York Town News
1st York Militia Company celebrates the past as part of York Days
By Virginia L. Woodwell
The 1st York Militia Company marches through York Village in this photograph showing its members in their military uniforms. You can see the musketmen and music-makers that comprise this group of reenactors at York Days in York Beach on Aug. 5.
Courtesy photo
YORK - Ed Walsh has an idea that he was born, as he puts it, "a couple of hundred years too late."
Now he's one of a dozen or so area residents committed to recreating a bit of American colonial experience for others through participation in the 1st York Militia Company. Carrying muskets, or making 18th-century folk/martial music with fifes and drums, and wearing clothing like that worn by first-responders in the Revolutionary War and even before - tricorn hats, long waistcoats, knee britches, hose and leather shoes - the York Militia puts in three or four public appearances a year.
In town, one of those command performances is coming right up on Aug. 5 in York Beach as part of York Days.
According to Joe Diment, a Kittery resident who serves as the 1st York's current organizer and promoter - and one whose own participation goes back to its modern beginnings - the organization debuted in 1970. It was officially "reactivated" by the York Board of Selectmen in March, 1971, with Maine's Gov. Kenneth Curtis proclaiming it "The Governor's Foot Guard" in June of that same year.
The 1970s, with the country celebrating the U.S. Bicentennial in 1776, proved the new militia's heyday. With a membership (then all male) numbering between 50 and 60, the Company used to sponsor big musters in a sandpit on Route 91, Diment said. With that ample attendance, they could also, as Diment phrased it, "put 25 out on the street" - for parades, that is.
"For six or seven years," he added, "we raised a lot of money."
The sandpit, however, became a housing development, and interest in the 1st York flagged.
Now, Diment reported, interest in the group has been rekindled since the year 2000, and membership stands at between 15 and 18, with eight to 10 usually available for parades.
The 1st York Militia's constituency has also broadened, with members coming from York County and New Hampshire's Rockingham County rather than the town of York alone, and with women now participating. Walsh's wife Sue has been a fifer, as has Diment's daughter, Michelle Hollis Simmons.
And youngsters 16 or over are also welcome, particularly when they bolster a long tradition as sons or daughters of long-term members. Richard Diment, of Cape Neddick drums in the militia with his father and Ken Remington, who lives near Manchester, N.H., drums alongside his father, long-term member Bob Remington.
The 1st York is also actually, in a sense, two militias: the musketmen and the music-makers, the latter another recent innovation introduced by Diment, Remington and others.
The 1st York Militia is flexible about adherence to precise historical accuracy in its dress and gear, but Diment reports that some reconstituted militias take that issue very seriously.
Ironically, Walsh noted, members of the very first militias - the colonists who came running when summoned by the town's bell - fought in whatever they were wearing at the time, and never did have uniforms.
The garb that the 1st York wears is mostly homemade, Diment said, though it can be purchased from companies that cater to the need. To offset purchase prices and encourage new membership, the 1st York offers assistance with clothing, and keeps a supply of muskets, fifes and drums on hand, "to get you started."
Its most intriguing gear, its muskets, are all muzzle-loading flintlocks, Diment said, but some are antiques and some are reproductions. When they're fired, they're firing the equivalent of blanks - black powder that makes only noise and smoke.
Walsh's musket, "Brown Bess," is a 1770 replica that's probably 40 years old.
His tricorn he purchased at Colonial Williamsburg, his "very favorite place," he said.
His job as a 1st York Militiaman?
"Stand around and look colonial!" he said.
If you miss the Militia's appearance at York Days next week, keep your eye out for them at Harvestfest. They'll be leading a procession through town for the opening ceremonies, and they'll be "camped" afterward by a colonial tent near Jefferds' Tavern.
The 1st York is actively looking for new members to form a color guard, and for additional musketmen and music-makers.
"A musical background is not required," Diment said, "just enthusiasm."
The fife and drum unit rehearses at 6:30 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at the Village Elementary School.
If you're interested in joining, call Joe Diment at 439-6196 or visit the militia's web site at www.1styorkmilitia.org.
