April 6th Is National Tartan Day in the United States

April 6th is designated annually as National Tartan Day in the United States and recognizes the achievements of Americans of Scottish descent. 

It commemorates the date of the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath -- Scotland's Declaration of Independence -- on Sunday, April 6, 1320. The American Declaration of Independence, signed on Thursday, July 4, 1776, is said to have been modeled after the Scottish Declaration. Over half the signers of the American Declaration of Independence were of Scottish, or Ulster-Scots descent. 

National Tartan Day parades occur in major US cities, featuring bagpipe and drum bands playing Scottish music. Tartan clothing and kilts representing Scottish clans, or more modern patterns listed in the current Scottish Registry of Tartans,  are often worn by Americans of Scottish genealogy taking part in activities on this day. Groups such as the American Scottish Foundation organize these events along with special annual awards. 

Americans of Scottish descent have played an influential role in the founding and development of the United States and its cultural heritage. This fact was widely recognized on March 20, 1998 when the US Senate passed Senate bill No. 155 officially recognizing National tartan Day as a day for all Americans -- particularly those of Scottish descent -- every April 6th of the year. 

Senate resolution 155 officially declaring April 6th as
National Tartan Day annually in the United States of America (USA).

 

Y'all have a Happy National Tartan Day today!

War on the Homefront Event At Historic Brattonsville

Event poster advertising the War On The Homefront 1864 at Historic Brattonsville.

On Saturday, April 1st, my travels once again took me to beautiful Historic Brattonsville in McConnells, South Carolina.  

Some friends of mine were on site putting on a demonstration honoring the Confederate home guard and reserve units who served in the later half of the War Between The States (1861 - 1865). 

These home guard reservists were usually made up of older men and wounded soldiers who could no longer serve on the front line, but were able to continue serving their State government locally as militia and police. 

The re-enactors portraying members of Company D, 3rd Battalion SC Senior Reserves set up camp at the Smith House, located behind the large Bratton Plantation House. The old circa 1820s log house and the wooded surroundings served as an outstanding backdrop for the living history demonstration.

These are the photos I took of the living history presentation. My friends did an outstanding job as always.  

Mr. John T. Misskelley showing off a War period Enfield rifled musket
with attached bayonet.

Mr. Jimmy Owens sitting in front of the fire brewing coffee....a
rare luxury for Confederate soldiers in late 1864.

Mr. Bill Stephens posing in full circa 1864 Confederate infantry uniform.

Mr. Donny Raborn danging an Irish Jig....I think.

Shana "Rebel Luke" Hass portraying a female in uniform.
A number of women fought on both sides during the War Between The States
cutting their hair short and passing themselves as men in order to enlist
and fight.

"Load!"

"Ready! Aim!"

"Fire!"
(Sorry folks, didn't catch the flashes...again.)

Well, I hope y'all enjoyed my photographs and this blog post. I plan to return to Historic Brattonsville again on May 20th for their Revolutionary War in the Carolinas program, detailing the events in upstate South Carolina in 1780-1781. 

Until then, have a good Dixie day, y'all! 

Mad Monster Party In Rock Hill, SC

On Sunday, March 26th, for the second time in two weeks, I returned to the Baxter Hood Center in Rock Hill to attend a convention. This time it was to attend Mad Monster Party, a con dedicated to classic horror films, movie monsters, aliens, and the just plain bizarre. 

My kind of crowd. 

I was truly fortunate to arrive and meet several celebrities from classic films and television shows, as well as see some memorabilia that took me back to my childhood and my early pseudo-adulthood. 

The following photos document my time at Mad Monster Party.

Bumblebee from the original Transformers TV series,
one of my favorite classic 80s cartoon shows.

"You got the touch. You got the pow-errrrrr! Yeah!"

Ecto 1 classic design from the original 1984 Ghostbusters film and
Saturday Morning cartoon series The Real Ghostbusters.

Proton packs and other Ghost Busters equipment.

Jawa cosplayer from the Star Wars films.

A young Godzilla cosplayer ravages the Baxter Hood
Center with his mother.

Absolutely loved this young cosplayer portraying
Dipper from Disney's Gravity Falls TV series.

The man, the legend, the 16 time World Heavyweight Champion
and one of my personal childhood favorite wrestling personalities
the "Nature Boy" Ric Flair! WHOOOOO!

Sadly I could not afford to get his autograph or a photo with him.
I did however get to shake his hand and let him know I've appreciated
his work as a wrestler since childhood. I'd watched him wrestle
in the very first Starrcade in 1983 and been a life-long fan.
He thanked me for that. The Nature Boy thanked ME! WHOOO!

The Creature in the Hawaiian shirt and awesome kilt.

Authentic Jason Vorhees hockey mask from the Friday the 13th films
autographed by actor Kane Hodder who played the killer in most of the films.

Replica Leatherface leather mask from
the classic horror film Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2.

Teddy bears guaranteed to give a kid nightmares.

One of this blogger's favorite 80s horror films, Critters (1986)!

Namco. Atari. (sighs)
Nostalgic magnets for 80's children like myself who remembers all
these classic arcade games quite fondly.

Rebel Alliance pilot cosplayer from the Star Wars films.

One of my favorite cult classic horror films, the
Night of the Living Dead (1968),
with movie siblings Miss. Judith O'Dea (Barbara)
and Mr. Russell Streiner (Johnny).

"They're coming to get you, Barbara."

"Stop it! You're acting like a child!"

This was one of the people I really wanted to get an autograph from.
The living legend Mr. Ricou Browning, who did the underwater
stunt-work for the Gill-man -- one of the original classic
Universal Monsters -- in all three of  the Creature From The
Black Lagoon films.
It was a great honor to meet him and get a signed photograph.

Mr. Billy Dee Williams, who portrayed Lando Calrissian in the
Star Wars films: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
& Episode VI Return of the Jedi.

Japanese stuntman Mr. Tsutomu Kitagawa, who played Godzilla
in the Millennium ("Shinsei") series (1999 - 2004) of films,
as well as King Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster.

Yours truly posing for a photo with Mr. Kitagawa-san.

Mr. Kitagawa-san posing with the young Godzilla from earlier.

Overall it was an outstanding time, full of movie and childhood nostalgia. I only wished I had more money to spend in order to get more signed photos and memorabilia. (Sighs) Oh well, spending time in the company of fellow fans of classic horror and monster films was fun. I hope to do it again sometime in the near future. 
 

Once again, I hope y'all enjoyed my photos, and as always, y'all have a Dixie Day!