How I Found the SCA (or the SCA Found Me)
This began as a Facebook Post by Fergus Ó Dubhshláine. It occurred to Duchess Natalya de Foix that these stories should be stored in Compendium Caidis.
Please feel free to add your own story.
From Lachlan of Cromarty
When I was in highschool I stumbled across a demonstration at Jackson's Mill in Lewis County, West Virginia. The demo was hosted by the Barony of the Debatable Lands (Pittsburgh, PA. Then Kingdom of the East, now AEthelmearc). I recall seeing heavy weapons fighting and got to try my hand at fencing. Being D&D players, my best friend John and I were pretty intrigued. We wanted to do armored combat, which eventually I would try long before picking up fencing for real. But first we helped found a shire in Morgantown, WV known then as the Shire of Swampwater Springs (not my name!--I did design atrocious branch heraldry, however!). Our first real event was Pennsic in perhaps 1984? After high school, I moved to Caid and John moved to Pittsburgh. We both participated in our respective kingdoms for some time, though John was more interested in other Living History groups and eventually parted from the SCA. I'm apparently here for good!
From Natalya de Foix
In 1975, I was working at UCLA's Graduate School of Management, and as part of an Arts Management project, we decided to put on a play. One of the grad students and I got to talking, and the SCA came up. He said, "Here, you should call this person and talk to her about it," so I did. That's how I met Bevin Fraser of Stirling, who invited me to her home for tea. My first "event" was a council meeting at the home of Piers and Ximena; my first costumed event was the investiture of Thomas and Elaine. About six months after joining, I became Principality Seneschal, and somehow it's now murfle, murfle decades later. . .
From Liudmila Vladimirova doch'
In the fall of 1998 I started grad school at UCSD, and during the club rush (I think that's what it is called) encountered an SCA table by the College of St. Artemas. They told me the current King was named Ivan (Eye-van, which I told them was wrong) and I could totally do Russian stuff if I wanted to. So the following week I went to their meeting (in a long dress with a shawl because I thought you must make an effort at all times). Deborah Fox was there teaching about embroidery ("You can do it between classes! It isn't hard!") and showing awesome Elizabethan garb. I was hooked, and went online to find out what could I do without sewing skills. I discovered the Slavic Interest Group and came up with the name. I also encountered Mistress Soraya, to whom I later apprenticed. And in a couple of days I made my first outfit by hand because I didn't own a sewing machine, so that I could attend Calafian Anniversary. In a proper embroidered headdress, of course, because Richenda! That first outfit had gold rick-rack on it, which I later replaced, so my daughter now wears it to events.
From John ap Griffin
Bjo/Flavia & I were long-time science fiction & fantasy fans. We participated (sometimes ran) conventions, perticipated (& sometimes ran) masquerades. When the Hobbit & Lord of the Rings books were published, we devoured them; we'd been sword & sorcery fans & Tolkein's work too these to a whole new level. We moved to the SF Bay Area from SoCal in 1967 & some fan friends there suggested that we join them in attending a medieval reenactment event in March; they knew we'd be able to come up with costumes (even if Bjo was 8 months pregnant with our 2nd daughter Lora/Lorissa). So that's how we witnessed the first actual coronation in the SCA, when Henrik the Dane (now Duke Henrik of Havn) rode in to be crowned on a borrowed horse.
