[TURKEY RUN :: SERB FEST - Turn Back The Clock

Turn Back The Clock: A Look Back at TR 1999 - TWENTY Years Later

Thanks for reading everyone! Your interest and spirit for TR and Serb Fest’s rich history is what continues to make our beloved weekend tradition so special! In this installment of Turn Back The Clock, the first in which we’re able to take a look 20 years back... I’ll refrain from being too redundant in rehashing the many notable events of TR1999 and how the attendees that year, Jovan, Scott, Nutz and Dan F were instrumental in shaping the Serb Fest we know and love today... I encourage you to ready that first TBTC installment as a refresher... Having just done-so myself, there were details that had alluded even me... What a year TR1999 was - epic and defining in every sense!

So, where were most of us 20 years ago? The group attending had just finished up their sophomore year at University of Illinois. We were downloading songs, 20 minutes at a time, from Napster. MySpace was just introduced to the Internet and Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston were still a thing.

We had just picked up our first DVD player for $400, but were still taping episodes of Dawson’s Creek on the VCR. On the Eve of Turkey Run, Friday night (because we didn't leave for TR until Saturday morning), the group took in newly released, "Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace" in the theatre following a hearty meal at the local "Old Country Buffet" in an effort to stretch our stomachs for Turkey Run.

In 1999, we were still most definitely the “kids” hanging around TR. Cell Phones weren’t common for “kids” (19/20 yr olds) our age. And we didn't conusme a drop of alcohol during the weekend. But we captured some of our most iconic Serb Fest photos that weekend on good old fashioned disposable cameras! Our late night activities included playing cards, chatting in the "Lodge", ping pong in the Game Room and watching (yes), Disney Movies in our shared Cabin (I squarely blame Jovan for this). The Sunday (what's now known as) "beer float" was a 15 mile canoe trip with packed lunches and water bottles.

A few things having changed though... The Bulls still haven’t won another Championship post-Jordan (missing critical NBA Playoff Games while at TR used to be a concern). We still have terrible cell service in the Park; We still book rooms 2 years in advance; We still sport A Shirts for at least a day; Berger still enjoys his annual visit to Burger King for lunch on en route to TR - Push ups in the parking lot precede the meal.

Twenty years later, our own kids are growing up - several reaching the point where we can give them their own space at TR. The eldest of the 3rd Generation, Danica Boskovic, who made her first trip to TR just 2 months into her young life, has just turned 15! The eldest young men, Jack L and Grant Berger are 10 and 9 respectively. It won't be long until they and the many other kids behind them start to shape their own version of Serb Fest. We certainly know these kids embody a great Spirit for TR. They look forward to the weekend and insist we the parents keep coming back. They wouldn't miss it for the world, quite literally. I imagine this will be the focus of the next TR 1999, Turn Back The Clock installment - THIRTY YEARS later.

Until Then.... Ziveli!


Teamwork at it's finest

Pre Canoe Trip

The OG - The inaugural

Near Death - Saved by the grip and friction of the ribs of his A-Shirt.

Pre-trip push-ups.

Post-hike group photo. This of course did not become a "tradition", but nevertheless, this is a phenomenal classic TR image.