The weekend events started with the Humbug Dinner Friday night at the Masonic Hall. The Humbug Dinner gathers together the leaders, “Humbugs,” of ECV Chapters to honor the retirement of the Humbug of Chapter 1849. As the venerable home of Clampers in Downieville, St. Charles Place was full of merriment as friends caught up with one another and rocked out to the Chicken Fried Cats, our own local band of four Clampers. Playing soon-to-be classic songs like “Don’t Go to Reno”, the music set the stage for a fun weekend for everyone, including non-Clampers and locals who were welcomed to be a part of the festivities. Early Saturday morning, the Clampers regathered to initiate 18 new members, or as they are called in Clamperdom, “PBCs” (Poor Blind Candidates). While it may look like fraternity hazing to those who do not understand the legacy, there is much more to the initiation activities than meets the eye. The goal is to give them a brief experience of what it was like to be a miner in the 1850s and to create a bonded group of men who will look out for and help protect each other. Back in the day, mine collapses were quite common, and if someone lost touch with the person in front of them in the darkness, everyone behind them would die. Men had to learn to rely on and trust another with their own life. Life was uncomfortable then, so an uncomfortable one-day event is a small price to pay for the community of support that PBCs gain to become a member by the end of the day. Meanwhile, across the river at the Masonic Hall, all spouses, girlfriends, and “widders” gathered for the annual Widder’s Tea before marching back across the bridge. As everyone lined up early for a prompt start of the 12 p.m. Chapter 1849 Parade up Main Street, non-residents of Downieville quickly learned that the “noon” horn at the flagpole really comes at 12:04:47. Clamper Chef John Perez served up his famous Ribeye steaks at the Clampbanquet as Hawkers from all Chapters lined the streets and sold their ECV merchandise. Following the raffle in the afternoon, two more bands drew folks to the St. Charles and then back out in the evening to celebrate on Main Street. Aside from one DUI and an ambulance trip by one who decided to take a head digger on the pavement, the rest of the weekend was incident-free as the ECV Whitecoats policed their own members. Sunday morning concluded the festivities as ECV members from St. Charlie’s Angels gathered at the St. Charles to honor their fallen brothers from the past year. Formed over 50 years ago, as the legend is told, a group of Clampers was kicked out of their home bar at its old location where the Grubsteak is now. Pleading to be let back in, they promised to be the guardian angels of the St. Charles, pledging to prevent that sort of trouble from ever happening again. To the casual observer, the annual Doins may look like some wild party of drunk old men, but there is much more to the story than that. ECV is really a nonprofit historical organization honoring and preserving the rich mining history here in Gold Country. Though sometimes clouded in mythology, the simpler explanation is that ECV originated from a brotherhood of miners during the Gold Rush who came together to support each other, their spouses, and their families. Most miners that flocked to California from all over the country never returned home, with many miners leaving their spouses as widows, or as the Clampers call them, “widders.” The miners set up Widders Funds to send back East to support the families of Clampers that never made it home. To this day, the support of spouses and their families continues to be core within the community of ECV. Over the decades, they have erected plaques, helped preserve buildings in gold mining towns throughout the West, and provided various community services. In Sierra County, they offer two scholarships of $1849 to a graduating senior from Loyalton High School and Downieville Schools every year. While some may not enjoy the fact that the Clampers invade the town every year with a certain amount of raucousness, we should all at least appreciate the support that ECV provides to our local economy and the greater community. And as the weekend’s events concluded with the Clampers walking up and down the streets picking up every piece of trash and cigarette butt, leaving no trace, I think it could easily be said that it may be the cleanest event we have had all summer.
DOWNIEVILLE - This past weekend, the streets were flooded once again with hundreds of red shirts as E Clampus Vitus (ECV) members celebrated the Downieville Tin Cupp Doins. The annual event drew nearly 400 folks from across California, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, who began flowing into Downieville on Thursday. Downieville and the ECV Chapter 1849 is regarded as the birthplace and cradle of Clampers.
