During the filming I "lived" in at least four different motels for the duration: the first week at Asheville's Econo Lodge; then a month at the somewhat shabby but cheap Thunderbird, seen in my photos; a week or so at the Pixie Inn near Linville Falls; then back to the Thunderbird for the remainder of the time filming in or near Asheville. But when the production moved out to the Lake James area for the fort and massacre scenes, I also moved, so as to avoid the long commute. My final residence was the small, neat New Carolina, on the highway near Morganton. According to my datebook for the period, we then spent the next three weeks working nights shooting scenes in and around the fort.

Night filming is about the worst, regardless the production. I have had to endure it to one degree or another on this, Glory, and The Alamo - The Price of Freedom, since all involved night battles and other scenes. The day usually begins sometime in the mid-afternoon, with "breakfast"; followed by the drive to the set. I well remember on one such trip to the fort on the dirt track through the National Forest surrounding Lake James, passing Daniel Day-Lewis wearing only his shorts and running shoes, running alone in the opposite direction. His stamina and dedication was truly amazing; and that plus his status served to somewhat isolate him from everyone else. Once on set, I'd proceed to wardrobe to collect whatever uniform was appropriate for the day or evening's shooting. Then to make-up, where at the least, our hair was rolled on the sides; those whose hair was long enough had it put in a wrapped qeue or ponytail. Mine, though I had grown it out since first learning of the filming, was never long enough in back; and so I always wore a false one, or an empty bag attached in back if I was an officer. I tended to always try to get the same two hairstylist ladies, who worked fast and without pulling my hair! On the last day, I photographed one of them working on one of the Highlanders; the photo is in one of the galleries.

Filming might begin around dusk, the so-called "magic hour" when all such scenes representing dawn or dusk must be shot. There was usually some sort of meal available when we arrived; but "lunch" was usually not until around midnight or 1 AM. Filming would continue an hour later, lasting possibly until dawn of the next day. With such a schedule, it is no wonder that everyone was soon groggy and on edge. Maurice Roeves, in his first scene as Col. Munro, had some trouble one evening delivering his line welcoming Cora and Alice to the fort amid the French bombardment; this may have been in part due to the stress we were all under. This was the only time I was aware of any such problem by any member of the cast, and it was temporary. When we finally would get the "wrap" for the evening, I would dash for wardrobe to get out of my uniform, while pulling the bobby pins and rollers out of my hair. Then I tried to get out of the parking area as quickly as possible to make the return trip to the New Carolina. If I was lucky, I would get back before full daylight; it's hard for me to go to sleep unless it's dark. One morning I was very angry because I had a rider, another reenactor who was also staying at the motel. He had dragged his feet getting away from the set, and I'm now ashamed to say I was in a very foul mood accordingly. I was driving recklessly and much too fast on the narrow winding roads; when suddenly I came upon a rather large dog standing in the road, it was far too late to even try to slow or stop, and I bowled it over. Needless to say, he never asked to ride with me again!

Looking back at my datebook, it's hard for me to realize we only spent one week filming the Massacre Valley sequence; I have probably the most ( and most vivid ) memories of that time and location than any other. All were day shoots, in what had finally, after seemingly endless rain, become hot and sultry weather. When the location had first been selected, the set crew had gone in and seeded thousands of wildflowers. By now there was a very lush meadow for us to march and fight through; surrounded on both sides by low hills and woods which served to hold in the heat, as in a bowl. I was assigned a small company of about fifteen bedraggled-looking soldiers with which I brought up the rear of the column. I was ably assisted by another relative newcomer among the ever-shifting cadre of reenactors, Tom Tucker, a local who served as my sergeant. Only a few stragglers limped along behind us, the first to be picked off when the attack came. Of course, most of the action took place at or near the head of the column, concentrating on the principals; so we got scarcely any "screen time". This suited me just FINE, because I don't really care to take needless chances on movie sets, regardless the production. That's what the usually-arrogant stuntmen are for!

That also meant I had somewhat more freedom of movement, since we were only being used in the "masters", the very large shots showing the entire column. Coupled with the fact we were now finally free from the unwanted and wholly unnecessary "help" of CAPTAIN Dale Dye, who had left the production prior to these scenes; I decided to try and enjoy these last few days. I used my camera more freely, too; after all, if I was fired now, it hardly mattered! As you can see from the galleries, I took twice as many pictures here as any other location; that's probably why I now remember it best. From the sidelines, I was able to get good shots of scenes like the melees I was only too glad to not be a part of. On our last day on set, I tried my best to get a shot of Daniel Day-Lewis, Eric Schweig, and Russell Means as they begin the rush to rescue Cora and Alice. I was still trying to be as furtive as possible about it, though; covering myself behind a standing grenadier, so as to not distract them. ( That's why he's so prominent in the resulting accompanying photos. ) As you can see, on my last, boldest try, Russell Means turned away just as I snapped the shutter!

Finally it was all over, for us at least! According to my datebook, Wednesday, August 21, 1991, was our last day of filming; though the production was to continue into November with the filming of the Canoes, Under-the-Falls, Village, Promontory and other scenes which used local extras and Indians; but not the large armies of reenactors needed for the scenes of fort and massacre. That night we had our own "wrap party" at a pub or club called Magnolias in Asheville. I remember Maurice Roeves enjoying himself greatly, a beer in one hand and a girl in each arm! I think he was the only cast member present, as thanks to Magua, it was also a wrap for him as well. The next day, I rested up at the New Carolina, where I had become something of a fixture; sleeping late, doing laundry, and closing out my bank account. From there, the following day I began the "vacation" I'd promised myself all during these weeks and months. Although I had continued my short "weekend" trips throughout the filming, my desire to visit Revolutionary sites had grown bigger than ever. I drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway, revisiting Linville Falls, which was already recovering from being the scene of the "Ambush" just weeks previously. My travels took me to Monticello, Richmond, Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, both Washington's and Lee's birthplaces on the Northern Neck, Fredericksburg, Mount Vernon, Brandywine, Valley Forge, Philadelphia, Trenton, Princeton, Monmouth, and finally Morristown before I decided to turn back south towards Texas. In all, I was gone another two weeks before returning to my Mother's house in East Texas; where I rested up from the combined ordeals of the previous now nearly four months. After that, I returned to Dallas; relocated into a new apartment; resumed my job at Macy's in time for the Christmas rush; and got on with my life.

When working on a project such as this, it's impossible to know exactly how it will turn out in the end. When filming Glory, the reenactor core group had a glimpse of its possibilities when we were invited by the director, Edward Zwick, to see some of the "dailies" of battle scenes we'd filmed. Before those scenes were played, there was another of some dialogue between the principals: Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Jimihi Kennedy, and Andre Braugher. As we left the screening room, Dale Fetzer said quietly to the rest of the group, "You know, this might really be GOOD!" This was our first inkling that it might be something more than some of the absolute trash like the Civil War-era soap opera, North and South, I'd worked on previously. Needless to say, Michael Mann provided us with no such clues as to how Mohicans was turning out as we filmed it. It was not until over a YEAR later, due to the production overruns and seemingly endless editing and post-production processing, that I finally got to see what we had worked so long and hard to achieve. The very existence of this site attests to the degree he succeeded; despite all the very many flaws, intentional and otherwise, in the finished product. Though not something I would readily agree to participate in again, especially under the situation and conditions, I am only too happy to say I was a part of Last of the Mohicans.