Stories of Our Sordid Past
{ last updated 3 January 2006 }
HEY YOU! If you have any historic tidbits, newspaper articles, etc. about the Phoenix Hash, contact the Web Geek.
PHOENIX HHH: How it began
For lack of anything better to do, Dave "Wrong Way" Arnold and Rebecca "Lazarus" Arnold brought together a group of behaviorally challenged individuals to form the Phoenix Hash House Harriers in 1988. Wrong Way passed away in 1996, but every year (or whenever someone thinks of it), we honor him with a Wrong-Way hash. We start at the end and run back to the starting point, following backwards trail markings (a lot like some of us run the normal trails). Ain't that swell??
The following is an email we received on 9 July 2005:
Glad to hare you are keeping the degenerate bunch of wankers alive.
This is Lazarus, Wrong Way's widow. For all of you ignorant,
non-informed harriers and harrierettes, we: Wrong Way Arnold and
I started you bunch of ne'er-do-wells on your mis-trails of false
trails, down-downs and the singing of nasty tunes the first weekend
(or thereabouts) of October 1988 at North Mountain Park. Little
do you know that Wrong Way was also instrumental in the founding of
the Costa Rican and the Mexico City Hashes with Steve Case, now
also deceased. Charlie, aka Captain Crash, never founded, brought
snacks, or did anything useful, but had all the charm of
Princess Di, so we forgave him all his wayward ways.I heard a hideous rumor that you are performing down-downs with
half-portions of libation instead of a full 12 oz portion . Tell
me this is not so. Have you all become (gasp) health conscious?
Oh the humanity, the shame!!!!!!Sorry I missed the reunion. It has now been ten years since David
hashed his last hash. Bless you all for keeping the perversion
going.On-on
Lazarus Arnold
Mismanagement throughout the Ages
Our Grand Masters Emeriti, who have helped keep this hash going all these years, are:
(listed in consecutive order, we hope)
Wrong Way
Limp Lips
Mastercator
...
...
eXceSs
Energizer Bunny
Everlasting Gobstopper
Hooter Hunter
Sphinxter Swallows
Fudgesicle (1/3 year)
Hung Like A Jew (2/3 year)
Is It In Yet?
"The Split" : Birth of the Iguana Hash
(text stolen from the Iguana's web site)
We formed the Iguana Hash in Arizona in 1991 because the Phoenix Hash had become restrictive to "our" type of hashing. It seems that the GM, RA, etc. were becoming a bit offended by the number of hashers we were "shortsing" and the rowdy behavior that ensued.
SOOOO, we said, "Damn It, we're going to start our own hash, and its NEVER going to hash in Phoenix. In fact, we're going to take our lewd, incestuous, behavior on the road, and, and, and ... whatever!"
The Story Of Captain Crash
(courtesy of 69derthal)
Charlie "Captain Crash" Cobb was an avid pilot, and one of the original Phoenix Hashers. He was known for his maverick flying style and had once survived a plane crash, that's how his Hash name was conceived. In May 1992, Captain Crash was taking off from the Chandler, Arizona Municipal Airport when his aircraft malfunctioned. The plane made a sharp climb off the runway, stalled, then dove and crashed just outside the airport fence. There were no survivors.
Every year in late May, the Phoenix Hash honors the memory of Captain Crash with a Memorial Hash starting from the impact site. Since Captain Crash loved life and loved to Hash, we think he would have wanted it that way.
There is a concrete irrigation ditch that extends along the roadside in front of the National Guard Building on Cooper Road in South Chandler. If you follow the ditch toward the airport fence, you can still see a portion that has been patched...
The HASHERDOUS MATERIALS fiasco
This is funny! Read a local newspaper article about it. Yep, it even made the evening news!