Annotated "History of the West" - The History of the Kingdom of The ...

The Origin and History of the Society for Creative Anachronism and the Kingdom of the West
saw my first Belly dancer as well - Louise - the costumes and fighting were cool, but there were (most importantly) Intelligent (and
cute) females of mostly my age.
“There were a large number of young fighters - Sir Robert has mentioned this - all about 16 or 17. Earl, Kevin, Tom Conroy
(Sir Thumas na Leabar o Conaire), Willy the Green, Sir Argo, Kerry the Roc, Dai of the Tulips and many others - All of them now
inactive, except for Kevin and myself. I have seen some of these men around Berkeley now and then - Willy was working at Whole
Earth until a few years ago - I saw Tom walking on MLK Way - he looked almost the same as he had 30 years ago.
“I remember the Baycon tourney as having been watched by many, many people - hundreds. The area that it was fought on
is now Tennis courts. I have a jumbled impression of all of it - probably something to do with it all being new, and it was the '60's
... I have a much clearer memory of the revel, and of Richard on the Thorne, etc. - all of the first event kind of stuff.” – James
Greyhelm
D “By the Way, I'll use this point to bring up some things I should have about the BayCon description.
“1) The earlier Medieval Fashion Show (Phantasie of Fashion) was put on by Luise of the Phoenix and yours truly (Luise doing most
of the gathering of costume and design). It featured a reverse striptease of putting Henrik in to his armor. Unfortunately, the people
chosen to act as his arming squires were completely unfamiliar with Henrik and his armor, so it took about three times as long
as it should have. Luise and I wore our wedding outfits (which she had designed and made) for the finale.” – Stefan de Lorraine
1 “I would have been better able to help them get it right more quickly, but my left hand was in a half cast because of my broken
knuckle bone received a few weeks or so earlier at a fighting practice in Earl’s back yard. Richard was my opponent then. I did
fight at BayCon using a light weight kite shield which I strapped to my left forearm with my hand free and a 2" think rubber pad
between my hand and the shield. The broken hand was the impetus for me to act on a suggestion and invent the first SCA
basket hilts. T.I. #7 I think is the issue where I published my “How to Make Basket Hilts” article.” – Henrik of Havn
D “2) As I recall, this was the first time Jon the Lean's freon gas tank helms made an appearance. I believe mine didn't quite fit (I have
a very large head and he was trying to fit it around my glasses, as well) for the event.
“3) You may recall that Earl of Morris won the event, beating Siegfried von Hoflichskeit. Does this sound familiar? The Little Green
Dinosaur was on hand for this event as well, and he did a sequel cartoon of a couple of knights (one obviously Siegfried) in the
background with the other saying "Take it easy on him, Dave." In the foreground, a crazed Earl is assiduously polishing his sword ...
“4) At the convention was Bruce of Cloves, who was the King of the East. Apparently, from stories I heard later, he was a Stranger
King, who had attended at the last minute and fought because they didn't have enough fighters otherwise. He was a very nice fellow
but pretty clueless about what to do. Randal and Jon got ahold of him, and convinced him that the East needed guidance, so Bruce,
at the event, asked King Henrik to take the Kingdom of the East under the wing of the West and lead them on the true path (not
necessarily in those words). This essentially locked the Kingdom of the East under the sway of the Society in Berkeley and established
the Society as a national organization. From what I have been told, this was not at all the intent of the founders of the East Kingdom,
including Marion and Walter Breen, who had intended to have their own, similar, group, thank you. Marion, after all, had come up with
the SCA name in the first place and felt quite justified in using it in the East without any permission from her brothers in Berkeley.
“Bruce was rather ostracized when he came back and soon dropped out of the SCA (or so I am told by someone who was there
at the time--I'm trying to remember by who--Adrienne of Toledo?), but the annexation stuck.
“5) And, if it is not clear already, Baycon really put the SCA on the map. The number of people who later became very important
members of the SCA who found out about it at Baycon is absolutely amazing. Michael of Moria and Richard Ironsteed had the choice
of starting a fanzine or an SCA chapter and went for the SCA, creating Atenveldt. I think Paul of Bellatrix's first event was Baycon, and there
are many many more. “ – Stefan de Lorraine, who had a great time at that convention, even if the house he was staying in (Toad Hall,
in Berkeley, home of Geraldine at the time) was right on the outskirts of the riots going on at the same time. Having a fellow guest who
went out to see the sights come back with tear gas on his clothes was a salutary experience.”
1 “Ummm.... Actually, Toad Hall is in *Oakland* (by about a block). I lived there (rented it from Bob & Geri) for a few years. When
we moved out, Clint & Janet moved in.” – Hal Ravn
E “I have fond memories of the Baycon Tourney, It was combined with the Baycon World Science Fiction Convention which only
increased the parties in the evening hours. This was where I met my future wife, who had come as an "ift from the planet Janus"
and had dyed herself green. Randall Garrett commented for years about her sticking her arm out of the bathroom and being told
that it was still green. (It was still green for six months thereafter. So much for using food coloring instead of theatrical paint.) This
event gained a lot of science fiction fans as converts to the SCA.” – David of Illwheirlane
F “Ah, yes, Baycon was my first exposure to the SCA, too, though I didn't actually join for several more years, by then living in L.A. (And
I, too, was staying with someone on the edges of the Berkeley riots – my first whiff of tear gas. I'd all but forgotten about that.)
“It was also my first exposure to fandom. And the medieval fashion show inspired me sufficiently to go out scouring local thrift
shops with two fellow fans, where we bought some bits and pieces and put together a group costume presentation that actually
won a prize. Little did I dream ...” – Bevin Fraser of Sterling
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