Naperville man to hold 42nd Mugwump festival this weekend

Mugwump and Woodstock share a birthday, theme and arguably a vibe.

Woodstock organizers capitalized on the fame of the original 1969 bash to throw 25th and 30th anniversary parties. But the Naperville man who created Mugwump on his property does the legendary festival one better: He's held his Mugwump bash every single year.

Several hundred friends and family come from near and far to camp out on 84-year-old Robert Gordon's 3.5-acre parcel near Plank Road and Naper Boulevard. They eat, they drink, they listen to live music — and most set up tents so as not to miss a minute of the weekend festival.

Mugwump kicks off Friday, marking its 42nd year. And Gordon had been fretting about how to keep things fresh.

Then it struck him.

More precisely, it was lightning that struck a tree on the Mugwump grounds. Twice. But an idea came to him nonetheless. He would commission a totem pole.

“I've had this old cottonwood tree on the property forever, and I thought it was going to outlive me. But the lightning has gotten to it twice recently,” Gordon said. “But rather than take it down, I designed a bit of a totem pole to honor the history of the party and those who've attended.”

Two banjo-playing hogs, in honor of the two pigs roasted each year, are featured along with an eagle, a bear, the phrase “Don't Ever Give Up” and the Mugwump motto “Heaven World Without Greed.”

The pole hasn't been completed but the scaffolding has come down as partyers begin to fill in and claim their tenting spots for the weekend. Nevertheless, neighbor Jack Gorey said people have been stopping their cars on the side of the road and running over to snap pictures of the wood carving in progress.

“It ends up being really cool,” Gorey said. “When this whole party started 42 years ago we all wondered what they were thinking, but the whole thing is just great.”

Gordon, a retired postal worker, has been throwing the bash since 1969, when he hosted a family reunion on his property. Eventually he opened the celebration to his co-workers at the post office's bulk mailing center in Chicago.

Between 200 and 300 of his closest friends, family and co-workers attend, all of whom Gordon encourages to camp in his yard to prevent drunken driving.

“You get snockered, you sleep. That's just the way it is,” Gordon said. “I don't need anyone leaving here and getting picked up.”

Guests, some of whom have been known to fly over from England and the Virgin Islands to partake in the festivities, must show their driver's license and receive special wristbands to drink beer.

Gordon dubbed the celebration “Mugwump” after the nickname his father gave the land more than 50 years ago.

“I had just returned from the Philippines after serving in World War II and my grandparents, who raised me, gave me the land to help get my feet on the ground,” Gordon said. “My father, who I hadn't seen in years, decides to show up one day and says, ‘Sell that (expletive) mugwump and let's go into business.'”

Gordon refused to sell the land, and 41 years of live music, pig roasts and beer have followed.

Gordon said he feared the 40th annual party would have been the last, as the $1,000 permit and the tens of thousands of dollars spent on food, beer and entertainment have piled up.

“I'm retired now and the money doesn't go as far as it used to, so I got up onstage two years ago and told everyone they were attending the final party,” Gordon said. “Well, someone began passing a hat and two hours later they surprised us a good bit of cash and told us to keep it going.”