have to write down his family history or make it up using your own family... C) If you decided to use your own name then it will be completely up to you to develop your impression. There are several ways to develop your impression. First off, you will need a name. Please refrain from calling yourself "Hans Karl von Hindenburg." To become a "von" so and so, you were to be born of nobility and the next question would be. Why are you serving as a private in the German Army? No, we would not allow you to claim your actually the illegitimate son of General von Hindenburg. We won't let you start off with the label of a "frab" right of the bat! After you have chosen your name, then you need to decide when you were born. This is easy enough. If you take the year 1917 and subtract it from your current age and poof you have the year you were born (example: I am 39 and I was born in 1878). Now you have the basics of your first person impression. You will now need to decide where you were born? Where you lived? What state? Remember where JR459 was recruited from. This may help you decide where you were from. What about your family? What are your parents names? Their city of residence? Are you married? What's your wife's name? Any children and their names? You may want to adopt German names for your present family. What's your occupation? Remember that male Germans were drafted into the Army in October of the year in which their 20th birthday occured. Significantly less than 50% actually served, and the service was generally for 2 years. If you were old enough to have served before the war, what regiment were you in? So as you can see, there is quite a lot for you to decide, but the good thing about this is there's a purpose for all of this. After you get all this done you get to send this information to Lou Brown and he will help you to fill out a Soldbuch! We require that every soldier in JR459 carry one of these books. If you are developing your "first person" impression and wish to keep the information together you an open this file and print the information sheet for yourself. Besides the basic items you will need like uniform and equipment a German soldier may need a few other items to help convince himself and others who he is. During battle scenarios at Neuville I have captured a few enemy soldiers and were told that a certain pocket is "off-limits." This is where the soldier has hidden a couple items that he just could not live without. Of course I feel this is complete hog wash! If you need asprins or poison ivy blocker then put them into some type of period type container. Hell, you can use an "Altoid" container. Empty the contents, paint it and put some period label on it and then fill it with whatever you need. It's that easy. I feel that everything that is in your pocket should be part of your "kit." Now you ask what can I do to fine tune my impression? It all depends on how far you want to go. I personally carry a real picture of some German lady that I bought off of ebay for my $3.00 wife. You might have a letter or two from your family. A lock of hair -- maybe even a mourning pin of a your deceased brother. "Rauchen ist Verbotten!" Nein, Nein -- If your a smoker then carry a period cigarette case (you can find these all over ebay) or even a pipe bag and pipe. Remember there are no such things as filtered cigarettes, so try to smoke French or British cigarettes. In a pinch you could even try cigars or chew tobacco. All of these were common during the Great War. Of course you will need a period lighter, because as you know J.R.459 does not allow bic lighters in the trenches. Is there anything else? Are you one of these people who has to look at a clock? Do you have a cheap pocket watch? You would not want to break a family heirloom. Do you wear glasses? We really don't want to see "birth contol" glasses. If you need a pair, we ask you to purchase period glass frames and have your prescription put into them. Whats in your pockets? Maybe a German pocket knife that you use to open your can of "Bully beef." You might have a linen hankie to wipe your nose? A souvenir from a French "Brothel." What do you use your breadbag for? Does it just hang off your belt flapping in the breeze? Do you put some food items in it? Spare ammo? Wire cutters? What can you put into it? Perhaps some food items? Wow! You mean we get to eat too? Why yes, of course! The only thing is we don't eat "Dorito's" and "Snicker Bars" in the trenches. We are portraying German soldier's and should try eating something that resembles what they would have ate. Before every event I buy a couple cans of "Bully Beef (Spam or Potted meat)", a couple bars of Lindt Chocolate, some Landjäger sausage (resembles summer sausage) and some canned Herring. I carry these items in my breadbag (not at one time) but does keep me going for the whole weekend. Of course just buying period food does not completely wash. I still try to soak/scrape the modern labels off for and replace them with period looking labels. It does not take much to make your food more realistic. If you need to replace that plastic wrapper then wrap your food with white wax paper or freezer paper and tie it off with twine or cotton string. I've even made up some period ration bags out of linen and used a cotton string for a draw string. Inside I have put my Landjäger sausage. Now let's talk the important stuff "the drink." The Germans did not have access to a lot of drink in the Great War. A lot of times the drinking establishments in Belgium and France were supplied with watered down versions of their own "Beir." Most of the time the German's would import their own "beir" or make a mixture called "Grog" which was a combination of alcohol. "Kirschenfenster (stained glass windows)": Fill a large, clear glass, with three equal parts rum, arrack, and red wine. Do not mix--hence, the "stained glass" appearance. "Türkenblut (Turks blood)": In a champagne glass (tall flute) mix equal parts Seckt* ("champagne") and red wine. * We refer to sparkling wine as champagne; in Germany, a sparkling wine is Seckt unless it is "real" champagne--the sparkling wine from the Chapmage region of France. *Arrack refers to a Middle Eastern liqueur (from our friends in the Osmanisches Reich [Ottoman Empire]) distilled from either rice or molasses. It is hard to find, but some liquor outlets carry it. If your not one to drink this type of drink we do allow you to drink "beir" at our events. Of course this is strictly an after hour (ie: after combat) affair. Now remember this is a German unit and we were stationed in Belgium, so with that in mind, we only allow beer from these countries German, Belgium and sometimes French ;-) This means leave the "MGD" and "the Bud" at home! Remember our unit's motto, "life's to short, to drink swill!" So now here's your chance to splurge and buy that $14.00 dollar "Sassion Dupont" bottle or that $10.00 bottle of "Kasteel Kriek!" If your not a "beir" drinker and wish something stronger than have at it. Just remember the modern labels apply here to. You must soak/scrape them off and leave it blank or replace with a more "authentic" example. If at all possible replace that modern cap with a cork! For you soda/pop drinkers you are in luck. If you can find a few empty "Grolsch" beer bottles. These are bottles that seal with themselves a ceramic stopper. The beer comes in two packs and can be found everywhere. Well if you buy a few of these you can replace the contents with your favorite beverage. This way we will not see you whip out a can of Coca Cola or Sprite! Why ruin someone elses "time trip!"
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