Mt. Holly M*A*S*H Pole Project.

I got off of my self-loathing ass for a few hours to make an arrow for my good friend Mike Haeg's M*A*S*H Pole Project. The project was inspired by the opening credits of the TV show M*A*S*H, where the sign post pointed in directions that were familiar to the soldiers, reminding them of home. Once you send him an arrow, he sends you one with the namesake of his 4 person town, Mt. Holly.

You can learn more about the project here.

My creation represented the hovel known only as Bonetown. It's a magical place. I sent the letter along to Mike to describe it:

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.



I created a vinyl sticker stencil with a font selected carefully by my designer friend, Erin Ignacio.



I cut the arrow with a cheap ass jig saw I bought at Home Depot. The saw was a piece of shit, and couldn't cut straight. This had nothing to do with user error.

I then spray painted the sign pink. Once the paint dried, I fixed the vinyl sticker stencil and covered the entire arrow in multiple coats of polyurethane. I made a couple different arrows to experiment with the poly. On one version (pictured), I taped the edges of the arrow and poured a can of poly an inch deep. The idea was to create a thick glass surface, while making the lettering look as if it was frozen in ice. This was a miserable failure. The tackiness of the tape didn't hold, and soon my makeshift work bench was in a pool of highly toxic polyurethane. Undaunted, I tried again.



Here's the finished arrow, ready for shipping.



Here's what Mike sent back to me. I love it.