Belfast #3

Tommy and the Two Tones


These were the guys playing at Pollywogg Holler. Real good musicians. Played a nice assortment of stuff - all of which I liked. I got a chance to talk to the lead man, I'm assuming that was Tommy. He said some of them have been playing together since high school. I put a link up in the first Belfast post if you're interested in buying a CD of their music. I think I might, it's good stuff.

Jimmy and Jen Getting Some Licks In


Tommy and the Two Tones were kind enough to let Jimmy and his sister play a number. They did the Georgia Satellites' Keep Your Hands to Yourself. Nice job - crowd loved it. Jimmy won over even more fans there.

Cabin Steps


All the buildings at Pollywogg Holler were some type of cabin. All nicely done. There's no outside electricity there. The musicians were being powered by batteries charged from solar panels. I also noticed a pump that was powered by a weed whacker. I'd like to be a little more self-sufficient like that. Maybe a dual power set-up with batteries for backup or for most of the lighting. Just use the grid for appliances. Most people out there don't have AC but that's a must at my house. That would take a huge investment to be able to get enough wind and solar to keep everything running like it is now. Still, something is better than nothing.

New Cabin


Along with the regular cabins, there were a couple of three sided things you could stay in. I would imagine they had a tarp or something they pulled across the front at night or if it was raining. Just a really cool place.

Original Sign


This was the sign capitalizing on the fact that John L. Sullivan trained in Belfast with William Muldoon. Muldoon was no light weight either. He was the Greaco-Roman wrestling champ, an innovator in the field of physical training and culture, and an actor. He later owned a big health clinic in White Plains New York. He only had 6 weeks to get Sullivan into shape for his fight with Kilrain and Sullivan arrived on crutches, he was in such bad health. The story of Sullivan's training and fight is very interesting. The fight itself, even though it lasted over two hours, was kind of anti-climatic. Kilrain stayed away from Sullivan as much as possible and went to the ground whenever he could, as well. He still took a hell of a beating and his seconds poured so much alcohol into him he was drunk by the time the fight was stopped. I'm about three quarters of the way through the book I got at the book signing about Sullivan's training and the fight. The fight was illegal and as such everyone got on a train and left New Orleans for an undisclosed location. Sullivan was the first athlete to earn over a million dollars and long johns are named after him.

Checker Marathon with Landau Roof
Bitchin!


This old rust bucket was sitting across the street from the barns. It's not often you see a Checker Marathon anymore, they don't even use them for taxi's now, probably because they quit making them in 1982. I've known a couple of people who actually had these things as a family car but this is the only one I've ever seen with the landau bars on the roof. Gotta wonder what they were thinking.

100 Years Old Exercise Stuff


Here's three pieces of equipment that still haven't gone out of style for boxers. The dumbbell is the one pound version but there were some other, heavier ones there. There were some 25 pounders that had the round balls on the end like you used to see in the cartoons. The item on the right is a hand/grip strengthener. Instead of the new style with the hairpin spring, this one had compression springs. I suppose you could change the springs to increase or decrease the force required to compress it. The big guy in the middle is a chest expander. You can pull on it a couple of different ways to work your arms and chest. It would be pretty simple to make one and it's effective.

Indian Clubs


These things are the berries. I don't know why they fell out of favor, they're an extremely effective way of working the muscles of the upper body. They come in a variety of weights - the ones in the photo run from one pound to six. I worked out a few days while I was there and I incorporated them into my routine. Good way to tone and stretch the arms and back. I'm going to see about making some in the woodshop this year. I did a little checking on the internet and found some for sale and it appears they may in fact be making a comeback. I'd like to have a couple of three or four pounders. I'm going to start looking for some stock - good practice for me on the lathe.

The Barns


Here are the famous barns. They were moved to this site a few years ago from a spot about 1/2 mile away. They've been painted up and restored and if you know anything at all about boxing, you know they are sacred. The statue out front is John L. himself, of course. There is no electricity and no one wants to burn the place down with candles, so it's dark in there come night time when the ghosts come out to play.

The second night we were there, Scott had a fire outside and we all sat around and yakked and even played a little music. Right after we hit the sack, I'm upstairs in the rubdown room and I here voices downstairs. I figure someone came in and is talking to Jimmy. I put my boots on, grab the flashlight and head downstairs. Not a soul around! The last night, Matt is sleeping upstairs and he hears voices. He comes down, shines the light around, everyone's sound asleep. The same thing I experienced. The night before I hear a thump, three times in a row like the noise my boot would make if I dropped it on the floor at about a two second interval. Later that night I hear the same thing again. I asked Jimmy in the morning if he'd heard anything in the night and he described exactly the same thing I heard. The night previous to that I wake up when I heard someone calling my name. I heard something I can't quite decipher from Jimmy's end of the barn and figure he's just dreaming. He tells me in the morning he had this terrible nightmare, and he never has nightmares, and in the nightmare he's calling my name and he can't talk because it's like he had a stroke. He was trying to call for help because some big square with light all around it was coming at him.

We're all convinced now that the barns are spooked. Whether it's the ghost of John L. or William Muldoon, I don't know, but something's going on in there. Regardless, I want to go back. It was a great trip, I met some nice people and I had a lot of fun. If you're ever in the western part of New York, you need to stop and check out Belfast and the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame.