Harold Raleigh

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	Re-Enactor of the Month


	by Jim Cummings


	We are preserving living history today so that the past will not be forgotten. Jim Cummings


	To See a Past Re-Enactor of the Month


	Harold Raleigh
				by Jim Cummings

Our first Re-enactor of the Week for July is the well known and respected re-enactor Harold Raleigh.

Harold has been nominated by several people from around the 5 state area. He is a re-enactor’s re-enactor. Harold has a deep sincere love for history, it’s accuracy and his role in portraying his part well and historically correct.

Harold is originally from Eastern Kentucky and is a practicing dentist in Simpsonville, Kentucky.




		As Major General Robert Ross

When Harold steps into a part he goes all the way. When you see him in his re-enactor dress and start to talk to him he gives you the feeling that you have stepped back in time to the 18th century. Then you are slowly drawn in to that time period also and that is a great performance.

Harold has many personas. I’ve seen him do at least 5 - from Squire Boone, Bland Ballard, the white renegade Simon Girty and a Butler’s Ranger and an everyday pioneer.

He has been in several History Channel Documentaries. And always Harold arranges parts for his two sons Sean and Kevin. And the father has taught the sons well. They know their history, and just like Dad they look and talk the part.


	Harold is a member of The National Wild Turkey Federation and an avid black powder hunter. He does not simply go out hunting - he dresses the part and steps back into 1780. He says that when he does this it puts him back in time and puts him on the same playing field as his ancestors. “It gives me a sense of accomplishment that I can do the same things that they did.”


	During my interview with Harold Raleigh I learned much that I did not know. I hope you find it as interesting as I did. He is a dedicated father and family man, a respected professional, and a history buff. He spends much time going to other re-enacting events throughout the area and everywhere he goes he is promoting living history.


	Harold is a charter member and co-founder of The Painted Stone Settlers of Shelbyville, KY. It will be the fifth year for The Painted Stone Settlers portrayal of The Long Run Massacre on September 13 and 14th. An event that you don’t want to miss.


	AN INTERVIEW WITH HAROLD RALEIGH




		As Simon Girty, the white renegade

JIM: Harold, how did you first get into re-enacting?

HAROLD: Mark Carbone, who married my niece went to a primitive rendezvous in 1992 and when he came back he said - I went to something that you would really like. So together we went to the Old Northwest Primitive Rendezvous at Barren River Lake here in Kentucky and I got hooked. The next year we added the Eastern Primitive Rendezvous and from there it just snowballed. This hobby adds together hunting and camping, black powder shooting and just the general love of the outdoors and rolls it into one neat package. Then if you like making things that is an added plus. I made my first pair of leggings out of the old vegetable tanned hides with fringe and a pair of Plains Indian moccasins and my mom made my first shirt.

JIM: How long has this hobby been going on ?

HAROLD: I’ve talked to guys that have been in this hobby for a long time. Many of the re-enactments started in 1976 for the Bicentennial. Friendship probably predated the Bicentennial.

JIM: Where were you from?

Harold: I grew up in Letcher county. My dad was from Virginia and my mom was born in Perry County. My dad was a coal miner for 43 years. Around that area there wasn’t a whole lot to do. We got three TV stations and two of those were fuzzy. So my dad hunted to help put food on the table and I went with him, it was something to do.

JIM: Is 1780 the part of history you enjoy most?

HAROLD: Well I just seem to gravitate toward that time since the Long Run Massacre that The Painted Stone Settlers put on is in 1781. I’ve actually been fortunate enough to have portrayed several different time periods through my involvement with the film community. And like many guys I started out as a mountain man.

JIM: How did Painted Stone start?

HAROLD: Well I had just finished working on my first production for The History Channel - The Battle for Kings Mountain. We filmed that in July and we were down at the Woodbury Rifle Frolic. I came across a flyer that someone had about the Long Run Massacre in Shelbyville. Now I had lived in Shelby county and been involved in Re-enacting since the early 1990’s. This was the first time I had ever heard the name Dean Phillips. I never found him at Woodbury but when I got home I called him. My first question was are you going to do this right - no war bonnets and western Indians? When I found that he was I got on board along with the 11 or 12 guys I had been re-enacting with.




		Harold with sons Sean and Kevin at The Cumberland Gap.

JIM: What do you see in the future for The Painted Stone Settlers?

HAROLD: No. 1 - I’d like to see the membership grow. We are stretched and even though we have the best group of people we’ve ever had - if the event is going to grow we need to increase our own numbers to handle more crowds and more re-enactors.

JIM: Where do you see re-enacting going from here?

HAROLD: Every year there are more and more events and better events. The thing that makes it so fascinating is that you don’t need a Hollywood script. The adventure is there in history. It’s good clean family entertainment and people are thirsting for this knowledge.

JIM: How much time do you allow for this hobby?

HAROLD: Fortunately I can set my own schedule. I work a four day week and have the ability to take the time off when I need to.

JIM: How big a part is re-enacting in your life?

HAROLD: I would have to say it is a passion not just a hobby. As you grow in the pursuit of your personna you realize it is a passion.. As a re-enactor I was able to be involved with both of my kids. From the time my kids were big enough to keep up they’ve gone with me. My own family is not that close and my re-enactor friends are like a big brotherhood

JIM: How long have you known Gary Foreman of Native Sun Productions.

HAROLD: I met Gary in the spring of 1999. I was helping Neal Redmond of Driuid’s Oak, one of the best tailors in the business (most of my wardrobe comes from there) when I met Carolyn Raine the field producer for Native Sun. They were selling their video of Legends of the Old Northwest that had just been on the History Channel. I asked how you went about getting on a call list for one of their productions. She told me to send in a picture and bio. I never did send one in. Later they asked Neal about me and if I could ride a horse. I told them of course I was from Kentucky and I could ride a horse. They were casting the part of Patrick Ferguson and asked me a lot of questions. So I said well just how big is this part and they told me it was the lead. I was blown away. I worked on The Battle of New Orleans in May that year as an extra. Then we started the battle of Kings Mountain in July. I’ve played Squire Boone in the Boone and Crockett series. And I even played a Mexican officer as an assistant to Santa Anna.

JIM: How did the Patriot come about?

HAROLD: Actually we were at a Painted Stone meeting and Bobby Phillips had a flyer from the 2nd North Carolina Regiment that he belongs to asking for re-enactors to play extras. I sent them photos of me in my British officers uniform and some of me and Sean in colonial outfits. I came in one day and there was a call from Columbia Studios asking for a call back. They wanted us to be British. We went out and worked for 4 days. Not only did I get to portray a British officer but they put me in command of a whole unit. That in itself is a whole story for another day.

Back to Native Sun Productions. The only favor I ever asked of Gary was to let the two boys be in it. Not only did he give them a cameo but Sean worked that entire wekend on it. I knew it would always mean a lot to them. Later Gary met Dean And Turtle through me and they have also had parts in his films. I have done a few others for other companies and my most recent one was the one for Cumberland Gap - Gateway to the West for Native Sun Productions. That won an award for Best Documentary for the Western Heritage awards for 2002. Kevin played Israel Boone in that and had a great death scene and Sean played violin in that film.

JIM: In closing is there any other thing you would want to comment on.

HAROLD: This is a real unique hobby. This is one of the places that you can leave hundreds of dollars of equipment lay around and no one will bother it. You can also meet and work with the legends of this hobby. You can watch the evolution of people from their first steps to their full involvement and their desire to keep reaching and stretching - that desire to be as correct as you can be. It is truly a passion for me not just a hobby.