Back in the USA

Had a great day of hashing here in New Jersey. Started the day with an excellent off road trail with the Rumson H3. Details will be a feature article for my next monthly email.

Its been a couple weeks, but here it is.

In the Spotlight - Rumson H3
By Ed "Hazukashii" Howell
23 Oct 2020

There are thousands of hash clubs around the world, with many appealing reasons to make the effort to search them out. Rumson H3 was one of those clubs for me. I have known about the Rumson H3 for many years, have heard many tales of their exploits, and have even been invited on a few occasions by Gil “Mr. Jackson” Jackson (a.k.a. Mr J). My good fortunes finally gave me the opportunity to run a trail with the self-proclaimed . . . “Hell’s Angels of Hashing.” If your sarcasm senses happen to tingle at all while reading this article, do not be alarmed.

I rolled into the start location a little early, and met the hare (Keyhole) as he was conducting his final trail prep. Mr. J was also there, so we had the opportunity to chat a bit. Soon more cars pulled into the nearly empty parking lot, and after a few brief introductions, the pack assembled ‘promptly’ at 10:17 am on Saturday morning to run a hash trail, just as advertised on the website. Gil proudly stated that they have never missed a trail in 42 years, even during the COVID era.

To provide the historical background, the Rumson H3 was founded on 20 May 1978, from a pool of primordial sludge, by Keith Kanaga and Gil Jackson. Keith had previously hashed with Mother Hash in Kuala Lumpur, and in 1978 was settling into northern New Jersey, when he met Gil who was an avid runner in the area. One day Keith mentions this running club he had been part of, and asked Gil if he could reach out to his fellow runners to help him organize a club in the area. Despite being drafted in 1956 and serving 2 years overseas, Gil had never run a hash before, but was enthusiastic if beer was involved. Thus, began the legend of Rumson. While scanning the dark web, I found a few videos of their exploits, including this general overview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2ZGpPjzdQk), and the infamous Dead Horse Story (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__XA8axm_e0).

For anyone who has attended an InterAmericas Hash (IAH), you may be aware of the articulate and concerted effort the Rumson Hash has made in their bid presentation . . . to ‘avoid’ hosting this biennial event. Fit with the latest technology (overhead projector and magic markers), Gil or one of the other members, would wax eloquently on the virtues of New Jersey, to wow the crowd. I recall one such presentation in Panama back in 2013, when the technology was lagging more than usual, so chromatic slides and a flashlight were used to give us amazing low definition views of New Jersey, and what it had to offer. Sadly, this effort also failed, as Rumson has never been added to the historical list of hosts to IAH.

Getting back to the trail for this day, a pack of 15 hashers (Men Only) had finally assembled at precisely 10:17 am, and off we went . . . at 10:27. Marked with flour and chalk, the trail went straight under a train bridge, and into the ‘deep’ shiggy of New Jersey. We worked our way through a couple checks on single file grass and dirt tracks, and after about a mile, we found the first beer check. As you would expect, half the pack had meandered aimlessly off trail, and would take 30 minutes to finally follow their noses to the cooler of German biers provided on this Oktoberfest themed event. After a few juicy stories, a couple jokes, and gentlemanly banter, we set off on trail again with instructions of how to find the second beer check, which ended up being just a half mile away. There again, with great amusement, another small cooler of beer was consumed, before covering the final two miles of dirt trails back to the park. While we were socializing after trail, the hare pulled out a pot of various German sausages to further celebrate the theme, and the stories continued as shown here . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=Z_….

Just as Keith had experienced at Mother hash back in the 70s, Rumson does not hold a circle, does not sing songs, and has no formal ceremony of any kind. They also do not give out names, but some members have acquired nicknames as a matter of course. Other than Mr. J who is also fondly referred to as “The Chaplain,” there is Elephant Dick that some of you may know, who reminded me of your crazy uncle Richard (if your uncle is Richard Dreyfuss). There was also Keyhole (the hare), Butt Naked, Rear End Wrangler, GI (who I had recently hashed with in Taiwan), and Dead Man Walking . . . which got us started on the old man conversation of comparing scars. Going around the circle, one had just gotten a new shoulder, another had a knee replacement, others have had various heart related surgeries (like myself), and a busted hip or two. Out of all that, who do you think would be the healthiest . . . the invariable Teflon Don himself, The Chaplain, with no medical scars or ailments of any significance in his 86 years of life.

A few other Interesting bits I found in my research, was a mention that Rumson H3 might be the second or third oldest hash in the USA. Intrigued by this comment, knowing it was not the second oldest, I took a look in the genealogy. There I discovered that the Rumson H3 is actually the 13th oldest hash club recorded (and 11th currently active) in the USA, behind Ft Eustis H3 in Virginia, DC Men’s H3, and the Little Rock H3 in Arkansas, being the first three, respectively. More on that later, but at 86, Mr J also claims he is the oldest active hasher in USA, also anchoring what he claimed as the oldest pack in the world with an average age of regular active hashers of 64, by his count. Surprisingly, at 56, I was not the youngest hasher in attendance on this day.

With the run completed, the fest food and bier consumed, and several other good stories of Rumson H3 lore, the pack started to break up and go home. Then GI mentions there is another hash, just 30 minutes away, starting in a couple hours . . . say no more. It was off to the Summit Hash for another Oktoberfest themed trail, but that is a tale for another day. If you are ever in northern New Jersey on a Saturday morning, and bring your own sausage, you should not miss the opportunity to run with the Rumson Hash House Harriers. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

https://www.relive.cc/view/vQvxZJ4Lz96 - RUMSON H3Read more