Upper Midwest Weber Gas Grill Reunion


 
Bruce

Bruce

TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
Jon Tofte who most of us all know as an active member of this list drove up to my place from Chicago to pickup a couple grills and peruse my hoard of grills and parts. We had a great afternoon and after touring the Pick-N-Pull grill scrap yard out in the garage and out back, we cooked some burgers and of course some Wisconsin Brats. We hung out for a good 4 hours and discussed, among other things, Weber grills, the TVWBB board and POLITICS. He left with us still being friends in case you were wondering. :cool: I even sent him back with a bag of Wisconsin Cheese Curds.

The following is all preliminary, nothing is set in stone and everything is open to change or adjustment at this point.
Anyway, one of the topics was the possibility of putting together a Weber grill enthusiast meet next summer in the upper midwest area. I am going do dub today as the First Annual Upper Midwest Gas Grill Reunion in Lyndon Station, WI as attended by Bruce and Jon. Next year we hope to hold it in a more centralized location so that a larger group would be able to attend from around the area. Right now this is all just in the initial planning stages, but we were thinking maybe a location in the N. Illinois area would be central for a lot of folks. But it could be moved according to the locations of those interested. We thought maybe it could be at someones home with a large yard or maybe at a campground or park. Maybe it could be a place where camping would be available and we could make it a two or three day event. Attendees could bring grills and food to cook or just come and hang out. We thought it might be a great way swap some parts or even entire grills. I don't see a reason to limit it to only gas grills but that would be the theme. We hope to make this an annual event.

With roughly a year until this would happen, we are just looking for interested individuals along with their thoughts and input. Once we have a list of people interested we can better plan a specific area to best accommodate everyone.

If you might have interest in attending next summer, post up in this thread. There are no commitments at this point, we are just trying to gauge "interest" right now. As plans develop and firm up, we will be looking for more of a commitment. So, post up if you are interested and list any suggestions you have regarding the event.

NOTE: We would like to keep the discussion for this in this dedicated thread so it is all in one place.

The First Annual UMWGGR attended by Jon and Bruce.

UMWGGR.jpg
 
Perhaps Weber could get involved? Send that semi-truck mobile classroom to the shindig? Maybe Kevin Kolman, Mike Lang, or Jamie Purviance could be induced to make an appearance? It will be like Weberstock!
 
Bruce said:
I forgot to mention that Jon is going to stop by and see Larry Micheals on his way back to Chicago. I wonder if the subject "Grill Grates" will come up in that discussion?
Click to expand...
I hope somebody tells Jon that the better way back to Indiana is via Bloomington and Champaign and not Chicago!

While it's fresh in my mind, I'll toss out Rock Cut State Park in far northern Illinois as a possible location.
 
Brad Olson said:
I hope somebody tells Jon that the better way back to Indiana is via Bloomington and Champaign and not Chicago!

While it's fresh in my mind, I'll toss out Rock Cut State Park in far northern Illinois as a possible location.
Click to expand...
Jon is not going to Indiana. He is staying in the Chicago area with some friends for the time being. That is where he is headed back to tonight.
 
J Grotz said:
I don't think that will cut it:

Rock Cut is an alcohol free park and campground.
Click to expand...
Whaaaaaaaaaaat? To be honest, that possibility never occurred to me!🤯

Then again, *if* there had been a time when I was there and *if* I had happened to be in possession of alcohol at said time, I might've been underage anyway. But I only said *if*.😇
 
By the way, everyone is invited, not just Upper Midwesterners. You Aussie fellas want to hop on over, we would love to have ya.
 
I like the idea! There is also “Pokagon state Park in northern Indiana they have a conference center as well and some hotel accommodations, I don’t know about the alcohol policy but when I was there last we were all of age and after the conferences we indulged some.
 
Finally back in suburbs of Chicago, where my wife and I - the homeless vagabonds - are staying with generous and kind friends. Bruce came through for me accelerating the completion of that stunning greenhead Silver that I bought to give our friends as "Thank You" for their kindness.

IMG_5227.jpeg

As Bruce mentioned, he gave me a tour of his grill and parts collection. It confirmed that I am AOK with a good reply the next time my wife says "You have more grills than anyone on the planet!"

IMG_5233.jpeg

Bruce also cooked up a great lunch on his bluehead Genesis outfitted with "rcplanebuyer" grates. We had a great time hanging out and sharing about grill and life. We both agreed that a "meet" with a whole group of grill fans (and maybe even willing spouses) would be a good time. If we want to make this happen, a number of us will have to put forth some effort and planning. I think it would be great fun and am willing to travel a good ways to attend!

IMG_5235.jpeg

IMG_5237.jpeg
Burger, Bratwurst (a first for me) Sweet Corn and Cheerwine, a Southern treat I brought along (a first for Bruce). 😋

Think how much food and fun we could have with a whole group of us and a collection of grills brought for the occasion!:coolkettle:
 
Last edited:
Bruce also so very kindly gave me a Genesis Jr. with ALL OF ITS PARTS present and in good restorable condition. I guess he knew it would be going to a "good home" so I plan to do my best to make him proud! It is a "brunette" very early Jr. with wide slats. Since all my gas grill projects are stuck down in Florida for some time, it will be really nice to have a Weber this COOL to work on :coolkettle: !

IMG_5230.jpegIMG_5229.jpeg
Bruce tossed in a set of the oldest first version wheels Weber used for the original Genesis and Genesis Jr. grills to replace the non-Weber wheels you see above. He also dug out from his vat-sized collection two PERFECT black Weber knobs, still with the white markers. Keep an eye on what Bruce is doing with dyeing plastic. It has a LOT of promise for restoration and some unique color ideas!
IMG_5228.jpeg
 
Last edited:
As Bruce mentioned, on the way back I was able to stop by and meet Larry Michaels. So, it was kind of a "Two Stop Mini-Meet First Annual Upper Midwest Gas Grill Reunion!"

Larry showed me his currently retired Summit grill. We have discussed him possibly selling it to me, but I think maybe it is like that old Midas Mufflers commercial where the old man says "Never sell, Annabelle!"

IMG_5241.jpeg

Larry and I talked grills - and lawnmowers. He is fortunate enough to have a Honda riding mower, since Honda has stopped making them. I have been shopping for one myself (leaning John Deere now that Honda isn't an option) as the house we are now hoping will be "the one" has a big enough yard to justify it. I said to Larry, "Well, the new mowers now have something critical - a cup holder!" To my laughter he pointed out and add-on one he installed on this classic Honda, along with a gauge for oil pressure and a tachometer!

IMG_5242.jpeg

Larry has several grills - his wife says 7 - but, of course, the big one is his Wolf. A very impressive - solid 304 stainless - beast with a honking big and heavy set of rcplanebuyer grates on it. I was also impressed with how the Wolf has a shield to protect its rear infrared burner when not in use.

IMG_5247.jpeg

IMG_5253.jpeg

IMG_5243.jpeg

We had a good time talking and sharing. All in all, it was a fun day. So let's see what we can do to expand on this idea next year!
 
Last edited:
Looks like a good time was had by all. Can't wait to see the restored wide-slat Junior too.

Jeff
 
Yep it was great fun to meet up with Jon. It would have been even nicer had we had time to share a cold Wernersgruner and slap some type of Prime Grade beast on the Wolf. That was the first time the Summit had seen daylight in over 2 years. I set it aside under a cover and have not had any time to "go after" even attempting to do any repairs to it. Of course chipmunks, moisture and corrosion are taking a bit of a toll on it :( but maybe seeing it will give me a bit of an "impulse". Other than the front of the fire box it's still remarkably solid and the aluminum firebox side panels and hood panels are in need of some wire brushing and paint. Maybe when I get the power washer out for the deck and house I may just go after it as well
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top