19 Years at Strummit

A narrative by Jeff Sutton from Harmony Medical

I’ve never attended String Summit…as a patron.

But this will be the 18th or 19th year at Horning’s Hideout for me—they really have flown by! So many different memories around my attending and volunteering there it’s hard to put it all into words. It’s mostly feelings, emotions and gratitude.

A significant portion of my life has been dedicated to events and medicine, and it all started at Horning’s, back when Cheese and Strummit both ran the hilltop and both cultures seemed to blend into each other.

Obviously, things have changed quite a bit. But don’t they everywhere?

“Back in the day” you could show up on Thursday afternoon and no one was really onsite yet. Guido was blasting Slayer over the sound systems as a test—you could count on that shit!

Strummit was in June many times, and it would rain tiny rivers under your tent, but only tiny rivers, if you were lucky.

The trees were only so tall and Bob was still developing the property. The mill was always there, up by where there are porta pots at the top of the hill. BUT MY GOD WAS IT DUSTY!

When we’d arrive onsite, I’d check in with Pat McCarville, and we’d say, “Hey what’s up with our spots?” and he’d reply, “Well it’s an Oklahoma landgrab!” So off we went to kick Rogue Beer out of our medical area! EVERY YEAR!

As the weekend goes by, you begin to see familiar faces in the same spaces. Westyville, the dirt slide, the secret hidden golf cart path with a moon crater in the middle that you must build a human train trestle in order to get across somehow. AND BUBBLES!!!

People almost get pissed if you don’t come by on a perimeter check in a medical golf cart and say “wassupppp” in the back 40.

To Melinda, you can yell at us anytime for kicking up too much dust. it’s okay, we know you care deeply. To Coco, you’ve always supported us with kind words and gestures, thank you. Skye and Greg, dammit, me and Nathan are coming out to Colorado and we’re gonna have some fun!

And to that time we found a bunch of illicit substances and dumped it in the porta pot, then looked at each other and realized what we had done. That’s when I knew we had grown up at Horning’s.

 

Much love String Summit,

 

Jeff of Harmony Medical