Heat!
By
Jeff Hendershott, 17 July 2005
Everybody
complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. – Mark Twain
We here in Ohio are suffering,
and I emphasize SUFFERING, through one hell of a long spell of tropical heat
this summer. Whatever dynamics that cause that soupy, moist – indeed, unhealthy
- muggy air full of water pellets and bug feces to come out this way is sure
working!
For those of you who think that
it's the hot weather that is more healthy than the cold, check this out.
Every year, someone, somewhere releases to the news the list of the oldest living
Americans for that year. I always enjoy reading this, because it supports
my opinion, as unscientific as it may be: The OLDEST LIVING Americans 80
to 90% of the time live in the cold, northern states like Maine, Minnesota,
Wisconsin, North Dakota and Michigan! Yeah, you get Tennessee and Texas
and Florida represented by these geezers here and there, but the overwhelming
majority of those living way past their 100's come from the north.
I believe it all has to do with
the clean air that sweeps through these northern states, opposed to this steam
we call "air" in the humid climes. Again, I'm no scientist, but
like my dad says, follow your gut instincts and use common sense. Well,
I'm not always successful at the latter, but I'm convinced cool, clean air is
much more healthy (something Ben Franklin believed, and he out-lived many of
his contemporaries).
And if you are a regular viewer
of The Weather Channel like I am and keep up on all their nifty trivia
questions, you might know (and if you didn't, now you do) that the #1 weather-related
killer is NOT cold weather, floods, hurricanes, tornados, lightning, mud
slides, blizzards, or even earthquakes. It's HEAT!
If there's some scientific
research going on to engineer and "control" weather, I'd gladly be a donor
to anyone who can scientifically eliminate humidity! Yeah, I watch too much
science
fiction...
I got to thinking about this
recently, and not just because you cannot step foot out of your door without
breaking a sweat (and this is OHIO, for the love of God!). My cousin, who
was a chaplain with the reenactment unit we were members of, stopped by and we
wondered just "what the hell we were thinking" when we'd pile on twenty
pounds of woolen clothing in this kind of weather for an entire weekend!
I remember that the hottest
event I ever did was 1993 Gettysburg, where rumor had it that the heat index
checked in at 112! One reenactor there, it was said, died from the
heat. One year, 1992 I think, seemed like every event we did was hotter
than hell. I distinctly remember doing a small event in Ohio in the
mid-1990's where the weather was so hot and muggy, we couldn’t stop my daughter's
nose-bleeds. That was somewhat of a "turning point" in my reenacting
career. I'd stick anything out, weather be damned! After this
experience, however, I started to become more conscious of my family's (and my)
health and comfort. (Translation: First sign of "burnout.")
Back to 1993 Gettysburg for a
moment. It was the only event I was ever at where we were told we didn't
have to wear our jackets in battle. Praise God for the person who issued
that edict! And bless those people who shuttled buckets of ice to
us! I packed it in my hat, down my shirt and crotch!!!! It melted
quick (the ice, that is) and was relief - but temporary, mind you.
Sorry my friends in blue and
gray, but you may have all you wish! Been there, done that, got the
jock-itch.
I was checking out reenactment
unit sites on the web not long ago and had to chuckle at this "advice"
for new members (no disrespect to the unit who posted it, by the way):
Tent - Both halves of a 1864
shelter half is preferred as it would have been what the soldiers in the field
would have carried with them. Later, if you want, you may look into a larger
"A-frame," but the smaller shelter half or "dog tent" is
more correct and easier to put up and cart out. A dog tent can also be
converted into a lean-to or "she-bang" in hot weather when you want
air circulation.
"When you want air
circulation?” This reminds me of one of the biggest reenactor myths
going! "Sweat up your wools so when the breeze hits you, you'll cool
down!" Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha... When the "breeze"
features 98 degree heat with almost no oxygen due to the heavy dew point and
humidity rate, you may as well try and put out a house fire with a squirt gun!
What's interesting is that when
I look back and list my, say, Top 10 favorite events of all time, I find that
at all of them, the weather was cool! And sure, the summer events
"can" be all right.
A nice 75-degree day with sunshine and cool evenings, I'd say, are what every
reenactor prays for. Occasionally we get these. How you guys (and
gals) do it below the Mason-Dixon
line in the summer is beyond me! I visited Colonial Williamsburg,
Virginia three summers ago and even though that was not all that far south, I'd
never been in such oppressive heat in my life! One of my daughters was in
Mexico a number of months ago, and she said there it was even worse!
Huzza to those guys who fought in the Mexican War!
I remember seeing reenactors in
weather like this lay around all weekend suffering with stomach cramps and
other heat-related symptoms, yet determined, dammit, to "stick it
out." May I ask "what for?"
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I
know.... "Our ancestors did it, so don't we owe it to them to suffer
a little like they did?" Ahhhh..... I like to think my great
great-granddaddy was a pretty nice guy (and pretty smart too to survive all
four years of the war), and would say "Sonny, I didn't have a choice, but
YOU do! Crank up that AC and enjoy some ice water because hey, if I would
have had it, I would have used it!"
Let me tell ya, friends in blue
and gray: There's nothing I look back with more fondness upon (as far as
hobbies go) than sitting around a camp fire on a cool night with my pards,
waking up
to a cool, crisp morning, and spending a day reenacting the Civil War in humane
weather conditions. I loved those fall events especially. But be careful
out there in this soaring, miserable heat. General's Jackson and Thomas
and the like expected their men to "tough it out" no matter what - that
was their JOB! Call me a whimp or slacker and what have you - I don't
care. Reenacting isn't a job and certainly not worth getting sick or
dying over.
Thus, I have a simple suggestion
for staying cool in weather like this - go home! No amount of fluids or
shade will help much. Your body is working too hard just to sweat and
breath to find much relief (unless you are southern and used to this stuff, I
guess). So what? Your pards may guffaw at you and tell you later
how you "really missed out," but you'll know the real truth.
Protect your health to live to reenact another day, another nice day!
And come on Fall!
Additional notes from Jonah Begone
Being an old Civil War reenacting
veteran myself, I have some observations:
1.)
I have yet to be in a tent (canvas or nylon) that breathed,
allowed circulation or was in any way more comfortable than simply sitting
under the shade of a nearby tree. Jeff is correct: the Breathing Tent is one of
reenacting’s myths.
2.)
Modern dry-wick polyester knit garments, the kind athletes
and joggers wear, transport moisture away from the body and onto the surface of
the material. Wool just gets wet. There is a major difference in cooling
function between the two. I have stood by, gap-jawed and sweaty, when some
reenactor assured a member of the public that while, yes, it is hot in the wool
and he is sweating, “…that the wool breathes.” No it doesn’t. It just gets wet.
Another reenactor myth.
3.)
When I moved my reenacting activities from the arid
environment of Utah to the considerably wetter climate of Maryland and Virginia,
I quickly established a major personal rule for reenactment weekends: When it
gets hot, do whatever you have to do to remain in the event. Measures
include skipping needless noontime drill sessions, unbuttoning the upper sack
coat button (or more, depending), removing the sack coat entirely while in camp
and taking an early hit during the battle and finding shade if necessary. I
have learned that very few reenactment officers have medical degrees or a good working
knowledge of human physiology, and the ones that do often have some bizarre
macho thing going on that often interferes with their rational decision-making.
This led to another mental guideline of
mine: You, and not one of your leaders, will have to watch over yourself.
Usually, if you expect an officer to state, “Get in the shade while we halt
here, guys,” you will be disappointed. Generally, they’re alert to every whim
of their (supposedly) superior officers to reform the battalion with alacrity
or something like that. Letting troops wander off to rest and find shade interferes
with that.
4.)
Our noble forefathers, the American Civil War Enactors,
do not care that you are sweating profusely to recreate when they did 140+
years ago. (They really don’t - I know because I asked.) They are greatly
puzzled about why, given all the other recreational pursuits available in our
day and age, guys would want to spend their weekends sweating profusely and
smelling bad. Is there anything anyone has read in a first-person source that
suggests that the Enactors wanted organized ancestor worship instituted in sweltering fields for
them a hundred years later? I missed that as well.
5.)
By the time I quit reenacting, I fully appreciated the role
that the weather plays in the success of an event. I used to think that the
weather contributed perhaps about 70% of the success of an event. Nowadays, I
suspect it may be 80% or higher. No matter how good the setting, planning, logistics,
attendance or funding, an event can turn into an unendurable hell if the weather
turns hot and humid.
And now, I wish to honor a man who
generally goes by unknown and unrecognized. In my pantheon, however, he
is truly one of the Greats. His name is Willis Haviland Carrier. If the
last name suggests anything to you, it’s because he’s generally regarded as the
Father of Modern Air-Conditioning, who created a major company in the field which
bears his name. That’s his photo above – note the self-assured smile and,
especially, the knit sweater vest under his suit coat. “Sure,” he’s probably
thinking, “I may be a little uncomfortable in all this clothing now, standing
here smiling for the camera outdoors. But when I step into my office, cooled and dried to
a civilized degree by my own engineering prowess, I shall be comfortable and
free to spread my invention’s benefits to a needy humanity. Too bad those dopes
in reproduction 19th century wool uniforms are all out running
around giving themselves heat stroke.”
It is fitting that I reprint this
biography from an industrial arts site: “Dr. Willis Carrier (1876-1950), the
Father of Air Conditioning, was born on a farm in Angola in New York State. He
won a State Scholarship to Cornell University where he graduated with degree of
Mechanical Engineer in Electrical Engineering (1901). He joined Buffalo Forge
Co, later forming a subsidiary called Carrier Air Conditioning Co of America
(1907). He published his paper Rational Psychrometric Formulae (ASME,
1911), and the famous Buffalo Forge “bible” Fan Engineering (1914). He founded
Carrier Engineering Corporation (1914) and went on to take air conditioning,
which had been initially for industrial applications, into the comfort business
in cinemas, department stores and restaurants. He patented the high-pressure
air washer (1906); the centrifugal water chiller (1922); pioneered air
conditioning for railway coaches and passenger liners (1930); introduced unit
air conditioners for the home, and high velocity induction systems for offices
(1939). With Realto Cherne and Walter Grant, Carrier wrote the best known of
all air conditioning textbooks, Modern Air Conditioning, Heating and
Ventilating (1940).”
Rest in Peace, O Modern Prometheus and Master
Engineer! Reenactors honor Thee.
