Grouse Hollow Journal for November 15, 2012 by Greg Koelker

Grouse Hollow Journal for November 15, 2012 by Greg Koelker

The Big One has crept up and is now upon us. This weekend somewhere close to a million men, women, and kids will take to Wisconsin's woods, fields, and swamps to participate in the hunt for an estimated – no, I won't put down anybody's estimates, but let's just say, that with the mild winter we just experienced, there are going to be plenty of critters to shoot at - if last year is any indicator. In 2011 deer hunters in Wisconsin tallied 347,711 deer total, an increase over the previsous two seasons. I for one, am getting excited.

Our hunt, while pretty informal most of the time, is based on much tradition. I joined the Hauk/Uppena hunting party back in 1974 when I was invited in with great enthusiasm – okay, I married in, so they had to let me hunt with them. Back in those days, we were a small group growing rapidly. My father-in-law, Walt Hauk, his brother Uncle Mose, and Uncle Charles Uppena were the leaders and elders of the group. Ellen and her brothers Dick, Tom, Mike, and Brian and her sister Barb were joined by Charles' sons Denny, Carl, and Curt Uppena and cousin Steve as well as Joe and Gordie Kremer and Frank Patzel once in awhile. My brother Del joined the group in high school. We could cover some ground with a gang like this driving. Why, I remember one year when we still had a three-day any deer season, we hung six deer on the meat pole, or rather Uncle Charles windmill! (None of them were mine.) I used to love riding over to Uncle Charles' farmhouse with Walt and my brothers-in-law on the night before for the war council. We'd talk about who had seen what so far, maybe catch up on a little family gossip over a cold one, and end with a discussion who was going where in the morning followed by when and where we would meet. Generally, the boys and I would keep pretty quiet (yes, I could be quiet sometimes) while Charles and Walt talked. We hauled our deer and hunters with two-wheel drive pickups and cut up deer in a cold pole shed. Since then things have changed some.

Sadly, in the early 1980's, Hatfield and McCoy-like, the group split along Uppena and Hauk lines. Just kidding; there is no fued – it was because, with the addition of other brothers and sisters and more “married's in” and youngsters getting old enough to tag along, the party was getting too big – and dangerous. I say sadly, because I know we all enjoyed hunting with the cousins, and it is always good to see them and catch on how their hunt went.

Anyway, the Hatfield . . . uh, Hauk side now meets at Bill (Hauk) and his wife Amy's heated shop in Burton in the Grant River valley for the war council on Friday night before the hunt. I and brother-in-law Chuck are the elders in the party, I guess, at 60 and 59 respectively. The hunt party, now semi-officially named the Burton Deer Hunters, seems to be in constant flux of growth and decline depending on the year and the day; it includes members from all over the U.S. Sometimes but mostly Wisconsin. Going from last year's list the group includes: us, El's brother Bill Hauk, Barb and Chuck Wright, their son Chris and his son Zach, and their daughter Angie, El's sister Lori Fure and her husband Dave, as well as their kids Doug, Katie, Brian and Jordan, El's brother Tom from Buckeye, AZ, nephews Nick Hauk, Jason and Jared Junk, Amy's brother Jessie Sahr, cousin Todd Reynolds, and Chris' friend Travis from Minnesota (he does pretty well with the Viking/Packer ribbing he gets), and Chad “Beanpole” Brinkman. Believe me, we can cover some brush and we hang up some deer, 19 on opening weekend in 2011 during an any deer season. Part of our tradition is driving deer, part is is partying together, part is sharing the stories, and part is the work of meat cutting and sausage making. Simply put, the tradition is getting together with family and spending days together in the field. It don't get no better.

Anyway, we will tell and make stories amuck, hunt hard, and eat like royalty this next weekend.

In an hour or so, after I finish my musings here and a few other chores, I will start carrying our deer hunting clothing and gear downstairs to make a semi-orgainized pile of his and her's so we can take stock of what we have and might “need.” El will be talking to Barb about groceries tonight and then making a trip for provisions this week. We had the Ranger serviced last week. I need to clean the detritus of nearly two months of hunting and trips to the dump yet this week, move the tractor and mower so our Iowa hunters have a place to hang deer, pack up our hunting chairs, case up the rifles, oil up boots, the list goes on.

I suppose I'd better go do something more useful than tap on a keyboard.

Until next time, get out – to all of you taking to the woods this weekend, have a great hunt, but more than that, be safe. No deer is worth hurting someone. Enjoy.