MW- History

A History of Men's Weekend

It all began as a dream... one Saturday night after volleyball, the thought of a weekend away was brought up while sharing a cup of good cheer (sounds better than beer) at the Poor Peoples Pub in Sanbornville, NH. Scary as it may seem; the thought became reality on the weekend of August 19-21 in West Milan, New Hampshire...

1988 The first year... off to a humble start.

Nate, Kevin, Larry, Dick, two tents, two canoes, two motorcycles and a truck. We had plenty of equipment with us, but we made a list for the next year so that we would not forget all those "little things". We drove across the field with the truck doors open, because Larry was sitting in the middle of the front seat. Fortunately the EPA was not around to check for air pollution. We canoed nine miles of the thirteen-mile woods on the Androscoggin River beginning in Errol. The weekend was very hot. The crew with the exception of Dick was near heat exhaustion from the canoe trip on Saturday afternoon, so Dick assumed the role of chief cook for the evening. We met Tom Foley, a longtime camper/ hunter who has a camp on the property.

1989 The second year... I can't believe this worked!!!

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, two tents, two trucks, canoes and more equipment (we still made a better list for the next year) made their way to West Milan the second weekend in September. Another hot weekend again this year. We hiked up to Unknown Pond behind Deer Mountain. Streams flowing down mountains make good coolers (actually we left beers along in the stream to make sure that we could find our way home!) Bathing in the Upper Ammonoosuc River is an experience. Boy was the river cold. It is hard to clean yourself when your goose bumps prevent the soap from touching your skin. Kevin's connections provided us with unbelievable steaks again this year (melt in your mouth type stuff.)

1990 The third year... are we stupid or something???

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Del, two trucks, a van, canoes and plenty of equipment made their way to West Milan. Camped during the second weekend in September. Changed to the east side of Route 110 this year so that we could enjoy the view. This year we are living in George's teepee. The wind was whipping across the field the first night. Kevin and Nate slept against the windy side of the teepee and acted as a windbreak for the others. It rained the first part of the weekend, so we drove in the van to the place where they bless the motorcycles, at the Colebrook/ Columbia town lines, and then up to the forty-fifth parallel, half way to the North Pole! Larry and Nate canoed just below the Pontacook Dam, just after they shut the flow of water off (We had to push a lot!) In a separate incident, the Miss Budweiser canoe split in half in four inches of water, while attempting to canoe the Androscoggin. The first year for firepower. We had target practice and shot skeet, well at least we tried to shoot skeet! Our camping friend Tom Foley was very impressed with our ability to recycle skeet!

1991 The fourth year... is this like a cult or something???

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Paul, Steve, Dick, Dave, Eric, teepee, trucks, camper, canoes, tons of equipment. Columbus Day weekend, middle of October! Cold, wind and drizzle. Fishing on Dummer Pond after no luck on Nay Pond. Best fishing anyone has ever encountered. Long underwear and winter coats while fishing, real manly stuff! This weekend is getting popular. It was hunting season so we brought along an assortment of firepower. No one had any luck, not even with skeet! Paul videotaped some lowlights (as opposed to highlights!)

1992 The fifth year... a year long celebration!!!

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Paul, Dave, Steve, Dick, Jim, moved the teepee into the edge of the woods. Camped the weekend after Labor Day (Thursday through Monday.) Rained just as we got the outer part of the teepee erected, good timing. Beautiful weather the rest of the weekend. We hiked up Round Mountain, which overlooks the campsite and hiked down Fogg Brook. Larry lost lens caps and Dick lost a camera lens, but we hiked back up the next morning and Paul found the lens. Just a small miracle. This year we tried out Christine Lake in Stark. It was a good place to cool off and clean up. Paul videotaped again; George's comment at the end of the tape could make the tape a collector’s item.

1993 The sixth year... definitely a tradition.

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Paul, Dave H., Steve, Dick, Del, Dave P., Thursday through Tuesday (around Labor Day Weekend.) It rained Friday and Monday nights, otherwise excellent weather. Fished both Big and Little Dummer Ponds along with Cedar Pond. Plenty of fish to eat. We hiked Hooter Hill (Percy Peak) which overlooks Christine Lake and has a beautiful view in all directions. Swam and bathed in Christine Lake several times. Began a path from the teepee site back into the woods to connect with existing woods paths. Brought an old couch to have by the campfire. We went in search of moose for Paul and on our trip "around the loop" we found a rabbit road kill, good target practice. Too much food!

1994 The 7th year... is there a law against this much fun?

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Paul, Dave H., Steve, Dick, Del, Eric, Jamie, Thursday through Tuesday (around Labor Day Weekend again this year.) This year mom bought the old Eisenhaur camp on the property. So with the camp, two teepees and a tent, we had plenty of available lodging! George brought his 4-wheeler which was fun to go exploring on.

A crew went hiking up to Unknown Pond, over a ridge, up to Roger's Ledge then down to the fish hatchery. We took a hike out back in search of the copper mines without any luck. We worked on a remote campsite back in the woods.

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Dave H., Rick, Del, others, Camped around the full moon in August. The details are very sketchy...

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Dave H., Del, others, two months of fun! Well it started in August and ended in September (over Labor Day Weekend.) Sketchy details again.

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Dave H., Paul, Garry, Mike, Scott, Del, Dave S., Dave P., Dick, t-shirts for all! Probably had fun...

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Dave H, Dave S, Dave C, Del, Eric, Mike, others, Haag blew up his potato cannon. Nate was hit by flying debris and bled ever so slightly. Haag instantly won the coveted ROOKIE award! Work was completed on restoring the artesian well, including placing an additional well tile so that the well would be accessible from ground level.

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Dave H., Garry, Del, Adam, others, First year for the infamous Montero camp vehicle! First year for a second generation GroupW member (Adam!) Adam easily won the rookie trophy by burning his father with an ember up his shorts and by following in his old man's legacy and sleeping by the campfire!

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Dave H., Garry, Del, others, Second year for the Montero. The vehicle seems unstoppable. Garry was voted rookie winner for his Wakefield gun incident and for forgetting the key to his trigger lock at MW! Neighbors brought up an impressive golf ball cannon! Hiking, canoeing, etc... Oh yea, plenty of food also!

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Dave H., Garry, Del, others, We added a second vehicle to compete with the Montero. George located a 2WD Dodge Ramcharger! both vehicles were run hard... We are unsure if the Ramcharger will make a second appearance next year... The Montero still RULES! We were robbed, but found the culprits and all was squared away. Breakfast out at Muriel's right down the road. Two great motorcycle rides on Friday and Saturday. A little fishing and a lot of sitting around watching the two camp vehicles assault each other in the field. In an after-the-fact vote, Sheldon was awarded the coveted Rookie Award for not having a spare key to his motorcycle, when the motorcycle keys were stolen! Charter members Kevin (boy) and Larry (cousin) were almost no-shows, but managed to arrive for a meal, which qualified their visit as attendance (see section III(A)(3)(c) of the Men's Weekend Handbook for the complete rule.).

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Dave H., Garry, Del, Rambo, Dave P., Mikey, Jean-Michel, Dave S., Dave C., Rick S., others , The Ramcharger was no match for the Montero and did not make a second year appearance. The Montero still runs strong and Rambo even drove it to the West Milan Country Store to fill it with fuel (Thank you, you fool!) Mikey coined the phrase "Shouting at Your Shoes", which he practiced well the first night. This was the first year for a Wednesday start to the yearly event. We had a typical Tuesday end for the diehards! J-M earned the name "Tiny Dancer" (seamstress for the band) for his ability to repair the zipper on a tent that he and Mikey shared! Awesome motorcycle rides! Kevin, J-M, & Mikey took a couple of long bike rides. Breakfast at Muriel's (except for Sunday.) Sheldon wrote "Phree" on the Rancharger and it was eventually removed from the property by some lucky individual.

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Dave H., Garry, Del, Rambo, Dave P., Dave S., Tall Paul, Adam, Dave C., Brent, Chip. The largest Wednesday night group, along with even MORE fools on Thursday night lead to the first time arrival of police to the event. It seems that some locals do not have MW off as a holiday and would have preferred to sleep those nights?! The female Milan officer and male State Trooper were pretty cool and just asked us to keep it down and to get a fireworks permit. We got the permit and put on a pretty good show Saturday night! Brent received the nickname "Aqualung" for laughing until he coughed up a lung several times. Cotreau received the possible nickname of "Baby Barf Belch Boy", which will stick until something shorter and catchier comes along. Sheldon built some "air-shelves" in the camp. A front rim on the Montero was bent and repaired. Nate & Midget went on 2 great adventures in the Samari. That vehicle goes anywhere. The fireworks guy will be located on Route 26 next year. Steak tips for Saturday night dinner were excellent! Shot at skeet in the big field. (Even hit a couple!) Some guys went kayaking, canoeing, and fishing on South Pond. Saw a Yurt for the first time. It would make a pretty cool camp. Mr Pleau became Mr Plowed on Saturday. He enjoyed himself thoroughly! Visitor, Brian Suprey stopped by Friday night for dinner & drinks. Kevin's 12 gauge "cracker shells" were a lot of fun. All-in-all a good time was had by all, whether they remembered or not.

2004 The 17^th year… Our 17th year, 3rd decade, and 2nd millennium. You would think we would tire of this much fun!

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Dave H., Garry, Del, Rambo, Dave P., Dave S., Tall Paul, Adam, Dave C., Brent, Jean-Michel, Jake, Michael (Midget's brother.) Garry was the lone Wednesday arrival. More arrived Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. There was fishing, hiking Roger's Ledge, kayaking, wood splitting, vehicle demolition (we had the first Montero rollover), a cool cannon, we enjoyed watching Brian ride a wheellie past the camp on his motorcycle numerous times, an awesome fireworks display on Saturday night, saw 4 moose (1 was roadkill) and a deer, consumed more food than many small countries, studs were replaced on the Montero, and we found Copperville and a couple of copper mines down by the railroad tracks. Chip got the well pump wiring fixed just prior to MW. Jeep Cherokee became the third camp vehicle. Did you know the rear hatches are made of fiberglass, or that the front end almost fall off by themselves?! It was still running when we left, so it may make a second year. Stay tuned!

2005 The 18^th year… Will FN Haag be a 'NO SHOW'??? One can only hope (although entertainment will be lacking!)

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Garry, Del, Rambo, Dave P., Dave S., Adam, Jean-Michel, Brent, Jake, Matt, Ned (Flanders)(Midget's cousin.) We were an embarrassment to our former selves! According to the camp log, it appears Garry had a great first night alone (with a mouse!) Fishing, 2-vehicle boon-docking, awesome motorcycle ride. The neighbors below had a big crew up and put on a great fireworks show. We hiked the West Milan trail from York Pond Road to Spruceville Road. We had to bushwack our way around a couple flooded areas (beaver dams.)

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Garry, Del, Rambo, Haag, Pleau, Sheldon, Cotreau, Tall Paul, Adam, Jean-Michel, Jake, Bryan, Matt, Marty, and Jeff. 19 participants for the 19th year! Fishing, boon-docking, hiking, a great Friday night fireworks show, any kind of aerosol can in the hollow log [even a couple of propane bottles.] A little rain on Sunday, but otherwise decent weather. First year for a "land-yacht"! What a blast! It was a hard workout for the Montero, but it was up to the task [as if I needed to mention that!] The Jeep wouldn't start and the Bronco wouldn't run without jumper cables connected. Will they be resurrected? Time will tell. Damn good food, and a fun time was had by all. No fatalities again! Adam was the only real casualty for walking into flying firewood.

Nate, Kevin, Larry, George, Garry, Del, Rambo, Haag, Pleau, Sheldon, Tall Paul, Adam, Jean-Michel, Brent, Bryan, Marty, Jeff, and Greg. 18 attendees for the 20th year. Fishing, 2 great fireworks shows Friday and Saturday nights, perhaps the best weather ever... Sunny, warm, minimal dew. Super hollow logs. We gutted the old camp and burned the furniture to eliminate the mouse/ squirrel nesting spots. Other cool stuff.

Nate [Natron], Kevin [Boy], Larry [Cousin], George [Dad], Garry [Midget], Del [Butters], Eric [Rambo], Dave [FN Haag], Dave [Pleau- Mr Plowed], Dave [Sheldon], Paul [Tall Paul], Adam [Boy George], Jean-Michel [Tiny Dancer], Brent [Aqualung], Marty, Jeff, Peter [Boy Jr], Ben [Ram Jr], George [Jr], George [Jr-Jr], Jason, Matt, and Brett. 23 attendees was a record. 20 on Friday night was a record. 7 rookies was a record and TOO many. Great weather. 10th year for the Montero!!! Midget donated 2 golf carts. One ran great and the other looks like a parts vehicle. Great fireworks on Friday and Saturday nights. Hiking to Unknown Pond and fishing on the Androscoggan and Lake Umbagog. The Montero [all hail the Montero] lasted another year, received 2 NEW tires [thanks for the recall Toyota and Jeff!] It lost it's brakes at this point so driving became a bit more of a challenge! Cut and split some fallen trees for firewood.

2009 The 22nd year… The law of averages is bound to catch up with us. [Thank God we are below average!]

Nate [Natron], Kevin [Boy], Larry [Cousin], George [Dad], Garry [Midget], Del [Butters], Eric [Rambo], Dave [Pleau- Mr Plowed], Dave [Sheldon], Paul [Tall Paul], Adam [Boy George], Jean-Michel [Tiny Dancer], Marty [Marty], Jeff [Jeff], Peter [Boy Jr], Ben [Ram Jr], Matt [Harpo], and Adam [Adam]. Garry was the first to arrive on Thursday and George was the last to leave on Tuesday. Hikes Percy's Peak on Saturday, fishing on Friday and Saturday. The Montero ran hard again without brakes. Ram Jr hit a tree with it and now it needs a new radiator, will try to scrounge one before next year. Mr Plowed donated a plow truck for the camps. The Ford pickup ran but needs read leaf spring work [who needs suspension!] Jean-Michel ran the hollow log explosion experience this year... WOW! The second generation crew spent several evenings down at Supri's with a younger crowd and much bigger fire. Collected some firewood. Rode Boy Jr's 4-wheeler, and Midget's golf cart ran some laps around the field. The riding lawn mower was a bit sketchy with a bad bearing on the mower deck. First time ever that Friday night had the highest attendance [18 Fri, 17 Sat]. Many of us had breakfast at the Milan store, good food as always.

2010 The 23rd year… Can we make a video worthy of posting on YouTube or Tosh.O?

Not sure if we filmed a Tosh.O worthy video, we certainly has a Tosh.O good time through! Fishing Cedar Pond and Success Pond, Hiking to Unknown Pond, 4-wheeling at Jerico Lake, land yachting [including a quick regata], fixin' vehicles, running the Montero for it's 12th year! Also used the Dodge pickup, Ford pickup, and golf cart. Set up horseshoe pits and played a bunch of games. Went to Milan, Berlin, and Errol for breakfasts over the course of the stay. We had a couple of toasts for our friend Jake [the snake from the homo state] in honor of his passing this past year. Cut and split some firewood. Burned some stuff. Exploded a hollow log with propane. Shot skeet. Target practice. Pulled a land yacht to a neighboring party. Let me just say that if you want to make a lasting impression arriving at a party, a land yacht is a good way to travel!!! 10 attendees on Thursday night was a record. 21 on Saturday was a good showing also. See you next year.

Nate [Natron], Kevin [Boy], Larry [Cousin], George [Dad], Garry [Midget], Del [Butters], Eric [Rambo], Dave [FN Haag], Dave [Pleau- Mr Plowed], Paul [Tall Paul], Adam [Boy George], Marty [Moose], Jeff [Jeff], Peter [Boy Jr], Ben [Ram Jr], Adam [Adumb], Brent [Aqualung], Ben [British Ben], and Rob [Rob]

8 arrived for Thursday night, a total on 18 for Friday night, Nate arrived finally and made 19 for Saturday night, then the numbers dwindled down to George and Nate for the final [Monday] night. Fishing on the Androscoggin, Millsfield Pond, and Jerico Lake. Pleau misunderstood catch and release as he sent his boat motor back to the bottom of the lake! Haag brought a scooter and a parts scooter that were ridden nearly into the ground. Well, actually Haag DID ride himself into the ground while riding [twice within 5 minutes!!!] A visit to Butch's camp in Dummer, land yacht rides in an awesome airboat with a sofa for seating! Most of the vehicles were not running when we left. Could the Montero had ended it's mighty run???!!! Apparently oxygen-acetylene explosions cause the police to arrive.

Nate [Natron], Kevin [Boy], George [Dad], Garry [Midget], Del [Butters], Eric [Rambo], Dave [FN Haag], Dave [Pleau- Mr Plowed], Paul [Tall Paul], Adam [Boy George], Jeff [Jeff], Peter [Boy Jr], Ben [Ram Jr or Boggs Ben], Ben [British Ben], Dave [Sheldon]

7 for Thursday night and most of them were at Delaney's in North Conway for lunch and the 'official start' of Men's Weekend! 6 more arrived on Friday at various times, and Nate & Garry managed to arrive Saturday. Marty made a day appearance, which does not fully count under the current bylaws. Plenty of fishing, mostly on the Androscoggin River. Hollow logs nightly are always a fan favorite. Super fireworks show Saturday night! Natron brought 25th Anniversary polo shirts to commemorate the Silver Anniversary of Men's Weekend. The Montero died at the end of last years event and was unable to be resurrected this year. [All hail the Montero!] Natron mowed some of the fields with some help from Tall Paul. Boy found out that static while filling an oxygen acetylene bag can cause the bag to explode! Sad, that of the 4 original MW attendees, only 2 have now made all the events.

Did you know that about half of the previous 25 Men's Weekends have been below average? Thank God the other half have made up for it!

Nate [Natron], Kevin [Boy], George [Dad], Garry [Midget], Del [Butters], Eric [Rambo], Dave [FN Haag], Dave [Pleau- Mr Plowed], Adam [Boy George], Jeff [Jeff], Peter [Boy Jr], Ben [Ram Jr or Boggs Ben or Limp], Ben [British Ben], Jean-Michel [Juan-Migel], Mike [British Mike], Marty [Marty], Rob [Rob], Chris [Chris], Chip [Chip]*

*Note that Chip was in attendence, however, he was living there for the summer and was more interested in entertaining his daughters and their friends than 'participation' with the MW crowd.

Men's Weekend officially starts at Delaney's in North Conway at noon on Thursday. Dad was joined by 5 others to get the weekend started. There was a total of 8 around for Thursday night. Everyone else arrived on Friday or Saturday and did whatever they felt like for a fun weekend! Fun included: fishing, hiking; boon-docking; eating; drinking; blowing stuff up; burning stuff; horse shoes; and other fun stuff. Surprisingly no one died... again!

Nate [Natron], Kevin [Boy], George [Dad], Garry [Midget], Eric [Rambo], Dave [FN Haag], Dave [Pleau- Mr Plowed], Adam [Boy George], Jeff [Jeff], Peter [Boy Jr], Ben [Ram Jr or Boggs Ben or Limp], Ben [British Ben], Mike [British Mike], Rob [Rob], Roockie James [Boy Jr Jr], and Doug [Decibal Doug]

Nate [Natron], Kevin [Boy], George [Dad], Larry [Cousin], Garry [Midget], Eric [Rambo], Adam [Boy George], Jeff [Jeff], Peter [Boy Jr], Jean-Michel [Juan-Miguel or Tiny Dancer], Peter [Boy Jr], & Josh.

We had four day visitors who don't really count but we want to list them so that we can remember to chastise them about their lack of attendence: Del [Butters], Dave [Mr Plowed], Ben [Ram Jr or Boggs Ben or Limp], & Ryan. We burned a trailer load of wooden furnature that was beautiful to watch. Thanks to Rambo we needed a recovery of a Dakota from DEEP in the woods. Note that Boy was the navigator. Recovery took 3 trucks and six or seven guys, but really only required a come-along and an easier path back to the teepee. A fishing trip took place, however the lack of a report would indicate that success was minimal, per usual! Watching the sun and planets set over the Deer Mountain Ridge, provided evening entertainment. A lack of explosions was enjoyed by all! Marginal success at target shooting was also enjoyed by a couple of attendees.

Nate [Natron], Kevin [Boy], George [Dad], Larry [Cousin], Garry [Midget], Eric [Rambo], Adam [Boy George], Ben [Brittish Ben], Chip [Chip].

2021 The 34th year... We're an embarrassment of our former selves (and we weren't much to start with!).

Nate [Natron], Kevin [Boy], George [Dad], Larry [Cousin], Eric [Rambo], Dave [Pleau], Adam [Boy George], Peter [boy jr], Chip [Chip].

Dad, Pleau, Boy, Tall Paul, and Doug made it to lunch on Thursday [Paul and Doug made it no further!] Natron and Rambo took a trip to Pittsburg to visit some other Wakefield locals hiding in the north country for the weekend. Others went fishing near Butch's house. Water was fairly low this year. Breakfast in Errol and other regular stuff like that.