The Stovebolt Site Forums The Side Lot Old Dominion Stovebolt Society (MD, VA, West VA, DC, DE and PA) Thank you!

I want to thank everyone for the great conversations, guidance/instruction, great food and helping to change out my rear end. It was truely a great event with great weather. I am amazed at how fast the weekend went by.

Thanks John and Peggy for hosting this on your property and allowing the crew to make it look like a gypsy camp! See you all on the road! I can't wait to see pictures!

Safe travels home! Until we meet again, keep on bolting it up!

Chris

Just a great Homecoming! Wonderful to see Bolters from previous Homecomings and to meet first time Homecoming Bolters. AND we had beautiful weather!

Thank you John and Peggy for all you do, and to all of the other handful of ODSS members that make this event something I look forward to every year. It truly is a wonderful community.

The magic of everyone working together and the magic Saturday night was unbelievable!

Thanks John and Peggy, for bringing this group together!
Don

Homecoming is always a special event with the best group of folks you will find! Thanks John and Peggy for all you do ! It is an honor to get to know this great group of people ! Looking forward to the next time we get together.

Jim

Yes it was great again. Thanks to John and Peggy, lets not forget Hambone and the rest of the crew that works before we get there and cleans up after us as well. It's nice to see the newcomers, especially the younger ones.

Leo

Amen to that, Leo -- Hambone really makes this place work all of the time, not just HC. But also Thursday saw Billy Marlow on the mower, Panel fan on the string trimmer, NDkid and Handy Andy doing general set up chores ... And then yesterday, Draketail (TOG) and Hambone were here until early afternoon for the reset. And there were many others who helped in the food prep, general housekeeping, tech sessions ... Holy moly, how about Lugnuts with the T-5 tear down and evening floor show?? Jerry with all the machine work stuff and other coaching he did for all of us? Grigg III with all the help (Ole Charlie got a pretty, new main fuel line this weekend ) Don and Hardshell on the cookers and food, the Mullens with Sunday breakfast?? Bruce and all the shop rags, ice and safety personal safety equipment? Chris Sweet and his usual technical assistance ...

Speaking of Sweet, true story ... I heard from more than one source that Sweet was able to fix more than one truck just by merely laying his hands upon their sheet metal ... (cue eerie music ...) .... hmmmm ....

And one of my favorite moments was seeing Chris Sweet coaching 4Brad's son through a starter removal and replacement... which returned the Stovebolt HQ Logistical Support Vehicle to a "Ready For Tasking" status and thereby saved the entire weekend.

I know I am missing several people who saw a need and pitched in ... feel free to fill in the blanks, everyone .... but how about a big thanks to everyone for being fun, helping each other and ... making cleanup a breeze on Sunday. TOG, HB and I were remarking how well everyone not only found the trash cans in the first place, but even managed to separate their recyclables.

Thanks to all for being safe all weekend -- no injuries I saw of any kind. Great job and my insurance agent thanks each of you profusely.

And we all owe a huge thanks to 53 Green 1-Ton for donating the rental plastic privies.

It was depressing this morning to walk out with Freyja, see everything looking like the weekend never happened and watching Freyja look for all her friends and, not finding you all, looking back at me with that tragic face that said ... "Where'd they all go??? Make them come back!!! I don't want to be stuck with just youuuuuuuuuuuu......"

Alas, poor, tragic Freyja ...

Having fun, helping each other, learning things about these old trucks ... truly an epic Homecoming. And it doesn't work because of a few people ... it works because a lot of people pitch in to carry the load (pretty much everyone, in fact). Our biggest, best one to date. And probably the easiest one, too. You guys rock.

Thanks!

Amen!

There is nothing I could possibly add to what John said except, ditto. Whether I am down to help with tree sales, a clean up project, cutting grass, a truck project or Homecoming, it is always hard to leave Friendship Forest. A very apropos name for a special place.
Every year, I leave Homecoming thinking that one will never be beat yet we each year seems like more fun. It was great to see everyone again and to meet some new folks too. We missed a few that could not make it and hope to see them next time.
Just from the food side of things, thanks to all that contributed but special thanks to Don for bring the cooking set-up and for all the fried food delicacies and especially Jim (Hardshell) for bringing your smoker and smoking all the great meat. That is truly a treat. Speaking of a treat, another big thanks to Jim (nj56gmc) for the spectacular, marinated filets. And to think, he wasn't even on Amtrracjoe's high falutin majical meal matrix! A lot of work goes into the food part of things and there was a lot of people that chipped in so thank you to all.
I always say that finding Stovebolt.com and becoming a member changed the course of my life and I feel blessed that I did.
Thank you John and Peggy!

I agree with Billy, there is something magical about Friendship Forest. It starts with the owners, the Milliman family. I am blessed to have gotten to know John and Peggy and consider them like family.

Homecoming is an event like no other. Sure it takes lots of planning, discussion and then more planning. However at the end it always goes without a hitch. I know the evening before Homecoming I’m like a child on Christmas Eve.

Thank you to everyone who chipped in an made this event another for the record books. I’m not sure how many trucks left HQ better than it did upon arrival but teaching those new to the hobby is always a treat. Also no matter how much you know we always seem to learn something.

Thanks again everyone for making this event another must attend!

I can’t wait for next year!

There is not much I could add to the sentiments already expressed before me.

Additionally, I walked away with the Ned award. I can't express what that means to me in words, and I hope to make my addition in the spirit of the award, tasteful and relevant. I cherish the friendships and the memories.

John, this year I took photos with a focus on those of us that define the hobby, the human element. We have dozens and dozens of photos of our trucks, in perfect light and settings. We don't need more. I hope you find a few good ones "of all of us" and work the magic you do in graphic arts and photo editing. I can't wait for the link to your final edits.

Thanks to all those who worked behind the scenes with John and Peg, the place looked fantastic, from the O.R., the pole barn, the garage..........and the view from the top. Manicured.

My best to Peg, and thank you for welcoming us to your home, and the farm.

Amtrak (matrix) Joe

I'm glad to hear others express that it is hard to leave Friendship Forest. I was beside myself with weirdness about that feeling as I was trying to leave.
I believe that it is a combination of how beautiful the place is out in the middle of nowhere, and the people that were there. I don't really know if I can place more emphasis on one more than the other.

It truly was a great Homecoming. The opportunities for learning about Stovebolts, building friendships, and eating great food were endless. The ODSS members really make you feel welcome, even as a member of the LDT. You guys are spot on, there's something special about Friendship Forest and it starts with John and Peggy!

Congrats to Amtrak Joe as this year's recipient of the Ned award. You're a great selection for this prestigious award and a true representative of the ODSS. (BTW, It was probably the matrix that swayed the vote in your direction.)

My thanks to John and Peggy and everyone that made this such a fantastic weekend!!

I truly had an amazing weekend! It was great meeting all of you for my first homecoming, I feel like I’ve been so out of touch with this hobby for a while and it felt good to spend those hours just turning wrenches, staring at old trucks, learning/re-learning, socializing, I could write a book about it! I have to thank Grigg for reaching out and extending the invite. It has really helped put a new perspective in balancing things out in life with work and family etc. Things we tend to get so caught up in. Thank you all again for a wonderful weekend!

Brady