Spring 2015 Becker (East) Gathering - May 1-3 - Now With Pictures!

SALTY said:
Sorry I didn't post up yesterday but the first day (and evening) back is typically a balancing act of re-entering the atmosphere without burning up the the heat shield tiles; yesterday was no exception.

This was the first Beckerhead Gathering for my son and I and we are still glowing from the experience. It must be mention first and foremost what a gracious and wonderful host Ethan was/is - befitting of the man himself. Someone once said that there are basically two types of people in this world: givers and takers; for our entire stay, from the moment of arrival to the last handshake of departure - Ethan never stopped giving!

Everyone there partook and contributed to the experience. Through the heat of the campfire and the warmth of fellowship molecules meshed, bonded and arranged themselves into a hearty steel. Perhaps a passion for knives, bushcraft, the outdoors, simply splendid weather and the great Tennessee landscape helped but Ethan and his band of Beckerheads made for a very enjoyable and memorable occasion. Joey and I want to say thank you to all.
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Pleasure meeting you and your son. I'll be sure to brush up on my lawyer jokes for the next time.
 
ARRGH!

Just couldn't make the Gatherings this year and reading about them has got me depressed and this morning I recalled a bit of Shakespeare ...

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood, food, steel, and skillz with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen who couldn't make it
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That camped with us upon Beckerhead Gathering day.

Next year, next year ...
 
picture - sorry for the blur, it's a cheap cell phone.
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Ugh, rough start to the week after such an awesome weekend!
First off thank you Ethan for taking us all in and being so gracious allowing us crazies to take over your mountain for the weekend! Thanks for taking the time to really make me and my family feel welcomed and part of the group. The time you took to interact with my daughter is something she'll never forget and she'll carry her cookbook proudly to cooking camp this summer! You sir are one hell of a cook, just watching you work was a highlight of the entire weekend. Very inspiring.
Thanks to all the Beckerheads for being so kind, layed back, and fun to be around. I'm still struggling to match faces to names to screen names so forgive me if I get a few mixed up, it was a little overwhelming and I'm terrible with names anyways. I was the hobo lookin guy with the bun and goatee, my wife bandaged up Erik's hand a couple of times before making the trip to the hospital, and my daughter was the one referred to as "the 110lb girl with 95lbs of knives around her waist" lol. Thanks to all the people who took time to show my girl some skills, share knowledge, and make her laugh. I'm sure her face still hurts from the perma-grin she had all weekend! Everyone was very respectful and I can't remember a time I've been around a group of strangers that felt like family after such a short period of time.
Dex-you went above and beyond keeping folks fed before, during, and after meals!
Trade- you and Mrs Trade did a fantastic job with all your wonderful treats and lunch was fantastic!
I just can't thank every single person enough for making this such a great event. I'm looking forward to seeing y'all again at Blade and especially this fall!
 
oh, yeah - I found a still in the box iPhone car charger sitting on my dash when I was packing up to leave -- if you left one in my truck, let me know and I'll bring it to blade or mail it out, whichever makes more sense at the time.
 
(moved this picture to the other thread - can't move yer quotes, tho)
 
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Guyon said:
This doesn't look like the lake by Ethan's. :confused:
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*LOL*
Too many tabs open, I hit the wrong thread. Sorry about that!
It's kind of a lake, and there's at least one Ethan nearby...
 
CM_Rick said:
Damn it, I'm sorry man. It didn't hit any tendons did it? Btw, your hand looks like a bunch of bananas... huge
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not your fault - other than having it made with too short of a handle... ;)
cut seems to be healing well -- no nerves, tendons, or big blood vessels damaged.
 
Oh, he knows...
I modded the handles on a 9 to open them up another 1/2" and showed it to him this weekend. :D
 
Looks real good actually vik. Not all swolled up and red etc. Good thing you got banana hands, prob woulda took my pinky right off lol
 
Wow. What a great time. Words honestly can't describe.

This was trip #3 for me up to Becker Mountain and it was totally worth the drive from Texas.

First off, I want to thank Uncle E for his hospitality and for letting all us Beckerheads into his home. There is no host better.
It was great to see you again my friend and catch up some. I didn't get much of the pork on Saturday, but I did get some of the roast and grits on Friday and man that roast was done up right!!

Next I just want to say what a pleasure it was to meet all the new guys! Glad you all could make it. I wish I would have had more time to hang out with some of you, but I just seemed to be so busy, all the time. I hope you all make it next time.

I also got to meet a couple of guys that I have heard great things about and seen around the internet but never got to meet in person. Mistwalker, it was great chatting with you sir, and I look forward to next time. Also Kyle, it was awesome meeting you and I enjoyed our long chat about guitar playing and also knife related stuff. And thank you for letting me on your podcast. I admit I was a little scared at first, but so glad I had the opportunity to do it.

It was so good to see all my old friends too. I am not gonna go into names cause there are so many, but I thank you all. Each one of you really do have a place in my heart.

Thank you to everyone who picked up some gear or traded stuff with me. I came home with all kinds of goodies.

Can't wait to try the Maple Syrup, Vik.

And Phillip, thanks for the Pipe. I foresee a new hobby that I will no doubt, become addicted too. haha. Thanks also to Guyon for the additional help with how to smoke it.

Thanks Ka-Bar and Ethan for sharp steel. I will just leave it at that.

Tankerwolf, I was not expecting to come home without my chopped 15 sir, but I think you knew I could not resist the trade you had to offer. lol Enjoy that bad boy! Thanks.

NC_Slice, thank you buddy for the cooking mitts! I have been wanting that same set for a long time. So kind of you! I will use them for years to come.

Trades, thanks for lunch on Saturday and also, the Pies Rocked! I believe I ate at least 5 of them. So good!

And to whoever brought that pork stuff that was in round thick slices we had for breakfast on Saturday morning, Thank you! That stuff was amazing.

Gus, My Canadian buddy, Thank you for the Beer. I had one each night and man it seemed like I drank them for hours. Must have be 40's or something. lol They were excellent my friend.

Thank you to everyone else who brought food and drink. Seems like we will never worry about going hungry at these things no matter how many people show up.

And Murph, I somehow ended up with a few bags of your Bacon in my Ice Chest. Thank you. I have been cooking it everyday since i got home.


Also a huge thanks to everyone who helped me in anyway shape or form getting the food prepared and cooked. I honestly could not have got it all done without you. I can't remember everyone but a quick list, and sorry if I leave anyone out: Rolled Edge with the Octopus and Boudin, Buddy, our minds together made the best octopus sauce the world has ever seen! Really wish we could remember how we did it. Guess it was just one of those moments in time, never meant to be duplicated, just enjoyed in that moment. I think we also had Gutsy on shift, but He kinda disappeared. haha. Thanks man. Thank you to Pong and the three awesome Ladies (Laura and Phillip and Andrew's wives) who helped me in the kitchen with the deer. It would not have been possible without you guys. It did get kinda intense in Ethan's kitchen and I was afraid we were gonna have a walkout, but we came together and created Pure Magic with that Deer and Bacon. Thanks Pong for manning the grill. You did a fantastic job!

Special thanks to my Little Buddy, TMH, for running boudin station number 2. I know it is hard for you to be the helper, but you ran that grill like a true champ and I had complete confidence in your grilling skills. Guess you got a little taste of how Murph feels. lol. And I do forgive you for BREAKING and trying to break all my stuff. But really man, you need some finesse, that brute force you use is not always necessary. :D

I do apologize for not being able to score the good Boudin. The stuff I was able to get was still good, but it was not as good as what we are used too. Next time I will take extreme measures to insure that we get Premium Cajun Blood Sausage!

I also brought along my camera and made sure to take 4 memory cards and extra batteries. I had plans to take hundreds of pictures and videos, but man, I think I got less than 10. haha. Will post them up later.

I know I am leaving out a lot of people and stuff I want to say but I will end this now, cause I can type walls of text about how awesome Ethan and all of you guys are all day long.
Look forward to meeting up with you all again soon, wherever the next gathering will be held.
 
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