Filling our cabin with friendship and memories
Most of you who read this column recognize my penchant for the theme of friendship. My book is entitled Friendship Afield – A Collection of Short Stories and Snapshots. It is sort of an homage to those folks who gave a hoot when they didn’t have to and for my resultant gratitude.
This fall, I have had the rare and unique pleasure of assembling groups of close friends, each for a few days at a time, in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. The idea first came about from my jealousy of never getting to go to deer camp as a lad. As I grew older, a number of friends hosted me at their camps and what a time we had. The hunting was great, the camaraderie was better and the memories made were paramount. I considered getting a group of fellas together to grouse hunt in similar fashion but the subtle nuances of chasing partridge and woodcock do not lend themselves to large group affairs. Back in my early days as a grouse hunter in Venango and Butler counties, we did indeed hunt in a group of four or five guys, simply out of necessity. We had no dogs in those days. Come to think of it, we were the dogs, more or less. But this was not that.
As I held conversations with individuals, several of the old gang, and a few members of the new, began to make their interest known. A couple likely suspects even approached with “down payments” in mind to secure their spot. Gradually, I got the idea that I might not only have some companionship in the woods but that I might have enough visitors to keep me company over the span of several weeks. This proved good news because hunting alone can be quite enjoyable but also quite dangerous up north. I discovered this up close and personal when I sprained an ankle while swinging on a woodcock a couple of weeks ago. Having a partner in tow proved all the difference. Two by two, several friends locked in dates and began to fill the ark for the month of October – three days here, four days there, and some intending nigh on a week. Some drove from Pennsylvania and others flew into Rhinelander, Wisconsin, hometown of our beloved former Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster. I got busy with pick-up and drop-off schedules, arranging for a large enough cabin to accommodate the boys, and assembling a meal schedule/menu. Before I knew it, the hunt plan was beginning to fall into place nicely.
My pal, Bob Greenlee, made the trip with me, driving the distance in two days. We made our trek through the Upper Penninsula of Michigan and I cannot recall seeing greater beauty in my travels across America. Green and I had a wild day chasing woodcock before Bob Wise met up with us in Rhinelander and the three of us spent the better part of four days doing quite well for our cause. Wiser has vowed to retire before we return next fall so he can fully commit himself to the exercise. My buddy Phil made his way up from Waynesburg with his two puppies, making for an excellent three-day hunt. I had the privilege of hunting with what I hope will be the grandmother and mother of my next German Shorthaired Pointer. A couple of old friends from Mercer dropped in for a short week of hunting and we had a whale of a time. Kevin is 85 years old and hunted like he was a much younger man. I have never been happier nor prouder of the effort of one of our elder statesmen. And what’s more, he seemed to enjoy himself nearly as much as any of our younger brethren. Including both Kevin and Mark, they have had three knee replacements between the two of them and were no worse for the wear upon departure.
My buddy, Jim Bob, flew in from Tennessee and I had not seen him since we were in each other’s weddings in the mid-1990s. It’s amazing to me how one can simply pick up with a friendship where we left off nearly three decades ago. But then again, that is the core of friendship, isn’t it?
All in all, I could not have asked for a better time reacquainting with old friends. The word that best sums up our gathering would have to be gratitude. If we, collectively, mentioned it once, we must have reiterated it a dozen times as to how glad we all were to be together, in this time and place, doing what we were doing. Though we are all in varying stages of our lives, the old and those growing older by the day, couldn’t have appeared more appreciative for the opportunity afforded.
As the last of the guests made their departure we had already started making plans for next year’s reunion. Not only did it surprise me but it pleased me beyond words. As I sit in the silence of the empty cabin preparing for my departure, I experience an immense loneliness, not felt in decades. Uncertain if we can ever recreate this year’s success, I ask myself if we’ll ever recreate this reunion as a group? I really can’t say. What I do know is that we will forever treasure the luxury of the time we have been afforded as friends.
Dave Bates writes a weekly outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter. He can be reached at alphaomegashootingsolutions@gmail.com