Early days in the SCA

A little while back I was asked by a friend in the SCA how long I had been around. I responded to her in an email a little about my early days in the SCA. Part of that response is below - with a lot of editing.

My first Japanese name - before I ever thought about registering it was Goshin. It is something that I just thought up one day, based on the style of martial art. Not too smart or wise in the ways of things of the SCA, I didn't really give it much thought, and the SCA was still so young then. There weren't many people around to advise you of things like that back in 1977. But the old saying is right - whatever name you first pick is one that people will always want to call you by - it just sticks. And it is hard to change. So when I thought I might like to have an "official" name, I found out that "Goshin" was not an acceptable name. I researched names in medieval Japan, looking for something similar to "Goshin," and came up with Tora-no-Shida Gozen.

Unfortunately, the heralds would not accept that name, citing the only source they had at the time on Japanese names. There were not many of us in the SCA who had adopted a Japanese persona. This was before the days when the mini-series Shogun was aired on TV and started a Japanese craze in the SCA. There was not much information about Japanese naming practices available to the College of Arms, and despite what I thought was sufficient documentation, they rejected the name.  So a year or so later, I went to the Herald's Point tables at the Pennsic War and said to the heralds working there, "Just help me figure out something that sound close." 

That is how I ended up with my present SCA name, Shishido Tora. "Gozen" is a name they wouldn't accept as it was also used as an honorific in feudal Japan. Well "Gozen" can mean "Lady" in Japan or the English equivalent of it, anyway. So I kept using the Gozen part as I had already earned that title in the SCA when I was awarded arms and it was what people knew me as in the SCA. During my wandering to Florida and Arizona I generally just used Gozen the Nomad, because that name described me pretty well at the time.

Actually, when I first joined the SCA in 1977, I used the name Aelfrica.  My first persona was a Teutonic barbarian wench. This was way before the Tuchux were doing their thing, so it wasn't that I wanted to be one of them. I figured that was likely a part of my heritage as I was descended from German stock. I had found the SCA my freshman year at college. I was attending school at Penn State's main campus at University Park and with a few other friends, we discovered the SCA. It was a small group; really just getting started. The local group's name was Nithgaard and it was just struggling to become a shire. That was when I met Master Cormac though he hadn't earned that title yet. There was just a few of us then - none of that first group are still active in the SCA except Cormac and I. We had a Seneschal - Porter I think his name was, or some such. All I remember about him was that he was a big fat dude who stole my membership money that first year. Bastard! He collected the membership money for us and said he would send it in but instead pocketed it. He left shortly after that. Being a college student with little money to spare, it was a big issue for me. But I managed to scrape up the funds again and sent my form in myself.

Michael and I at my first event

I went to my first event in Cherry Hill, NJ. It was the coronation when Fredrick of Holland was stepping down from the East throne. I don't remember who was assuming the throne, but Frederick sure made an impression on me. Now he was the picture of regal! I remember I went with Michael, a fellow I would later get engaged to, but never marry. That was mostly because he later didn't share any of my interests, including the SCA. My friend Mary, who would later be my college roommate, went as well. We slept at the site that night - a whole bunch of strangers shacked up together- crashed in the main hall of the church. Those were the Seventies and it felt like a happy hippy commune party. Nobody worried about anyone doing anything inappropriate or rude. It was love and free will!

Mary and I at Coronation, 1977

After Porter left, leadership of the group fell to Cormac, who was a graduate student in Medieval Studies. I remember going up to visit him in his office in the Towers,( I believe it was.) At one point I was the acting Seneschal for the group, but I don't remember for how long or who took over. I have some old papers identifying me that way, or else I wouldn't have remembered doing that. What I do remember is that Cormac and I formed a PSU student organization -VVV -Vikings Vandals and Visigoths. The plan was that with a student organization, we could utilize more facilities at the University and maybe get some student club funding. I don't think it ever really worked out that way, so we dropped the whole thing. I stayed active until I graduated.  I met some of my oldest friends during that time - Izumi (who was Harold of York then), Dennis (who was still Decadent then), Tryvar, Sugitori (who isn't active anymore), and Cara (though I didn't meet her through the SCA but brought her into the organization).

The battle on Runestone Field, 1981

The first Pennsic War I attended, we camped on the Runestone Hill. The event at that time was very small - about what War Practice is today. The battles were fought on Runestone field below the hill.  And the present day battlefield was the parking lot. The Pennsic Inn was there then and it was a magical place to go at night, and sit and listen to the minstrels and watch the people walk by. Pennsic nights weren't the chaos of partying and debauchery it is now. I remember the one year wandering with Sugi, passing a bottle of plum wine between us, as we walked around the dark quiet camps. 

The group I camped with moved the next year down to Willow Point. We might have returned back to Runestone Hill after that. Or I camped in a different area, as evidenced by this picture on the right, which was taken in 1984. That was my tent, I believe down near the lake.You can see how early it was because there are not a sea of tents, with everyone crowded up against one another. Life got a little complicated for me after that. I graduated from college and moved to south central PA for a job. My relationship with my fiancé went sour and I was trying to make ends meet. I was pretty low key in the SCA for a time. My focus was on trying to make a living. I was working crazy shift work and it was tough to get time off. I was also very involved with horses - showing, training and instructing students and trying to get a business off the ground. I ended up moving again, to Lewisburg, in pursuit of a better job and income.

Even though I wasn't very active in the SCA during this time, I stayed in touch with a few people. When I came back to things, I got involved with the shire in my area which was just getting started. This was the Shire of Abhainn Ciach Ghlais and the year was 1989 (or 1988). I went to Pennsic again that year after missing a few. Since I wasn't sure where my old group was camped, me and my old college room-mate, who went with me, set up a camp down along the bottom of the lake.  It was a rough War for me as I had seriously injured my back right before going out. I didn't know how bad it was until I got home and went to the ER and was told I needed surgery as soon as possible. I had a severely herniated disc with spinal cord involvement. War was only a four day event at that point - running from Thursday to Sunday.

Pennsic War in 1984.
The view from inside the Pennsic Inn.
This is close to where the MidRealm camp is now.
Across the road were tents , now - there are merchants.

All healed up from my surgery, I went out to Pennsic again.  It was the only event I was attending at that point, because of my work schedule didn't allow for weekends off. My sister went with me that year as I had introduced her to the SCA. I moved to Florida for a few years but came home to see friends at Pennsic. It was a chance to reunite, tell tales and catch up. Down in Florida, I started a new shire. We were a small group and things were going fairly well, but when I moved to Tucson, the group fell apart. In Arizona, I wasn't involved with the local group much because of the demands of my job, but I attended a few events. The one event that that I regretted not being able to attend was the Estrella War. It was close by but because of work I couldn't get off to attend. I also couldn't make the trip back east for Pennsic for two years.

After my years of wandering, as I call it, I returned east and was fortunate to live very close to the Pennsic War though not as close to some of my old friends as I would have liked. Seniority in my job meant I had more time off, and a better schedule.  I took another position for a while which gave me guaranteed weekends off which was something I had never had before. So I was able to get much more involved directly in the SCA. And the rest is history from there.