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Language | English | ||||
Population | ~10,000 |
Tent City is a City-State located in the Mishindo Swamp, north of North Ohio, south of Michigan.
History[]
In the early years after the war, refugees fled from Toledo and Detroit suburbs into the Mishindo Swamp, gathering in small camps. On the border of Michigan and Ohio a gathering began in the fields of abandoned farms. Tents were set up, camper parked, and cars made into shelters. People camped around communal bonfires, cooked and ate their meals together. Life was rough, though this existence was better than dying. The few skilled hunters and gardeners among the ~600 refugees kept the whole group alive, providing food and teaching people the ways of the wild. The first years were difficult, but people pulled through, and the settlement grew.
The Move[]
In 1965, the settlers moved their hamlet unto a large series of defensible wooded hills, in order to keep raiders. Tress were felled and made into huts, walls, and tools. Trenches and pillboxes were built. The rolling hills were tilled with bone and wooden hoes, and a crop of corn was planted. People started to garden, raise animals, and return to a life like that of colonial times. Trapping became a common profession, some learned to smith and other learned woodwork and the crafting trades of old. Soon it was decided that the settler's little "Tent City" had become something worth working for.
Tent City[]
Among the settlers, the nickname of Tent City had stuck, and was now the preferred moniker. People decided that with their town's name, a flag should come. This is when the scavengers came back with several old flag which were going to be made into clothing. One seamstress took the flag of Ohio and some extra colored cloth, and made what would become the official symbol of Tent City. The Burgee was sundered, its rich blue triangle made as the centerpiece, with swaths of golden and green fabrics. The Triangle represents the Tents that facilitated the survival of the first 600, with the golden being the harvest, and the green being nature and how it supported the settlers in their first years. It became the flag flown above the house that would become the first Tent City hall after a new civil government was officially erected.
Culture[]
Tent City Culture is very much inspired by frontier spirit and Americana, though has many unique aspects.
Animal Husbandry[]
Horses are commonly kept in Tent City, for their many uses, especially as war animals. The average family has at least a goat or a chicken coop, perhaps both. Sheep are kept in flocks outside the city, and their wool fetches a fair price.
Fashion and Dress[]
The dress of a Tenter is largely casual, with wool breeches, poet-style shirts, and cobbled leather boots. Wool overcoats and vest in the style of Victorian London are common, as well as the bowler and pork-pie hat. Drugget is the most common cloth, though "widow's weave", a thick woolen weave is used for heavy clothes. Dress is largely uniform between the sexes, though a corset-like garment may be worn over the shirt of a woman, and women's is more form-fitting.
Jewelry is often simple beaded cord or bracelets in fashion similar to bangles.
Drink[]
Tea is a common way to ensure the sterility of water drank. a common tea made is that of St. John's Wort, a common herbal anti-depressant. Tea is enjoyed with scones or bread. A local beverage, called "Tent Ale" is enjoyed at celebratory times and in bars. While not actually alcoholic, this drink gets its name from the way in which it is made. in fermenting kegs yeast is used to ensure a sweet carbonated beverage flavored with sassafras, and blue clover. A stronger drink is made with Ginger, this being called "Ginger Beer". Wine is often made from the local river grape and dandelions.
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