Historic Westville, New Location, Um, Yeah. About That...

[Mark Lewis]

Re: Historic Westville, New Location, Um, Yeah. About That...

As with everything the government touches the buildings and site are ruined. Historical accuracy should always be the first priority.

[Ken Knopp]

Re: Historic Westville, New Location, Um, Yeah. About That...

Hello Johnny, well my friend I see this as nothing less than an obvious "Bone of Contention!" A phrase I recall your using with great exhilaration and distinction (including a large bone prop) in the back (Gentlemen's) room at the Westville Tavern. And I might add from my memory, a place of unparalleled Southern gentlemen, unequalled educational stimuli, courtly manners, camaraderie, entertainment and revelry. And Johnny- you were a major part of that amazing experience.

While I intellectually understand the arguments I cannot help but place my sympathies squarely in the corner of Mr. Lloyd if only for the period immersion that Westville provided. After thirty years of reenacting and over one hundred events I can recall but few with such warmth and personal satisfaction. The Westville events certainly land among the top ten. Nothing can ever equal the "feel" (visual, sounds, smells and touch) the old site provided to give one the feeling of actually living in a Southern town in the 1860's. The buildings, their arrangement, their contents, the remote quietness and even the deplorable roads gave one a sense that this is as close as I am ever going to get to "as it was". Add to that the "best of the best" in Living Historians and well.......absolutely enchanting.

And, while I agree that preservation of the buildings is critically important (especially in today's world) it is also clear something more was sacrificed, lost and probably forever gone - at least for those of us that "lived" however briefly, at the old site. It cannot be duplicated. But then, such as it is in all things we cherish.

Ken R Knopp

[Johnny Lloyd]

Re: Historic Westville, Georgia's new location... um, yeah. About that... :/

I'm glad they preserved the buildings. If ADA-compliant features and not having interior fires are the biggest problems, there is no real problem. Hell, the time I was there I spent evenings in a tent and days inundated by the tourists who infested the site. The tavern at night was the most "immersive" part of the experience and clearly, for some participants, the "immersion" was as much in the offerings on pour as in history. It's good it was saved. Don't let amateur visions of the perfect be the enemy of professional realities of the good.

I mean think about it, Johnny. What you're really arguing is that actual historic buildings should be more exposed to damage from fire and smoke, and less accessible to the disabled, in order that we hobbyists can have, in our own unprofessional view, a more "authentic" experience. That's both selfish and utterly unrealistic.

Again, Mike... see above. Read what I said... It is VERY good the buildings are preserved and are being invested in.

That is about the only saving grace here in this story.

Unfortunately, for the hobbyist and not really for the museum-minded, the accurate interpretation of the site is now compromised. Those expecting the immersive experience of the Westville Saga will be sorely disappointed now the city blindly follows regulations, even when those regulations might hurt the attraction's main draw: authenticity of interpretation.

I think a happy medium could have been struck between safety/regulations and authenticity, but to what I have seen and heard from close sources so far, this hasn't happened. The village is being treated as a museum, not as a living history site that needs active, ACCURATE participation and interpretation.

On a secondary note: If the site gives just a little to reenactors, the site will receive love, in the long run, from them as well too.

There is nothing "selfish" in balancing historical accuracy (the draw to the site in the first place... it's raison de etre) and safety/regulations.

Others' mileage may vary, but I know what I saw.

[Johnny Lloyd]

Re: Historic Westville, Georgia's new location... um, yeah. About that... :/

I just wish they had tried to incorporate the ADA updates into the original designs a bit better. Using modern decking materials makes it stand out and that is the optical failure.

Totally agree, Joe... a Happy Medium could have been struck, but the guidance here to get it done seems to have been lacking.

- - - Updated - - -

Hello Johnny, well my friend I see this as nothing less than an obvious "Bone of Contention!" A phrase I recall your using with great exhilaration and distinction (including a large bone prop) in the back (Gentlemen's) room at the Westville Tavern. And I might add from my memory, a place of unparalleled Southern gentlemen, unequalled educational stimuli, courtly manners, camaraderie, entertainment and revelry. And Johnny- you were a major part of that amazing experience.

While I intellectually understand the arguments I cannot help but place my sympathies squarely in the corner of Mr. Lloyd if only for the period immersion that Westville provided. After thirty years of reenacting and over one hundred events I can recall but few with such warmth and personal satisfaction. The Westville events certainly land among the top ten. Nothing can ever equal the "feel" (visual, sounds, smells and touch) the old site provided to give one the feeling of actually living in a Southern town in the 1860's. The buildings, their arrangement, their contents, the remote quietness and even the deplorable roads gave one a sense that this is as close as I am ever going to get to "as it was". Add to that the "best of the best" in Living Historians and well.......absolutely enchanting.

And, while I agree that preservation of the buildings is critically important (especially in today's world) it is also clear something more was sacrificed, lost and probably forever gone - at least for those of us that "lived" however briefly, at the old site. It cannot be duplicated. But then, such as it is in all things we cherish.

Ken R Knopp

Yep, compadre... doesn't seem like these times will be back there, for a long time, at least. It was a blast. :)