29 Palms Welcome Home Party

Twentynine Palms Marine Base Welcome Home Party
September 20, 2003

Dan Cannon, Mike Guinaugh, CBBQA members, stand on the work platforms of the Indisputable Cuz. Below is Bud Likkick, owner of the Cuz.
Photos by bill Stadler, Bill Wight, John Richardson and MCCS.

Too Awesome For Words

By Pam Gram, CBBQA member

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIFORNIA - September 20, 2003

The Welcome Home Party for the Marines at Twentynine Palms was the most amazing event in which I have ever participated.

Imagine a field the size of 2 football fields side-by-side filled with Marines who fought in Iraq surrounded by their friends and family members.

Imagine the sight of the "Undisputable Cuz", the World's Largest BBQ Smoker, 78' long and 5' in diameter, not counting 3' foot walkways running down the length of the rig on each side. Nor does this include the fire engine red 9' cab in front which houses a big screen TV, phenomenal sound system and refrigeration storage and taps for beer, or the flaming red Peter Built that pulls it.

Imagine 9 other smokers, a refrigeration truck filled with Kobe beef ribs, turkey legs, chicken legs and breasts, brisket, pork butts, Villa Roma sausages, Johnsonville smoked brats, hot dogs, coleslaw, potato salad and macaroni salad. Picture a Wonder Bread delivery truck filled to the brim with rolls and buns.

Imagine a professional portable performing stage with lights and sound equipment and a large viewing screen, typically seen as sporting events, showing the performers live for those that can't get close enough to the stage to see.

Imagine 50 BBQ experts, some members of the California Barbecue Association along with members other BBQ Associations, such as Arlie Bragg, who came from as far away as Tennessee, cooking and working together.

Cooking started on Friday evening as butts and briskets went into the smokers. Saturday morning dawned clear and hot. Our crew of OBBQFOT volunteers, helped by a team of ROTC students and some VFW volunteers, prepared beef ribs, rubbed chicken and turkey, pulled, chopped, sliced and sauced pork butts and brisket. The meat pulling, chopping and saucing teams worked from about 10:30 Saturday morning until long after dark fell.

The teamwork of the people attending was incredible! Bill Wight headed up the organization of the event with the help of Del King and Don Grissom. After seeing the months of emails back and forth of lining up volunteers, cooking equipment, of companies donating products like Coleman Meats, Edward's Pies, Smart & Final, Villa Roma Sausages, Johnsonville Brats, Unistar Foods, Hormel, Broadleaf Game, and so many more. To experience the flawless execution of the efforts is too much to put into words.

Everywhere you looked, you saw all these volunteers working together, doing whatever needed to be done to make sure the event was a success. And it was a success!

Smokin' John and Flamin' Linda Burke put together an incredible dinner Friday night which included, jalapeno poppers, Caesar salad, rolls and butter, tip steak with a heavenly sauce, baby carrots in a dill butter, red rose potatoes, and bread pudding with a whiskey sauce for dessert.
Saturday morning, headed up by the guidance of Dr. Don Iverson, Ruth and Doug Dennin and others chopped and cut fresh fruit and peppers, cilantro and more for the outstanding eggs Dr. Don prepared. Pete Weaver and Pam Gram cooked bacon and heated tortillas to round out the morning's breakfast.

I don't know where I have seen so many people working so hard all day to make sure everything was in order for the food service. It seemed every time I turned around I saw Ruth and Doug Dennin helping in a different area, but never stopping to take a break. Mike Guinaugh and Dan Cannon organized pulling the cooked meats off the Cuz in the afternoon while Tom Chilton and Phillip helped Dan Drogichen organized trays of prepped foods for disbursement during the actual feeding process which went back into the Cuz to stay warm until dinner time.

We started serving dinner at 4:30 PM and was supposed to continue until 7:00. Bill wight said, no, we will serve until we run out of food or we run out of Marines to feed. Runners came up to Dan and Tom, who were on the rig handing down the serving trays of whatever meats that were being requested to be taken out to the food lines. These trays were replacing empty trays as the Marines and family indulged in the BBQ feast before them. There were 5 lines that stretched almost across the entire field with the Marines and families. Just when the lines would shorten up, another wave of hungry people would again stretch back across the field. We finally ran out of Marines to feed about 10:00 PM. But it was not over, as Dan Cannon squirreled away a full pan of leftover pulled pork in his cooker and he gave it out to Marines who missed the party but came by late looking for some barbecue.

The Marines gathered around the cooking pits asking questions about the rigs and the barbecue cooking processes. Most noteworthy was, of course, the Undisputable Cuz. Not just because of the shear size of the rig not because of the shinny red paint, but the owner, Bud Liffick, has a heart to match his rig. Before leaving on his journey to California on Sunday, Saturday Bud held an auction to help raise the transportation costs it would take to get the Cuz to California and back. Selling many of his own autographed NASCAR items, like a Dale Earnhardt signed jacket to NFL signed footballs and jerseys. Bud indicated he raised enough money to defer his out of pocket expenses.

Also at the event were competition Chili teams from the ICS, a Budweiser sponsored beer truck which sold beer for a dollar a cup, and tents which had been set up for people to eat under the shade in the late afternoon sun. Of course a large portion of the grass area was filled with blankets stretched out as people picnicked on the grass when table seating ran out.

As tired as we all were, I can honestly say at least for myself, that this was one of the most wonderful times I have ever had. I don't know of any other time I have gotten together with so many wonderful people all working together to accomplish so much. I want to thank Bill Wight for providing all of us with this awesome opportunity.