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From Inception to a Recognized Shire
Written by Lady Margarita and Lady Muirgen
Edited by Lady Ruadhnait inghean Ruaidhri
Gather gentles all, to hear a tale of a Panther
that roared....(Or, did it belch?)
In the beginning, Fall '94 (A.S. XXVIII)
Charles, who was to become the first Seneschal of the
group gathered together a
group of individuals endowed with many gifts: basket-making, the sewing
of garb, archery, and more, with the intent of forming a branch of the
Society for Creative Anachronism in the Central Vermont area. Three of
these original members still remain under the Panther's care...Lady
Alida de Conti, Lady Margerita Kofinapoia, and Lord Kalf Sigurdson.
January/February of '95 (A.S. XXIX)
A small shire Yule was celebrated early in January. Meetings
were held
on
a weekly basis at that point.
Officers:
Charles - Seneschal
Wilhelm - Herald
Margarite - MoAS
There had begun correspondence with Mountain Freehold regarding zip
codes to
be given over to the new group.
Spring/Summer '95 (A.S. XXX)
Wilhelm and Margarite soon found their mundane lives too demanding for
the
offices they held and the offices passed to Crispin - Herald, and
myself
(Maggie/Margarita Kofinopoia) - MoAS.
The shire provided "gold key" for the festival goers of the Vermont
Midsummer
Festival in Montpelier as well as providing more fitting garb for the
"King and Queen" of the festival and other minor displays.
Working
together frantically we did manage to cobble together 60 basic t-tunics
in various sizes in time for the festival and Mountain Freehold, who
had agreed to become our sponsor shire, lent us their gold key as well.
Fall '95:
Officially recognized as an incipient shire.
Assisted incipient shire Dun ni Slieve (now River Stone)(*Shire of
Wydhamshire-2006) in hosting Northern Lights.
Northfield Labor Day demo
Misc. School demos
Kate running meetings and acting as Seneschal even though their home
location not quite annexed from neighboring shire/sponser yet.
Beginning of discussions for Panteria I
Spring '96 (A.S.XXXI):
Kate in direct contact with Freehold due to a problem with the
aforementioned
annexation of Hardwick and Craftsbury and they agreed to cede the areas
to us before the event was held there (we may still owe them for
that ).
Panteria I: In an effort to bring their gifts and interests to the
larger SCA
population, the good gentles of Panther Vale decided to organize an
event for all the East kingdom on Memorial Day Weekend: Panteria.
They
found a beautiful haven by Nichols pond, Kahagon. There were
approximately 50 people in attendance, including the first of our
equestrian visitors.
Summer'96:
Kate received letter from Kingdom Seneschal officially ceding
territories of Hardwick and Craftsbury and confirming her position as
Seneschal.
Provided loaner garb for Midsummer Festival again. Also had a
small fashion show/walk through costuming history, demo fighting, and
provided
general info throughout the day - in the pouring rain no less).
Winter '96-'97:
Planning Panteria II - bigger and better
Spring '97 (A.S. XXXII):
Panteria II: The second Panteria featured the talents of our most
talented feastocrat (and current seneschal) whose abilities were soon
spread far and wide. We also hosted a wedding of two members of
Mountain Freehold. Panteria II hosted approximately 150 good gentles.
Winter '97 (A.S. XXXII):
Yule Feast - In the company of good gentles from Panther Vale and many
from surrounding shires, we enjoyed good food, had music/dancing, and
we learned from our Senechal, Lady Kate, that this year Panteria was to
be a Royal Progress.
Spring '98 (A.S. XXXIII):
Panteria III (RP): We hosted the King and Queen's Equestrian
Championship
presided over by their Majesties Timothy and Gabrielle. Their Majesties
had wonderful comments for all, bringing laughter to the all at the
feast when King Timothy's eyes grew wider and rounder as each remove
came. He personally called the cooks and servers to stand at the front
of the hall for a round of applause. In addition, this year's events
consisted of heavy weapons, archery, fencing, an A&S
competition, Bardic Circle, and a Turkish Coffee-house. Panteria III
hosted approximately 350 good gentles.
Fall '98:
We celebrated the harvest, with a demo/feast in Craftsbury Common, and
at
long last we learned that we were a full fledged shire!
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