I’m trying to figure out where to begin writing about the weekend we just had. If you haven’t read it yet, maybe you could start by checking out last year’s post, titled “How to Have the Best. Party. Ever.”, about the Labor Day Party/family reunion my in-laws do every year.
Last year my husband’s cousin and his wife hosted the party.
This year, it returned to the place of its inception. The Farm.
The weekend was so great. So special. So much. I just can’t write about it all in one post. So, I just decided this will be a little series of posts over the next few days.
Today? The history of Live! at Lake Thunderhead (L@LT) as best I know it.
I think it was 1999 when my husband, his brother, and their two cousins got together and played music for the first Labor Day shindig at the Farm. I hadn’t met my husband yet at that point, so my knowledge of this event comes only through the party lore, passed among family members over the years. As I understand it, the band, “Freegas” as they have come to be called, didn’t have a drum set at the time, or at least didn’t have it at the Farm for their impromptu jam session. They used an overturned 5-gallon bucket and a Tonka truck to bang out some drum sounds while they played music and drank beer. I believe that the name of the party, “Live! at Lake Thunderhead” comes from the intro to a recording that was made that evening of the band’s musical stylings.
I don’t know much about how the party happened the two years after that.
My first time at The Party was in 2002.
The Freegas boys had planned ahead and brought their drum set, some mics, and a crummy sound system. Many more family members had begun to join the festivities. It became a weekend-long party with guests (hubby and I included) camping in a “tent city,” (we were too poor then for RVs).
There was a weenie roast on Friday night, wings and fries and home brew made by close family friends on Saturday night, and The Party on Sunday, preceded by a shrimp boil (the traditions of these evening meals continue to this day).
The party took place on one small end of the dock.
Beginning in 2003 the three boat slips of the dock were filled in so the entire dock could be used for the festivities.
In 2003 and 2004 it poured rain, but the party went on anyway with tarps around the perimeter to keep things (mostly) dry.
2004 was a year of many changes for the party.
In 2004 my brother- and sister-in-law got married before the party, so the whole thing got stepped up a few notches.
There were changes for me that year. Up until that point, I had sung a few songs with the band each year. “Joker” and “Sweet Home Alabama” were my usual contributions. That year I started to become a bit more part of the band, as I sang more songs and even played the bass on a couple. I didn’t play it well, but I did it (yes, I’m wearing a muumuu in the photo below; not a good choice in retrospect, but see commentary below about the theme of the party…).
2004 also saw the addition of two new members to the band, another cousin on guitar and a family friend on drums. And it was the beginning of the themed party. That year the theme was “Hawaiian.”
2004 was the “epic” wedding/party. Most people don’t have a very clear memory of the specifics, but it was an awesome time. I mentioned in my post about last year’s party that it was one of the best parties I had ever been to. The 2004 party might rank #1. It was the year of “Wild Thing.” When the band was flogging and flailing with this song, Holla, the drummer took it over and singlehandedly delivered one of the best party performances ever.
To give you an idea of the momentum of that party, there was a huge thunderstorm with tornado warnings that began to roll in shortly after the party got started.
After the storm started getting really bad, my mother-in-law suggested we move the party up to their Morton building for safety reasons (Hello? We were on a dock. In a thunderstorm. I think she was the only sober person there), but there was just no stopping the freight train that was that party. I recall some yelling by the band and the crowd to the effect of, “Hell no!!” “Keep playing!” “Paaaarty!” And then my father-in-law threw up his hands, laughed, and said something like, “Screw it! We’re staying here!” The party went on.
Epic I tell you.
2005 was themed “Western.”
2006 was “Decades”
We had 80s
60s
50s
70s, 20s (!!), 80s, 60s:
I think that was my favorite theme.
2006 was also the first year the party moved from the dock to the building. This change was made, in spite of lots of kicking and screaming from some folks, for logistical (what a nightmare to fill all three of the boat slips and tarp around the whole dock; plus the dock is really far from the house, making it hard for family members with small children to put kids to bed and continue partying) and safety reasons (kids near water, lots of electrical equipment near water, etc).
2007 was “Hollywood”
2008 was “Bad Bridesmaids”
This theme involved dressing in the worst wedding/bridesmaid attire one could find, in honor of my mother- and father-in-law’s 40th wedding anniversary.
I think 2008 might have also been the year the band acquired decent speakers/sound system.
2009 was “Redneck/Hillbilly”
This was a great year for costumes but a bad year for the band/party. Instead of having it in the building, we had it on the lower deck (see Rule #1 from last year’s post) and it just wasn’t the same.
And Freegas didn’t perform to their abilities. Still fun, but nowhere near up to the standards of years prior. I don’t know exactly why it was a less-than-stellar event in 2009, but it seemed The Party had kind of imploded and needed a little breather.
2010 and 2011 were the Years-of-No-Live-at-Lake-Thunderhead.
Last year The Party returned as an add-on to a family gathering for an auction of my husband’s grandmother’s belongings. It was the first year the party was held someplace other than the Farm. And you know about how that went (or if you don’t, you really should read this, it will prepare you for what’s to come).
Next up will be a little bit about The Freegas Band.
