W64 Registration is Open

[Terry Sorchy]

Re: W64 Registration is Open

Yeah and remember Eric, some Badgers actually supply you with Pies.
Cheers:D
Terry Sorchy

[Eric Tipton]

Re: W64 Registration is Open

Yes, I stand corrected. In terms of pies, Badgers DO actually have a history of providing them. That was damn fine pie we had at Outpost. We actually had Hoosiers in that group who didn't want the pie, so I guess I am really talking about a specific unnamed bad "apple" amongst the Hoosiers who just wants to ruin pie for the rest of us. :D

"Did you take the pie because you were HUNGRY, or did you take it because you just like pie?" :p

[Charles Heath]

Re: W64 Registration is Open

As much as I hate to throw arbitrary and capricious documenation on this raging pyre, and especially documentation provided by a danged Hawkeye, here's a blurb provided by that infernal Rob "Goat" Willis in the August 2006 edition (Vol. 7, No. 4) of the Columbia Examiner:

ANOTHER ACCOUNT OF CIVIL WAR PIE

The following is a reporting in the Davenport, Iowa Gazette on
conditions at Benton Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1862 and the
medical problems the barracks commanders were attempting to deal
address:

“[One] great cause is in the fault of the men themselves. They
have their daily rations issued them, which in quantity far
exceeds the amount they would eat at home, yet they devour
the entire quantity as though the Government required it and
between meals they patronize apple-pie and pop-corn peddlers
to an extent that would astonish one who has not been a
personal observer. This error is more particularly to be found
among new troops who have but recently left their homes. If
all new troops will bear in mind the injurious effects of this
course, they will avoid a great deal of illness, and some of
them will prolong their lives.[!] To exclude the peddlers is an
utter impossibility, unless they exclude all citizens, and
particularly washerwomen, who conceal pies in the bottom of
their baskets and hide them with washing they bring in.”

"It is good pie is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it." - The Lee Sisters.

[Kevin O'Beirne]

Re: W64 Registration is Open

I will not mention here that W64 is held in the middle of a very large apple-growing region. No, I won't mention that.

And I'll put the pie thieves of the Columbia Rifles up against all comers in any pie-thieving contest. Some of these fellows are excellent practicioners of their craft. In fact, some of them--including our company commander at one event (no, not me)--even took to ripping off virtually anything full of carbs not nailed down or under the gaze of an astitue and vigilant sentry. On that occasiion, I had to attempt to mediate (in the capacity of a de-facto battalion-level officer that weekend), with a straight face, between the commander of the company who's bread and pie was lifted, and the CR company commander, who I observed brushing crumbs from his beard as I called him over. Straight faces were maintained and the injuried party ultimately received no satisfaction. Similarly, there's a number of civilian impressionists who are missing pies after the the CR (or its members) passed by. At one point a few years ago it got so bad that the group commonly and informally acknowledged that they would probably sell all their beliefs on "authenticity" for a damned pie.

Cherry and apple are my favorites, but overall I'm not that picky. :)

Continuing the cone of silence about plans for W64, I can neither confirm nor deny any rumors about the possible appearance of pie at that event. :D

[Sherry Key]

Re: W64 Registration is Open

Peter,

That's very helpful! Charleston is an easy drive for us. I'll take a look at Air Tran. PM me with the date you're traveling.

Thanks,
Sherry Key.

Oops, sorry folks, I should have just pm'd.

[Charles Heath]

Re: W64 Registration is Open

O'Bee,

Come to think of it, I do believe I saw you eating some apple pie in the general vicinity of the front yard of the Ira Petit House in Metro Newfane (okay, Wilson NY) scant weeks ago. This would have been the evening prior to the "Great Ditch Leaping & Woodline Sprinting Exhibition" towards the end of a certain march the next day, but we shan't go into details about that. Let's assume these two activities were at least somehat mutually exclusive, and the near calamity was precipitated by the whiff of 400 acres of cabbage ready to be harvested.

You missed a remedial pie thievery lecture and practicum at Fort Donelson a while back. As embarrassing as it may seem, we had to teach Hoosiers how to steal pies. Yes, it has come to this. Oh, the humanity. Unfortunately we were only able to teach them how to steal half a pie, although I understand they are perfectly willing to try and try again, being good sports about it and all. Some claim them to be slow learners, but others say it was the appearance of a strange creature not unlike a two-legged buffalo in camp that slowed down the greatly encouraged larceny that evening. Every man played his part well.

Say, weren't you the reb officer with a large amount of freshly purloined Sally Lund bread atop his gear at Mumford NY a few years ago? That afternoon constituted yet another excellent learning experience for innocent young men desiring a life of crime in low places, and how to hide the evidence in plain view.

[Brian Luscombe]

Re: W64 Registration is Open

And I personally observed him scarfing down an outrageously large hunk of pie handed out by LCol Sorchy at Outpost 3. Is there no pie safe in this land?

[HURRAH WITHOUT THE H]

Re: W64 Registration is Open

Pie Rankings in WNY..
(as far as I know)

1- Any Type of Pie from "Earls", Rt 16 Chaffee NY (sorry, after 50 years Earl retired and closed this week)

1.5 - Any Type Pie from the chubby little amish girl at a roadside stand in Cherry Creek NY, I don't know the road, but if your driving I'll get you there. These whoppers are only$6.00 a pie.

2- Elderberry Pie from the "Family Spot", Rt. 18 Lyndonville NY

3- Blueberry Pie, Apple Pie from "Harpers Bazzare", in Newfane NY

4- Any Type Pie, from Yoders Amish Country Store, Lyndonville NY

I like pie with ice cream, and if it's apple I like a slice of sharp cheese with it. A good pie always deserves a good cup of coffee. My wife makes a good mince meat, and a good pecan.
Who can hate pie?

Scott Schotz
CR / 151st NYSVI

[Kevin O'Beirne]

Re: W64 Registration is Open

I had two nice slices of pie at the Pettit March last month. The over-the-ditch-and-through-the-woods scramble while 12 guys waited along the road was indeed an urgent one, but I'm confident that the pie had nothing to do with it. I suspect it was Lanky's venison sausage instead. Plus (at that point) 4.5 miles of marching had undoubtedly assisted things to work through it all.

Okay, now that that's been discussed.... (yes, I did tell the above story to Joe Smotherman at Outpost)

The Friday evening pie at Outpost 3 was a darned nice treat on a cool evening. The pie at Vicksburg 2007 was darned nice on a semi-warm evening. The pie at the Pettit March was nice on an evening that was, well, nice in temperature. Why did so many Yanks bail out half-way through Rich Mountain? I'm confident that the answer was "no pie to be found". I hope that this is not the case at Bummers 2009, which could quite possibly--IF IT'S PLANNED RIGHT--become known as "Pie Bummers 2009". Personally, I trace the "campaigner" pie craze back to a certain mainstream event north of Pittsburgh in June 2000; that poor lady still, to this day, probably doesn't know quite what it was that hit her concession and cleaned her out of 25 pies--sort of like a sutler raid of old, except it was more akin to a plague of locusts attired like 25 Yankee infantrymen.

Darned shame that a Hoosier had to be TAUGHT how to nab a pie. To a red-blooded New Yorker or Pennsylvanian, or New Englander, it's an innate, instinctive reaction ("being taught" is not part of this at all) to steal first, eat second (in snarf-down fashion), with an option to think coming much later (remember, it's only an option, and not often exercised); remorse is not part of the equation, nor is there any consideration whatsoever to the effect of, "maybe I shouldn't do that again". I'm sure that if one looks very closely at the Ten Commandments, next to "Thou Shalt Not Steal" is a little asterisk and down below, after the stuff about not coveting thy neighbor's goods or wife, is a litlte footnote that says, "Except for pie, particularly the fruit-filled kind." I suspect that the same asterisk is also next to the part about not coveting thy neighbors goods (or food).

Frozen pie can be re-heated to satisfactory temperature and consistency. Just remember that.

[Charles Heath]

Re: W64 Registration is Open

Well, at least no one mentioned the vacant window sill at a certain home in Athens, MO, or the great fried chicken raid at a certain relatively quiet historic site in NC. Plausible deniability got shot right in the arse when a little circle of chicken bones was situated around each and every full bellied blue clad member, the biscuit crumbs had dribbled down our fatigue blouses, and traces of delicous side dishes were seen in smears and splatters here and there. To protect the innocent, the instigator's name shall remain nameless, but the "reach" in the operation was a fine young fellow by the name of Justin, who was just tall enough and light enough to be held by his ankles through an open window, across a sideboard of some sort, and he could just barely reach the food on the table and pass it back to the waiting hands through the window. Quite the exhibition of teamwork, alacrity, and appetite all in one fell swoop.

Little did we know that chicken feast was meant for a gaggle of general officers, but we sure found out in record time. Of course, in spite of all the overwhelming (and still warm in some instances) circumstantial evidence, we had an iron clad alibi.

Iron clad, I tell you.

[Texyank]

Re: W64 Registration is Open

1- Any Type of Pie from "Earls", Rt 16 Chaffee NY (sorry, after 50 years Earl retired and closed this week)

1.5 - Any Type Pie from the chubby little amish girl at a roadside stand in Cherry Creek NY, I don't know the road, but if your driving I'll get you there. These whoppers are only$6.00 a pie.

2- Elderberry Pie from the "Family Spot", Rt. 18 Lyndonville NY

3- Blueberry Pie, Apple Pie from "Harpers Bazzare", in Newfane NY

4- Any Type Pie, from Yoders Amish Country Store, Lyndonville NY

Charles,

Sounds like driving directions on the trek to W64 to me.

[Charles Heath]

Re: W64 Registration is Open

Sounds like driving directions on the trek to W64 to me.

Almost,

I may head up a couple of days early, just to sample the local pies, and order a "Jimmy" at the local breakfast eatery in downtown Newfane. That, and the 13th NJVI fellows have turned me on to a nice, inexpensive, commercial source for lard in large quantities, and I'd like to get a head start on a certain project made famous by Sparky's photo analysis.

I swear I saw Marse Craddock and some Widow's Sons standing curbside in Gettysburg today -- with pie.

[grant]

Re: W64 Registration is Open

hey sent my registration in couple of days ago hope it makes it there safe and sound.

-Grant Kirkwood

[Kevin O'Beirne]

Re: W64 Registration is Open

Charles and Jason - I'm sorry to say, but Earl's, that landmark of Western New York pie for generations, recently closed. Kaput. Sorry.

Below is the current registration list as of 11/25. We had one drop-out so there's now TWO bunks available.

Backus, William Columbia Rifles
Bemis, Todd 1st Texas Co A
Berezuk, Peter 69th NY Co A
Berndt, David Columbia Rifles
Biggar, Scott 155th NY Co I
Bishop, Jeremiah NCWC
Briggs, Noah Atlantic Guard Soldiers Aid Society
Busenbark, Scott Pumpkin Patch Mess/ GHTI
Calloway, Paul GHTI
Caridi, Joseph Columbia Rifles/ POC'R Boys Mess
Coats, Herb WIG
Connelly, Harry Columbia Rifles
Craddock, Patrick WIG/ Widows' Sons Mess
Czerow, Tim 122nd NY
Dicks, Russell 83rd Pa. Co K
Dudkowski, Michael 140th NY
Ewen, Riley Old Northwest Vols
Fable, John Liberty Rifles
Farley, Darren WIG/ GHTI/ Pumpkin Patch Mess
Firth, Robert 13th MA Co F
Gast, Garr 122nd NY/ Columbia Rifles
Gingras, Thomas Ind./ 13 Mass Co F
Groves, Troy 1st Calif Co F
Gulley, Scott WIG/ GHTI
Hamby, Jason Independent
Heath, Charles Columbia Rifles
Henion, Jeff Columbia Rifles
Hicks, Brian WIG
Horton, Caleb Columbia Rifles
Johnson, Joseph 119th NY Co H
Jurek, Barry 122nd NY
Lloyd, John Independent
Luscombe, Brian Columbia Rifles
Martin, Andrew GHTI/Pumpkin Patch Mess
McCarthey, Pete Columbia Rifles/ POC'R Boys Mess
McIntyre, Ryan 124th NY
Meaney, James 155th NY Co I
Milbert, Art WIG/10th Texas
Murray, Robert 1st Minn. Co A
O'Beirne, Kevin Columbia Rifles/ 151st NY
O'Connor, Michael 140th NY
Parsons, Janele "Salt Boiler Mess Ladies Auxiliary"
Parsons, Shawn Salt Boiler Mess
Parsons, Zachary Salt Boiler Mess
Peterson, Michael Columbia Rifles
Piering, Chris 122nd NY/ Columbia Rifles
Renault, Greg Columbia Rifles/ ANV/ 49th NY Co D
Rodman, William Rowdy Pards/ 1st ANV
Roth, Renee "Salt Boiler Mess Ladies Auxiliary"
Roth, Ronald Salt Boiler Mess
Runyon, Justin Pumpkin Patch Mess/ WIG/ GHTI
Ryan, Michael Columbia Rifles/ 151st NY/ 140th NY/ 26th NC
Schank, Dennis 151st NY
Schaeffer, Craig 151st NY/ 26th NC
Schaffner, Michael Brady Sharpshooters
Schotz, Scott 151st NY/ Columbia Rifles
Slaughter, Robert 124th NY
Smith, Pete Columbia Rifles/ 151st NY
Somerville, Mark 49th NY Co D
Stauder, Jim "Coldfoot" 151st NY
Stauder, Renae 151st NY
Thomason, Kiev WIG
Tipton, Eric Mess No. 1
Towsen, Dave ("Grumpy") Columbia Rifles
Trent, Hank Independent
Tyler, Steve Columbia Rifles
Watson, Ley Columbia Rifles/ POC'R Boys Mess
Willard, Ryan 151st NY
Willard, Sean 151st NY
Woodburn, Matt WIG
Woodhams, Bill Columbia Rifles
Zimmerman, Evan Mess No. 1

[Kevin O'Beirne]

Re: W64 Registration is Open

Had a guy drop out--there's now a bunk available if someone is interested in registering. If so, drop me an e-mail at kobeirne@roadrunner.com.