Once upon a time...
The first Chicago Hash was put together by Guy Woodford, then president of Chicago Griffins Rugby Football Club the summer of 1978. British by birth, Guy was a longtime employee of Standard Charter Bank of England, serving in many posts overseas, including Chicago and New York. He became a dedicated hasher in his posting to Kuala Lumpur, birth place of the hash. In Chicago, he was known as Sir Guy of Guy. His antics on the hash and with the rugby club were tolerated by his wonderful wife, Rosemary. They have two grown children and now live in East Sussex, England. Retired, Guy currently has become involved in raising money for prostate research on hikes through Europe. Since Sir Guy of Guy hashed in KL, we in Chicago are direct descendants of the Mother of All Hashes.
Hash House Harrier roots extend back to the old English schoolboy game of "Hares and Hounds," in which some players, called "hounds," chase others, called "hares," who have left a trail of paper scraps along their route across fields, hedges, streams, bogs, and hills. These are called Marks. See what they look like today. One of the earliest Hares and Hounds events on record was the "Crick Run" at Rugby School in Warwickshire, England, first held in 1837.
Hare and Hounds as an adult sport began in the fall of 1867 with a group of London oarsmen who wanted to keep fit during the winter. Also called "Paper Chasing" or the "Paper Chase," the game became very popular after its introduction on Wimbledon Common in 1868 by the Thames Hare and Hounds. Early clubs called themselves "Hare and Hounds" or simply "Harriers."
The Hash House Harriers as we know it today was founded in Malaya (now Malaysia) by Albert Stephen Ignatius Gispert, an English chartered accountant. It was sometime during 1937 when Gispert (or simply "G" as he was known to his friends) acquired a taste for the paper chase with the Springgit Harriers in Malacca (also in Malaya). Shortly after being transferred by his accounting firm to Kuala Lumpur he gathered together a number of fellow expatriate businessmen to form a harrier group. The first run was held in December 1938 and the founding members included Cecil H. Lee, Frederick "Horse" Thomson, Eric Galvin, H.M. Doig, and Ronald "Torch" Bennet. That was almost 70 years ago, so not only are we celebrating 30 Years of Hashing in Chicago, we are celebrating 70 years of this magic thing we have.
A.S.I. Gispert (1903-1942)
(with all due respect looks a little bit like CH3 GM Chicken Stiffer!)
The group's name came about primarily because local authorities required legal registration of the club. While the "Kuala Lumpur Harriers" would have appeared a logical choice, "G" decided instead to use the nickname for the Selangor Club where a number of the local harriers both lived and took their meals. It seems that due to its lackluster food, the dining room was commonly referred to as the "Hash House."
The philosophy of the original Hash House Harriers from the 1938 charter:
- To promote physical fitness among our members
- To get rid of weekend hangovers
- To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer
- To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel
Hashing in Kuala Lumpur was suspended during the World War II occupation by Japanese forces, but then reestablished after peace returned. It wasn't long before the hash began slowly spreading around the world. Former members of the original Hash House Harriers started a hash in 1947 near Milan, Italy, but it wasn't until 1962 that the next group was formed in Singapore. The Singapore Hash was gradually followed by others until in 1973 there were approximately 35 hashes in 14 countries. Subsequently, the hash began spreading like wildfire and the number of hashes soon climbed into the hundreds by the early 1980s. Today (2008) there are some 1,700 active hashes in over 180 countries, including approximately 350 in the United States.
Back to the Chicago story, Sir Guy invited the Griffins ruggers to attend what he called a picnic and fun run in a local forest preserve on June 19, 1978. It is believed to have been at Harms Woods Forest Preserve. Rugby players showed up, Guy explained the rules and that there would be lots of beer at the end and the Chicago Hash was born. Like more traditional Hashes, Sir Guy discouraged women from running and said it was a guy thing, no pun intended. For the first several years, the chapter was almost all rugby players. One brilliant hasher, maybe Russell Schmengee Sage??, came up with the idea of holding a Highwood Hash and the old infamous Highwood Hash was born which incorporated running to a half dozen or so saloons, chugging shots and beers and finishing at the Silver Dollar saloon.
Not long after, the Hash began expanding. Some sort of ad seeking runners brought forth the Hash Harlot, the first female on the Chicago Hash. Spirited, salacious and promiscuous, she was popular right away. She shocked a bar full of senior citizens on the Highwood hash by turning at the door and screaming, "Adios mother fuckers." She was widely loved, literally. A couple of attorneys joined in, more rugby players and several posers hung around as the fun was starting to get serious. Sir Guy had departed Chicago and the new grand master was John Big John Smythe.
Runs were in forest preserves, downtown, and anywhere we could find cheap on-on beer. In 1981, a hasher posing as a reporter wrote a story about the Hash for the Chicago Tribune and at the next hash, 50 people showed up. It was a benchmark. The Chicago hash began taking on a new and improved image and membership as more men and promiscuous women joined in. John Prince of Darkness Miller became the new grand master and taught male hashers how to romance female hashers by drinking beer from their shoes, or any handy opening. Chicago hashers began attending Inter-Hash ordeals. The next A highlight was Phuket, Thailand, where George Chicken George Houde had to abandon his new bride when he ran out of cash. Ken Driftwood Krause also had to leave a bride behind, but she was an Eskimo and that is a different story.
Hashers met on runs, got married, had babies and so forth. Some even got jobs. It was life after the on-on. Many of the original hashers are still around, unfortunately, and may show up for the 30th anniversary festivities. Or whatever it is. E Horn-E Foersch is the longest regularly active running member of this Drinking Club with a Running Problem having first hashed in 1985, Ray No Penetration Karenas, who also started hashing in 1985 whilst playing rugby with the Chicago Lions RFC, is the longest drinking member having met Prince of Darkness at Durkin’s which Prince was part owner, and still shows up from time to time looking like the ageless wonder that he is. In fact, Big John and No Penetration first met while both played rugby together at Illinois State University.
Rugby, the ties that bind...Look for Prince of Darkness to pop up over the event week-end as well.
On-On...
Chicago H3 GM's as best as anyone's memory can provide:
"Sir Guy of Guy"
"Big John"
Don Higgins
"Prince of Darkness"
"Downwind"
"Meister"
"Soar Balls"
"B. O. B."
"Horn-E"
"Good Swallow"
"Mudsucker"
"Virtually Hung"
"Too Loose To Screw"
"Chicken Stiffer"
Story compiled from memoirs of Chicken George, Prince of Darkness, HornE, No Penetration, www.harrier.net website and miscellaneous graffiti found in construction site port-a-lets. If you have additional stories, fictional or non-fictional, please send them to No Penetration.