The Society for Creative Anachronisms, the overarching organization responsible for the Thieves’ activities states their mission as “Creative anachronism takes the best qualities of the middle ages and recreates them in the modern world.”

These two foot soldiers look out of their element in a gymnasium.

“The combat is only one part of what we do, we re-enact all aspects of medieval life,” says 20-year member Daniel Suh, known to the S.C.A. as Okami. “Members research and develop a persona… upon joining they design costumes and submit their crest.” The society involves all aspects of pre-17th century life, with fine attention to historical accuracy. Suh’s persona Okami is derived from the Eastern world, though the S.C.A. primarily focuses on Medieval Europe.

Finding an adequate practice space is difficult for these warriors out of time. Working adjacent to a high school girls flag squad practice, dealing with common Medieval problems such as fire alarms, the Thieves of Hearts barony of the Society for Creative Anachronism’s Middle Kingdom congregated last Tuesday in the gymnasium of suburban Northlake’s Glenbrook North High School, as they do every Tuesday, to hone their swordsmanship and exchange tales of battle.

A knight in heavy armor.

The Thieves of Hearts are one of 17 groups in Illinois which with the organizations from other Midwestern states together form the Middle Kingdom. With 19 kingdoms in total, the S.C.A. is comprised of no less than 30,000 card-carrying members. According to the MidRealm, the Society for Creative Anachronism was founded in Berkeley, CA on May 1st 1966 by a group of individuals who shared medieval interests.

“Many of the early members of the SCA were also members of science fiction fandom, and it was through Fandom that the early SCA spread,” says MidRealm. “Within a year, it was incorporated and slowly began to extend itself beyond its old boundaries.”

“You can find a tournament of some variety or another almost any weekend out of the year somewhere in the world,” says Fendra, a book editor and member of the SCA member for 5 years. A history minor who came to Chicago 5 years ago, she learned that one is granted membership to the organization for the ‘princely sum’ of $35 a year, for which they are given the monthly newsletter of their kingdom. Not all participants are card-carriers however, anyone with an interest is welcome to congregate with the S.C.A. and the group attracts members with various levels of commitment.

On the practice field, it is acceptable to be seen in primarily street clothes.

“I’m what they call a stick-jock,” says Okami. Members like Okami focus primarily on the aspect of battle, with less concentration on the historical recreation. “A lot of research is done in regards to the methods of historical combat,” he says. Hand to hand combat is generally categorized as heavy or light weapons combat and is classified by the armor a combatant must wear in battle. Rapier fighters wield long, dulled blades and wear heavy clothing and helmets.

For heavy weapons combat, armor is made to withhold great force. A typical heavy weapons helmet can weigh up to 20 pounds. “You either make your own stuff [armor], or you know somebody who does,” says Alexander de Seaton of Altavia of The Thieves of Hearts.

Archers, swordsman and even equestrians can all be found in the S.C.A., though should one wish to do battle, they must ensure they are properly protected. Gwen relates a horror story of a member who neglected to wear all the essential components of his armor.

Wear A Cup by druano

All photos, video and audio were shot by Rob Fidler, Tom Butala and Dan Ruano.

Video shot by Mike Reilley, edited by Rob Fidler

Between July 30 and August 4 of 2009 the Chicago Police Department reported seven men in their early twenties were mugged. Police believe that four of the attacks are related, with each of the victims stating that at least four attackers assaulted them. Victims were asked for their wallets and then savagely beaten in the head and face. Two of the victims are currently hospitalized.

As of March 31, 2010 no arrests have been made.

Running for seven years and counting, the site boasts more than 80 volunteer contributors, eight paid staff editors and scads of content for arts, novels, food, music, politics and sports. It received a $35,000 grant from the Chicago Community Trust to bolster features on local events. According to Huff, it is rare for a for-profit organization receive such a grant.

However, it wasn’t always this prominent. Andrew Huff, started his blogging career with modest means: a tripod site entitled The Huff Report. As his interest in blogging increased and his dissatisfaction with his public relations job decreased, Huff joined a ring of local bloggers on the website Me3dia, where Huff and his collaborators bounced around ideas that would eventually form Gapers Block.

Founded in 2003, a full year before the official Chicago local blog was made, Gapers Block features a simple layout modeled after the numerous columns of print newspapers, but much more interactive.

The basic design has worked out well and hasn’t been changed much over seven years. Back in ’03 the core design and editing team was comprised of only three members and seven volunteers providing additional content.  Now the volunteer count is over 80 and the paid staff has grown to eight.

Writing for Gapers Block provides a foot in the door for other local journalism jobs as well. One editor writes for the theater section of TimeOut! Chicago and Huff himself writes food critiques for The Lobby.

While Gapers Block once had to rely on T-shirt sales and few ads, it now receives enough revenue to keep the site afloat on just advertisements. The stream of volunteers doesn’t show any sign of ebbing with the perk packages they receive, like free movie screenings, for their help on the site. With Andrew Huff at the helm, Gapers Block continues to excel at its mission of increasing awareness of local Chicago events.