April 2023 Newsletter

April 1, 2023    Latest News, News   

Is this is zaniest event in the park?

The Chuk-A-Kluk

By Dale Dauten

It started with a joke.

That’s the kind of line you’d use to lead into a story that turns serious. Not here. Not today. This event started as a joke and it stayed a joke, one that keeps getting bigger.
It’s the Chuk-A-Kluk, and it originated right here at The Resort, over on J Street South. The running gag that started it all sprang from the mind of Glen Reinbold: he suggested that having heard complaints about the difficulties involved in peeling hard boiled eggs, he was forming a new company to develop eggs with no shells. He even printed up stock certificates for shares of The Naked Egg. Being from Washington, he decided that the company should hire the agricultural department at Washington State U. to work on project, but when asked for an update on their progress, he sadly reported that “they have been laying around.” Laying. Yes, J Street was soon to become the Land of a 1000 puns.

Joining in on that spirit was Denny Jackson (AKA “The Mayor of J Street”), the one who told us “I heard what Glen was doing and thought, I can do something with that.” And so he came up with the idea of throwing a chicken – thankfully, a rubber one – and creating something he likens to the cow-chip throwing competitions popular in the Midwest.

 

(Photos: Denny on the left and Glen on the right.)
That idea was started three years ago and it turned into a series of continuing competitions. And, as chuk-ing went on, Denny worked to keep things fresh by coming up with new throws. Below is one: the backwards between the legs throw, shown in a photo from one of the earlier competitions.
As the Resort’s high season was nearing its end, Denny decided it was time for a special event, inspired by the Olympics. Thus the championships of Chuk-A-Kluking were created. The first of many? We will see.

Denny and Glen, with the help of several J Streeters put together the event, held in mid-March. Despite many residents having already headed north, over forty competitors signed up. J Street was closed and the Chuk-A-Kluk flag was flying on a perfect afternoon.

(Photos: J Street, a close-up of the flag with its rooster laying an egg, and the table with the gold, silver, and bronze medals waiting to be won)
Denny started the event by the official reading of the rules, including “No fowl language” and “Unruly chukers will be scrambled and fried.” A voice from the crowd wanted to know, “Is this like the kids’ sports where everybody gets a trophy?” Denny quickly ended that idea, insisting, “Not on J Street. Here you have to earn it.”

Everybody was, however, invited to the barbecue dinner that followed the competition. “I was hoping for seafood,” Denny told the group, adding, “I love salt-water taffy.”

The jokes and the puns continued but the competition was on – distances were measured for both a straight throw and a between-the-legs throw, then added together for a final tally — and eventually four sets of winner emerged, two for the women and two for the men, divided into two age groups each.
The Champions:

Bracket A: Susan Moon, Julie Gemmill, Jenny Kahn

Bracket B: Elaine Moon, Jody Hardin, Linda Anderson

Bracket A: Glen Moon, Chris Wakley, Dean Moon

Bracket B: Dave Coleman, Bob Anderson, Bob Minar

Looking over that list of winners, it’s clear there’s a Moon Dynasty of chuking in the making. We’ll see if they can repeat next year, and we’ll see what new craziness Glen and Denny come up with.