#25 Madrid

Here's an arrow to the city where I was born and that saw me grow up: Madrid. The coat of arms shows the symbol of the city, which is a bear reaching out to a madrone tree. Some people think the name of the city derives from the word 'madrone' but not so. It actually comes from the Arab word 'Magerit.' (ed. 'Place of Many Streams')

When I was a kid I was told that the fruit of the madrone produced a certain drunkenness when ingested excessively but that turned out, in time, to be yet another line of bullshit from my elders.

Anyway, I don't know about the dumbfucks currently running the city but I know I speak on behalf of my fellow 'Madrileños' when I say that it is an honor to be acknowledged by the great burgh of Mount Holly. Send me your arrow and I'll make sure it finds a place where the vandals can't fuck with it.

Best,
El Fonso

#24 Bonetown

Dear Dickweeds,

I present to you my Mount Holly M.A.S.H. pole offering. I think most of us “adults” know what the little berg known as Bonetown is all about, but let me pollinate your memories a bit for shits and giggles.

The origin of the term Bonetown stems from the BMX track behind the St. Mary’s Point Ice Arena. That’s where my gang of pre-pubed misfits used to shred. It’s also where Stip and Fish used to smoke ditch weed. They were the older dudes.[1]

On occasion, Stip would bring girls to Bonetown. Literally and figuratively. I didn’t think much of the steamed up Camaro at the time, but I do recall being a bit perturbed that girls were on the premises harshin’ our tabletop sessions.

The familiar term of Bonetown popped into my head years later­­­--when I popped my cherry. Instead of a word used to describe the down-and-out thrasher days of yore, Bonetown was now secret code for carnal. A one-horse town comprised solely of pre-mature groping, French kissin’, and acid-washed zipper fiddlin’. If you made it to Bonetown, you were sure to get high-fives from the bros.

I’m 35 years old and I still describe sex this way.

May the Bonetown arrow always point straight to bedazzled asses, inebriated nymphs, and the rockabilly chick with the incurable case of daddy issues.

Thanks,

Casey Brewer

[1] Context: I first heard Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" blaring out of Stip's 1979 Camaro.

#23 H. H. Hideout

This beautifully crafted arrow (durable, brilliant yellow traffic paint, the information painted on both sides commanding a new perpendicular mounting technique.) was crafted by Cam Gross in the fine workshop known as The H. H. Hideout. Not, however, the original H. H. Homestead.

The original 'hideout' was the workshop of Cam's grandfather, Harry Heinz Gross. I've listened to the descriptions of Harry's shop and the fine woodwork created there. The original shop is gone, however, Harry's original shop sign and his passion for building things for the people one loves have been passed on to his grandson, Cam. I have no doubt to be passed along yet again.

I'm envious of Cam's well-stocked workbench. Is that a Snap-on or a
Craftsman brand stogie? I've personally always opted for the cheap
brush cleaner, but I've heard Knob Creek does a spectacular job.

Thanks Cam. And, thanks, Harry.

#22 Hoodoo Pt.

A few years back, my pal, Jen Helm invited my family and I to visit her family's 100+ year-old homestead.

Alone, on a road out of town, stands two well-maintained yet never modernized buildings. One, a home heated by an old wood cooking stove and ancient fuel oil salon heater. The other, an outhouse. That road is Hoodoo Point Road.

It's truly amazing to find a family who has held onto their humble family home over generations and generations; sleeping on the same ancient lumpy farm beds in the same heavy hand-made bedding in amazing comfort as their grandparents had decades ago and making the 'midnight run' down the same path, enjoying the same view that their own parents enjoyed when they were just kids. These are good things.

Thanks for the great experience and the great arrow, Jen.

Arrow Request - Cave

Check out this beaut, spotted just outside Spring Valley, MN on a trip to Mystery Cave this weekend. The ease of painting the point and vane over actually cutting them should be noted. Smart.

Mystery Cave was discovered in 1937 and commercialized in short form thereafter. I'm guessing by the looks of this arrow that it is original and from its first years in operation making it around 70 years old. The original must stay where it is to continue its valuable work. If you can get the family who lives near this sign or the folks at the state park (where they have a more pristine version on display) to replicate the sign, it would be greatly appreciated.

The M*A*S*H Pole is Live

Thanks to the first 20 arrow senders. There's still plenty of room. Send yours in and we can trade!

#20 Presho, SD

Al Dickman sent in this, the as-so-far longest and first Westerly facing arrow on behalf of the business he runs with his buddy Garrett Garnos The Medicine Breaks Pheasant Outfitters.

Last fall, between whiskey shots, ZZ Top air-guitaring and some friendly yet heated political pontificating, Al and Garrett introduced me to the fine art of pheasant hunting. We must have seen 300 birds a day while walking through some of the most beautiful prairie breaks in South Dakota.

From Al:

"Enclosed is our humble contribution to your MASH pole. It is crafted of the finest pine found lying around our basement and was carefully painted with knock off brand Q-tips. The feathers may require a dab of glue or some shit to ensure they survive the harsh climate your berg is known for. I opted for just Presho as opur business's name is quite wordy, but that will happen when the owner is a long-winded attorney. Should the feathers blow away or just get mangy you can replace them with a fresh kill of your own after you're out here dropping cocks this fall.

Best wishes to you and your community."

It should be noted that the packaging for the tail feathers included a note stating, "you know where to stick this." Indeed. Indeed, I do.

Thanks, gentleman, see you in the fall.

#21 Boston

Green-blooded Celtics fan, true-Bostonian, and damn-fine creative, Dan O'Donnell, sent this perfect-on-so-many-levels arrow. It is so perfect, in fact, that I bumped it up a number to #21.

Why #21? Well, check out the dig scrawled on the back of this Celtics jersey green and white arrow.



Now, since I need to send Dan an arrow in return, I feel it is only fair to send him Arrow #21 which was the jersey number of Celtic, Kevin Garnett during his stint as a Minnesota Timberwolf.

There you go, Dan, that's twice now that Minnesota has had to send '21' to Boston. I hope you're happy.

Arrow Request - Comfy Area

Check out the swell "COMFY AREA" arrow in this great Ivor Cutler video about shoplifters. If anyone on staff at the Old Grey Whistle Test or the Ivor Cutler archives can dig this arrow up for me, I'd greatly appreciate it.

#19 The North Pole

Santa lives there.

Thanks, Autumn. The busted ski is a nice touch.

#18 Jersey City

Ah, Jersey City, home of my old college radio pal Robin Edgerton. I haven't seen Robin in over 20 years, when she left the Midwest for The Big Apple. Sad. But, I have heard her on a couple of occasions, when she's pulled shifts at my favorite radio station in the world WFMU which also, coincidentally, broadcasts from Jersey City.

This arrow's tenderly gilded lettering glistens upon its luxurious, velvety cobalt background. But true to the rusting, industrial nature of Jersey City, beneath the surface of this arrow beats a heart of garbage.

I like to think that perhaps this little piece of wood spent time in the same dumpster with a mob snitch. Did I miss anything, Robin?

#17 Heaven / Hell

12-year-old, Charlie Christakos is brilliant. And, by brilliant, I mean he makes many good points. The first two are at either end of this arrow.

If there are two destinations that are more contemplated by the denizens of planet Earth, you better make an arrow and send it.

By creating an arrow that points up and down instead of north/south/east/west, Charlie added a Z axis to the mashpole bringing it into the third dimension! Good points indeed!

Speaking of 3D, Charlie also made a couple more good points when he was talking me through his foray into 3D modeling software.

"I was going to borrow a book called 'Blender for Dummies' from the library. There are two reasons why I ended up not checking out the book. The first reason is that they didn't have it. The second reason is that I'm no dummy."

Good luck building your light cycle and thanks for the arrow, Charlie.

#16 Marla

Marla makes her third appearance on the blog and her second on the pole with this awesome metal patina arrow featuring more goodies from the Shakopee Trading Post: watch faces and clock hands pointing the way to her house! This one is sure to keep looking better with age.

Thanks, again and again, Marla.

#15 Shakopee Trading Post

Marla swung by tonight and swapped this amazing buffalo shoulder blade arrow for one of my little red ones. This arrow features some excellent hand lettering and even a little good luck horseshoe hand bent to fit by Marla's father Marlon.

The Estenson family run trading post is a secret treasure a mere .64 miles from the Mt. Holly city limits, jam-packed with beautiful vintage and modern Native American crafts and jewelry.

Shakopee Trading Post

#14 Disappointment

In a beautiful, lighthearted manner, this double-ended arrow reminds us all to expect very little from the world around us, and to thoroughly relish any amazement. An appropriate lesson from two amazing folks, Bridget Deenihan and Jonathan Kosik, who do a lot to make the world an interesting place, despite being weighted down in The World's Epicenter of Disappointment: Orlando, Florida.

Thank you both for the tremendous disappointment.

I didn't do this, honest.

The coffee joint at Best Buy HQ, where I have been doing a lot of work lately, underwent a redesign over the last two weeks. Part of this redesign is the addition of this blackboard-based kiosk, complete with mashpole arrows.

As we were heading to the cafeteria for lunch today, one of my co-workers pointed out that someone wrote Mt. Holly on one of the chalkboard arrows. I know he's just being coy, so I'll thank the whole crew at Best Buy Open for making my Monday.

#12 & #13 Wiesbaden, Hessen, Germany / Amsterdam, Netherlands

A love story. Thorsten and Mickey Gruenheid met on a high school exchange program in the late '80's. They rekindled there relationship 20 years later, were married and resided in Europe. Though finally together, Thorston's professional career required him to commute between Weisbaden in Germany and Amsterdam during the work week.

Now, together and living in the States, they created these two arrows to represent that period of their lives, and to celebrate that their newfound complete togetherness. Nice!

#11 Forte Dei Marmi, Italia

Daniele Lanza loves automatic weapons, ice cream, designing with gusto and his homeland of Italy. His arrow is smartly designed to compliment the Mt. Holly arrow, reflecting the colors of the Italian flag when hung together.

Daniele's arrow points to Forte Dei Marmi, or The Marble Fort, which rises from the town square in the astonishingly beautiful seaside Tuscan comune which bears the same name. The fort now houses a museum of satirical art which you can explore via the museum's iphone app.

#10 Minnehaha Falls

Made a trek into the big city to exchange arrows with David Annis who I introduced too many times as sharing my same geek kinks. Mr. Annis lives just down the road from Minnehaha Falls in South Minneapolis. He is determined to hide his Mt. Holly arrow somewhere near the falls. See if you can find it.

This is another hard working arrow - painted on both sides, including mileage and lovingly painted spray on the subtle hint of the falls.

David said he was inspired by the brown and yellow signs put up by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources at State Parks and Wildlife Management Areas. "Did you know those are all made by one man?" asked David. No. No, I did not.

Arrow Request - Locacion Dune

Dear David Lynch and Sean Young,
If one of you could send me a replica of the arrow seen at :51 in this film, I would reciprocate, with great joy. Sincerely, Mike Haeg • 305 Holmes St S, Mt. Holly, MN 55379

#9 Chicago, IL

This arrow was hand delivered to Mt. Holly by my old dICEHOUSES pal, Nussy and Myra, Owen, and Matt Mazzei. They drove 428 miles to attend the launch of The M*A*S*H Pole Project making them the furthest traveled arrow deliverers so far (as of 10/17/2010).

I'm kind of a jerk for wishing that somehow they had shot this arrow from Chicago and that it would have landed here in the M*A*S*H Pole. I also just realized that if they done that it would have ended up stuck in the pole pointing the wrong way . . . unless, they shot it to the east and around the world and then it had lodged itself into the pole pointing directly at Chicago. But, that's a little ridiculous.