The Stabbing Gentlemen's Report Spring 2014 | Page 2

The Stabbing Gentlemen’s Report

Issue 1

History Report 1
Okay, so it’s high time that we get some answers here. We have a long
standing history here at MSU, but from what I could tell after joining the
club we didn’t have an official report and the club had lost a rather
sizeable chunk of our photos and newspaper clippings. Well, that just
won’t do! I mean, in order for us to move onward to the future we have
to have a strong and solid base beneath us, right?

Fencing in Bellbottoms
Newspaper clippings from 1977. Above
reads:
“Touché
Mirrors reflect the action between these
students in the Carr Health Bldg. fencing
room. The scene is not quite chivalric,
but fencing may be an interesting
pastime between examinations. (Photo
by Dean Saling)”

Luckily, our history was not lost. My journey into our history began when I
was searching for tournaments that the club could go to. The first link that
popped up was a link to an old website that the previous Fencing Club
had maintained, http://www.fencer.org/msu/. Upon clicking the link I
was transported to a website frozen in time. The last announcement was
dated February 23rd, 2000. It was titled “MSU Fencing Moves to New
Facilities: Finally – A Place to Call Home.”
Upon clicking the announcement I was given new insight and history of
our club. It was previously thought that room 209 of Carr Health has
always been our home since 1977, this is entirely false! The
announcement gave me new insight on what was now misinformation!
According to the announcement, we had shared the Gymnastic Room
with other university clubs and organizations up until 2000. The
announcement read:
"Until now, we've never had the luxury of easy-access to our equipment
because we've always had to use a glorified closet that was far removed
from the main gymnastics room. Now, we can store all of our equipment
in the practice area," spouted senior instructor Jason Purcell, "and it's
much easier to perform repairs and dress out due to the increased
working area."
If that were the only advantage of moving to the new room, it would
have made the transition worthwhile; but there are others:
"Our equipment is more secure in the new room, and we were able to
easily construct racks for weapons and masks within the walls of the
practice area, essentially using no more space than we would have used
without them. We can finally create a fencing salle atmosphere by
hanging photographs, plaques, signs, and other fencing-related
memorabilia on the walls, and we've brought in a weight set and a small
refrigerator for club and class use."
The new facilities were granted by Dr. Judy Brookhiser, the MSU Health,
Physical Education, and Recreation Department Chair.
"Dr. Brookhiser has always been a proponent of the fencing program. In
fact, she fenced a year while in college. She's been tremendously
supportive in both word and deed, and we don't take such support lightly."

Fencing in Bellbottoms
Continued
Newspaper clipping above reads:
“Fencing Club Captain Davie Dice
(background) and Captain Mark Sumner
(foreground) do battle during a
practice session. Acting as side judge is
Lisa Fleming. (Photo by Phillip Kye).”

I guess that explains all the empty nails on the barren walls. Seeing this puts
into perspective what the older generations of the Fencing Club had to go
through. We are very lucky and fortunate to have our own room on campus. It
makes me think, what would the past Fencing Club say about the room now?
Sure, it’s old and run down, but this room is our home.
The present day club will be sending a letter to the Chair person over Carr
Health, Dr. Rogers Kelly. In the letter we will be requesting that our room get
inspected for repairs, and hopefully those needs and repairs will be met.
That’s it for this installment of our History Report! We hope you have enjoyed
this little tidbit of information, and until next time stay advancing!

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