And what is this you may ask. . .
What is it?
The Hassle is basically an all city (and sometime suburbs) scavenger
hunt. You have usually three
hours to get the answers to as many clues as possible and then turn
them in at the end point. The end point is a restaurant and every year
there is a general theme that all the clues
center around. Every year the Hassle starts from Northerly Island (the
former site of Meigs field.) Below are: A Hero Monkey, carefully recast
from the original, and a copy of the first logo used, from 1956.
Trophies
Years and years ago, ODHDC had some really unique trophies. These
were completely used up in the 1970's or 1980's and we have struggled
with makeshift trophies in the interim. Recently (OK, 2006) Rich Cwik
has gone to significant expense to recreate the original trophies,
including recasting a mold to remake these trophies.
We'll use these beautiful, distressed monkeys standing on a radiator
(and many other details appreciable only by the winner.) You must
promise to cherish the monkey and allow parts of the trophy to get
truly dusty in the original spirit of the event. Notice the dust layer
next to the statue on the wooden base.
Questions?
As usual, nobody takes responsibility for anything to do with this
event. I can, however, probably get a question answered if you email.
Try writing an e
mail to:
Rich
Carroll
No guarantees that it will be answered, or even go where you think, but
you can try!
We do maintain a mailing list for email, but no doubt a number of the
email addresses I have are no longer valid, so please forward this
along to other possible victims who could be suckered in wasting their
time with the rest of us. If you want to be added to the mailing list,
try: Try writing an e
mail to:
Rich
Carroll
Early History of the ODHDC
ODHDC started as a club of sports car enthusiasts who would see similar
sports car owners on the Outer Drive in Chicago, commuting
to work from the north to the loop, sometimes in the most inclement
weather. These were early pioneers of the sports car driving
and sports car rallies, etc. As this became more organized, the annual
Hero's Hectic Holiday Hangover Hassle was started on New Year's Day.
Early records indicate the first HHHHH was the 1955 event. We do have a
set of instructions from the 1956 event, labelled as ODHDC HHHHH #2. It
appears the numbering of later events has been off by one or two. For
the most part, we will descibe the events as they were numbered at the
time they were presented,
knowing that there is some minor discrepancy.
When sports car enthusiasts found the annual football bowl games less
than thrilling, and wanted something more interesting to do, the HHHHH
flourished.
One of the more integral characters in the organization, was
Bob
Lester a mechanic specializing in sports cars, who ran a well known
repair shop in the Hyde Park area, named Foreign Car Hospital.
Personal note: The Foreign Car
Hospital and Lester's Team Wink were many things beyond a repair shop.
This was sometimes a gathering place, sometimes a social network,
sometimes just help for those who hadn't learned the ability to repair
their cars, yet. I met Bob and others while I was trying to keep my
Fiat 1100 running as a poor college student in Chicago in 1962. Bob
would offer to repair the car, or if that was financially beyond my
means, he would patiently tell me how to do it, and sell me the parts.
I had never worked on cars before, but with Bob's help, it was not
difficult. Fiats of that era were not as reliable as American cars, but
success of 'foreign cars' was largely due to folks like Bob. RC
Curiously, several small tidbits from the earliest days in ODHDC have
appeared. We'll list a few snippets, in no particular order, but for
many, the names alone will bring memories.
- Rosemary and Roger Dick from Evanston were active in several of
the early HHHHH events
- Event Chairman for the 1960 event was Carl Larsen, from Park
Ridge Sports Car Club. Assisted by Frank Opalka, he put on the fourth
HHHHH. In some places this is listed as HHHHH V.
- Jerry Warshaw was named the 'Hero-Of-The-Year'
- Winner in 1960 was Jack and Dee O'Hare in a TR3, with Peter
Prohaska and Jay Adams finishing second in an MGA. Ernie Bock and Bob
Steunenberg were third.
Event Paperwork from past events
For those who have time to spare, several past years challenges have
been posted. A few are incomplete, and anyone with information to add
is strongly encouraged to submit additional items. Click on the folder
for the year
to open the paperwork. Much of this information comes to us thanks to
the wonderful files of Glenn and Barb Grossklags, and also to Sherry
and Fred Egloff who had captured some of the earliest paperwork.
Please note: We need copies of any instruction sets, or even
individual pieces from your files. We'll scan it and return it to you
if desired. We also have
made our best guesses as to the organizers, event names, years, etc. If
there are some inconsistencies, please write us, and offer any
paperwork you may have.
(partially missing) (noted as the second HHHHH)
"La Ville Vieux" (printed as HHHHH 10)
(missing)
"The Gold Rush"**(missing)
(missing)
"Fantastique"**(partially missing)
by Warren Harder and Rich Carroll
"The Shiftiest Rally of Them
All" (partially missing)
by Rich Carroll and Paul Warhanik
"Gotcha"**(missing)
"O'Leary Incident" ** (missing)
by Glenn Grossklags, Vergin Hancher, Kenny
Lester
(missing)(unnamed) **
by Rich Carroll, John Baily, Steve and
Edris Hoover
(missing)
"Treasure Hunt" by Paul Brian and Rich Carroll
"Railroad" by John Smiskol
"Happy Holiday Hangover Hassel"
"CTA" by Pat Thoma and Alden Wells
(missing)
"Leap to Confusion"(missing)
(missing)
(missing)
(missing)
(Post Offices)(Missing)
by Pete Matuszak
"Colleges" by Andy and Stacy
Kowalczyk (Stacy was Stacy
Onofree at the time) Notable for first use of a Mac in
layout/composition. Done under the name and insurance of SCCA, Indiana
Northwest Region. Andy mentions that bonuses for Sliders, CTA
transfers, and a box of Fortran punch cards, and as an homage to Pete
Matuszak, a cancelled stamp from 1/1/85 (available as the O'Hare postal
desk was open.)
(missing) by Nevin Liber, et. al.
(missing)
(missing)"Who Knew There Would Be Posterity?"
impromptu by Paul Brian and Rich Carroll
"A Monumental Event"
"Be True to Your School"
by Glenn and Barb Grossklags
"Ci' Vediamo Dopo, Coccodrillo"
by Paul Brian
"Murphy's Golden Rule"
by John Prendergast, Larry O'Connor and
Mike O'Connor
"Trust Me"" by Paul Brian and Jim McNicholas
(missing)
"The Hog Butcher to the World"
by Larry Claypool
"Bridges" by John Prendergast
"Right Up Your Alley"
by Glenn and Barb Grossklags
"Show Biz" or "Popcorn Palaces Revisited"
"Hotels" by John Prendergast
"It's The End of the World As We Know It, and
We Feel Fine!" by Fred
Egloff (we think)
"Crime Scene" by Glenn and Barb Grossklags
"ARKYTEKY " by Sherry and Fred Egloff
"Terra Cotta (over Terra Firma)"
by John Prendergast
"Car Wash" by Dom Perino and Rich Carroll
"25th Anniversary of the Blues Brothers Movie"
by Jim Jurik, Matt Jurik, Zeke Dreznes,
and Jack Dreznes
"Memoirs of a Bohemian Undertaker" or "Hot Dog"
by Paul Brian and Rich Carroll
"Houses of Worship" by Rich Cwik, Cherrie Pacque, Bob and Sue Herzog
"Honorary Mention" by Rich Carroll
"Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign"
by Larry Claypool
"Hidden in the Heart of Chicago"
by Kaiser George
"2011" by Steve Givot
"Short Streets" by John Prendergast
"?" by Katy Prendergast, Michelle O'Connor, Suzy Smyth
** Buttons available, see
Merchandise page.