Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Around the Campfire => Topic started by: Deerhunter21 on August 17, 2021, 07:17:24 pm
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I tried thinking up a funny name for this... but i got nothing that could do this story justice. I just hope i tell it well enough
So going back all the way to early February, late June, our youth group started planning our high adventure trip for the summer. We had many great suggestions, Moab, Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Black hills, Etc... Some of the kids were very unenthusiastic and luckily, didn't come and there was no way for lazy suggestions to be brought up. It was a productive meeting and we eventually decided on the black hills. Now i had mayyyyybe been suggesting places that would allow me to meet up with another bowyer or at least get some materials.... ;) (lol) In the end we decided upon going to the Black Hills which was where i knew JW lived.
Now.... i was kind of in charge of planning what we were going to do in the BH and i immediately thought of JW. Now i admit, i was very nervous to contact him... i didn't know what to expect! But i knew he worked with Predatory birds, and to be honest I hadn't thought of any better idea... so i shot him a message. He got back to me and he was SUUUPER kind!! he said he would totally try to set up a Presentation for us! I gave him a call, and set him up with my group leader so i wouldn't be middle manning anything. after that call i was SOOO excited! i was like a little kid on Christmas, giddy and excited as ever! it was pretty great!
Cut to beginning of June, our group was packing up and we hit the road! we hit a place that JW suggested called Carhenge. It was the most Nebraskan thing ever and it made me proud to live here (lol) . We got to camp on Monday and JW was going to meet us at a different camp on Thursday, so we did all the other things that we planned! We went fishing, hiking, scrambling, swimming and a bunch of other stuff! it was a great time, and a great distraction for me as my dad was having liver surgery at the same time. He was giving half his liver to our friend so he could keep on living as his doctor said he only had a few months. but anyway, that's another story.
Thursday came and around dinner time JW arrived! now i don't know if JW could tell... but i was freaking out! I calmed down a lot once i realized how kind JW was! now I'm not great at first impressions but it was really easy to talk to him, and man was he funny! I showed him my white oak bow that i made for the bow trade to show him and really felt better about it after he said the tiller looked good and that he liked the tips! He gave me a snake skin backing, some B-55 string, and a lifetime supply of beeswax. i swear, there is no way I'm going to be able to use it all! We traded stories until JW was ready to do the presentation on his birds and maaannn were the birds cool! I'm pretty sure my mouth was in the shape of an O the entire time! Everybody loved his presentation! He showed of a ferugenus Hawk, a blind screech owl, and an American Kestrel who thinks JW is her mate (lol). Every year it brings half of its dead mouse to try and Woo JW (lol). After the presentation i got to hear the famous story of the Bald eagle with cleavage... Now that is one heck of a story! JW stayed a little while longer, but of course, had to go. I had a BLAST with JW and i was a little sad when he had to go, but i got some great pictures and awesome memories to look back on. Heck! i even Journaled about that day! and i almost never do that!!!
well anyway, we went home a couple of days later, did some more hikes, fished some more... i got food poisoning from a bad "bison steak" which was basically a half cooked burger.... All great fun!!! ::) (lol)
anyway! thats my fun summer memory! i hope i did the story justice! im not an amazing writer but either way i hope you can tell i had a Blast!!!!!
Thanks for the presentation again JW! everyone loved it and people still talk about how awesome it was! ;D ;D ;D
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Pics
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Wait, JW lives in the Black Hills? Dang, we were just there a couple weeks ago. I should have looked him up. Anyway, great story, Russell. Thanks for sharing.
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Great story Russell. I think it would make a nice article for PA.
I’d read it.
Bjrogg
PS I sure hope your Dad is doing good. That must be a very special friend.
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Isn't JW a hoot. We got him to the Tenn Classic one year and it was great to meet him then.
This is a great story, Russell. Thanks for sharing it with us.
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I'm pretty certain JW is the most famous and beloved member here! Can't think of a person who don't like him, and if they do, well their opinion don't count none. If we had a mascot, it would be JW for sure.
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It done looks like JW got too close to a barbershop! I made it up to Turkey Camp a few years ago and had a great time! Hope to link up with him again! He is a better story teller than I am, as well as being in a verse of a song I wrote! I am still trying to figure out if I was calling in a turkey or he was "pranking" me! Hope he can pull off another Turkey Camp soon!
Hawkdancer
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Great story, thanks for sharing (=) ! Bob !
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Love the story and yes JW in a class act in my book also. ;)
Pappy
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Great story. If I every get to S.D again I plan on looking up J.W. As we say here in Michigan, "he is good people".
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I hear tell that the W stands for Wendigo. ;D
Good story, good pictures.
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I had a similar experience recently meeting the Twin Oaks crew. :D They were very friendly and welcoming.
One of the first things I heard was, "The only one that calls me Mr. Bagget is Internal Revenue"
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Wait, JW lives in the Black Hills? Dang, we were just there a couple weeks ago. I should have looked him up. Anyway, great story, Russell. Thanks for sharing.
He does??? I am there all the time and I never see him. (Though I think I can smell him, but that might be the stockyards)
I hear tell that the W stands for Wendigo. ;D
Good story, good pictures.
According to Wikipedia: Wendigo (/ˈwɛndɪɡoʊ/) is a mythological creature or evil spirit which originates from the folklore of First Nations based in and around the East Coast forests of Canada, the Great Plains region of the United States, and the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, grouped in modern ethnology as speakers of Algonquian-family languages. The wendigo is often said to be a malevolent spirit, sometimes depicted as a creature with human-like characteristics, which possesses human beings. The wendigo is known to invoke feelings of insatiable greed/hunger, the desire to cannibalize other humans, as well as the propensity to commit murder in those that fall under its influence.[1]
Sounds like you have been talking to my ex-wife. :-[
Lemme tell you, folks, meeting Russell was a shot of pure energy. He is a genuine person and one of very high caliber. Russell embodies the best that we talk about in this community, he is warm, kind, welcoming, accepting, and enthusiastic about other's work and endeavors. The group leaders all said great things about him and that he made their work with the group much easier. While he is about the thirstiest sponge there is for soaking up new knowledge about this craft, there will come a day very soon where he is going to be the one answering all the questions of those that come here and ask. And I guarantee whatever we have given him will be given back ten-fold or more. This young man is not one to go bury his talent, nope, not our Russell.
As for anyone else that is coming to the Black Hills or even just passing through, be sure to drop me a line. I'd love to meet you for coffee at the very least.
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Of course, just kidding JW. You’ve been very helpful to so many over the years. Good on you.
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;D ;D ;D
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Awwww that put a big smile on my face!!! That’s probably the nicest thing someone’s said about me!!! Thanks JW! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Great story.
JW is a top man, and if he ever get across the pond (Covid stopped it this year) I'll be putting him up and showing him around.
Doubtless it will involve wine, beer, bows and story telling :)
Del
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Sounds like my kind of visit! I agree wholeheartedly with your rating of JW!
Hawk-dancer