AN EMAIL FROM A BOARD MEMBER

Last minute ML buck
Monday, December 21, 2009 4:46 PM
From:
"beagleman23@aol.com" View contact details
To:
bmandapug@yahoo.com, mrado04@hotmail.com, RAYWOLFORD@YAHOO.COM, jrewing47@yahoo.com, leone_smith@bellsouth.net, DES9644@verizon.net, lunetts@buffalostate.edu
Tommorrow is the last day of the 2009 Deer season. I didn't have a vehicle to get to work for several reasons so my son picked me up and we went hunting.

Congrats to BWHH Bill for bagging a great looking buck!

LOOKING FORWARD TO 2010

THE HARE SEASON IS UNDERWAY.

LOOKING FORWARD TO 2010.

GREETINGS TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE LOYAL ORDER OF THE BIG WOODS HARE HUNTERS OF THE ALLEGHENY.

As winter quickly settles in on the High Plateau of the Allegheny we have been doing some training and scouting. With the deer season now history it was time to get the hounds out and start a new round of beagling and hare hunting.

On Monday and Tuesday (December 14 & 15) Veteran Beagler and Hare Hunter Jim Hanson and I got the beagles out to the Yeany Farm or also known as the Marienville Training Grounds just to get the edge off.

Wednesday morning saw a fresh cover of snow and temperatures which never got out of the teens, so the hunt was on for a Snowshoe Hare.

The Allegheny Plateau, the Allegheny National Forest and Western Pennsylvania are once again being exploited by the oil and gas industry. It seems every time one boom is over another discovery is made. Good for many and good for our country but not always good for the environment. Many of our favorite covers are now large "well locations" with wide roads, wider than necessary if you ask me, through out the still mighty forest. The environmentalists and the green people have tried to defend the Allegheny National Forest but to no avail as the courts have ruled.

I personally have mixed emotions on the subject. The oil and gas drillers have opened and built many new roads throughout the forest. Some of these roads are public and plowed in winter which allows us the opportunity to get to different covers most of the time. But the Forest Service has closed and gated many roads because of the oil and gas exploration. The oil company roads are deemed "private" roads by the Forest Service and they threaten fines if used by the public. Many of the Forest Service gates have been vandalized with cut locks and many, they claim, pulled down. The oil and gas company employees do not seem so concerned about who uses the roads, especially in the dead of winter.

A new "boom" for gas has not even opened on the Allegheny Plateau as yet but it is sure to come just as sure as the winter snow, The Marcellus Shale exploration. It is said that this boom will be bigger than any boom to hit the state.

While scouting by pick-up a hare track was spotted. The hounds were collared and released. It did not take long before the chase was on and not long after that a "Tally-Ho!" was called. I tried to get a picture but Mr. Hare would not sit down long enough for a good pose. I did manage to get a running shot which can be seen here. Several circles and several sightings later the hounds were done and the hunters were in need of hot soup.

(Left) An actual photograph of Mr. or Mrs. Snowshoe Hare as he dashes through the regenerating clear cut in the Allegheny National Forest. The Hare took the hounds on several circles. The hunters reported "Tally Ho" on several trips. The Snowshoe Hare did not spend too much time sitting around. I surmise after several circles the ground was contaminated with so much DNA the hounds were having a hard time. The hunters were ready for soup.

(Left) In order from left to right, Speckles, Wiggles and Patch work a momentary check in the fresh snow.

(Left) Young hound Sheeba helps the pack push the hare. Sheeba, the daughter of Banjo, seems to be trying. Her only fault, she seems to like to tongue on the other hounds when she is looking for them.









(Left) Wiley, Old Hare Hunter Jim Hanson on watch for Mr. Hare as the hounds pounded the hare through the dense cover on the High Plateau.

2009 COTTONTAIL SEASON ENDS

TALLY HO!! TO THE LOYAL ORDER OF THE BIG WOODS HARE HUNTERS OF THE ALLEGHENY.

THE EASTERN COTTONTAIL WILL SHINE AGAIN!!

The 2009 "first" cottontail season is now history.

The season was another great time to enjoy the great outdoors. My great hunting friends and I enjoyed more than 112 hours on 22 days afield during the course of the season. No, this is not a great amount of time spent. But, you know, we are all slowing down. The hounds chased more than 81 cottontails, most of them good to great runs. The hunters, although not as skilled as the hounds by a long shot, killed nine rabbits, missed 12 and only lost one or two. The excuse for not killing more rabbits has to be one of "we have lost the killing spirit in our old age".

The weather for most of the first season was warm and dry. At least two days were deemed hot.

One of the highlights of the season was a day at John Norberg's Laural Mountain Winery. The hunting was great, the runs were good but the wine tasting was better.

Another highlight, I got to meet and hunt with Wayne's brother Allen. We had a slight run in with a porcupine which Allen dispatched. Luckily no hounds took any quills. The hounds seem to be getting smarter, especially when it comes to the porcupine. They, the hounds, did have a chase or two which were deemed not to be cottontail rabbits. One day I did see the deer but on another day we still do not know what they might have been chasing. I killed a gray fox on the road that very evening and so I deem this an omen. The red gods of hunting allowed me to get even just this once.

All in all we all had a very enjoyable first cottontail season. At least it was for me. I hope everyone else who hunted with me feels the same.

For the next two weeks (Nov. 30-12) we have to endure deer season. The "second" cottontail season will open on Monday, December 14, 2009. If we get some tracking snow we will be out scouting for hare sign.

If no snow we will be back hunting the Eastern cottontail.

Jim Hanson (L), Jim Kazmareck (R) and I spent many enjoyable hours afield during the "first" 2009 cottontail season.

I "harvested" this cottontail while hunting with Jim Taylor (L), Vic Taylor and Jim Hanson near John Norberg's winery. Kaz was with us earlier in the day. The hounds, Kipper, Blacky, Sheeba, Angee and Jim Hanson's big hound Lucky did a great job on this run.

Later, after a good day afield Jim, Jim, Vic and I enjoyed some wine tasting and a bottle of John's best. The museum was great too. We certainly enjoyed John's hospitality and are looking forward to returning to the Laural Mountain Winery.

Wayne Wilson bagged this big cottontail in the "Big Valley" near Mt Zion Hill on SGL (State Game Lands) 330 after a great run by Wiggles, Patch, Gracie, Tia and Wayne's hounds Freck and Frack.


On Monday, November 2, while hunting by myself I managed to bring down this cock pheasant. Of course it was a magnificent shot.



Friday, October 30, 2009 Jim Taylor and I hunted SGL 244 near Emerickville, PA. The hounds (Angee, Sheeba, Kipper and Tia) had a couple of good runs. Jim brought down two pheasants as show in the picture. A hen pheasant on the left and a cock bird.

On November 12, 2009 Jim Hanson (L), Jim Taylor (r) and I hunted SGL 54 near the village of Sugarhill, PA. Also seen in the photo are Gracie (L) and Speckles (R). It was a beautiful "blue bird" day.

It was a great season. I am looking forward to the next season.

A TRIBUTE TO A TRUE SPORTSMAN AND HUNTER

A TRIBUTE TO A TRUE HUNTER, SPORTSMAN AND PIONEER.

Doyle Thomas Wolford was born April 28, 1913 near Sigel, Barnett Township, Jefferson County, Pennsylvania and died July 27, 2002 near Shippenville, PA.

His parents were John Henry and Rebecca Jane Asel Wolford.

Tom's ancestors came from Ireland and Germany.

"Tom" as he was always known by his friends and family left Jefferson County as a young boy with his family moving to McKean County and settling in the village of Walkertown, in the "oil patch" of Pennsylvania.

Tom worked and played in the woods all his life. From a young age he always owned fox hounds, bobcat dogs, squirrel dogs, "coon" hounds and dogs as family pets. He was also a deer hunter.

Tom worked on the oil leases of South Penn Oil Company which became Pennzoil Company. During WWII he worked the "Victory Shift" at Dresser Manufacturing plant in Bradford, PA.

It was in the thick woods and on the steep hills of McKean County, Pennsylvania where Tom hunted with his many hounds for fox, raccoon, bobcat and squirrel. And many hounds there were. I have pictured only a few of these great animals.

I enjoyed many of his wonderful hunting stories and wish I would have written them all down.

As with all houndsmen and hounds some were happy stories and some were not so happy. Losing a hound to whatever is always a sad story. Stories of successful hunts are the happy stories.

As they say, "One picture is worth a thousand words."

Below are many thousands of unspoken words in picture.

Some of these pictures we know the year and some we do not.

(Below) Tom with red fox 1939.

(Above) A young Tom and "Joe". Look at Tom in his Sunday Suit.

(Above) "Lizzy Lee" 1937.


(Above) "Butts"

Note the outhouse or privy to the left and the push type reel mower on the right. This was the only type of lawn mower we had before gasoline self propelled mowers.

Tom Wolford with bobcat. (circa 1943)

Above: Tom and Simon Young with red fox and bobcat around 1943. Simon reports the cat was treed by the hounds while hunting for fox in the Farmer's Valley region of McKean County. He also remembers the bobcat was old with worn out teeth.



(Below) Tom with "Hi Noon".

(Below)
"Tommy"

(Below) "Rattler"

"Rattler" was a squirrel dog. Tom used a ".218B" hunting rifle for everything from deer to squirrel including deer, turkey, fox and bobcat.

(Left) Tom and "Rattler". Rattler was a Rat Terrier, hence the name, Rattler, apparently.
(Note: The modern day name for this beautiful dog is "Jack Russell Terrier".
















(Left) Tom, Noon and Joe.























(Below) A young looking Tom and a beautiful hound named "Speed".

Left: Great old fox hound Buff.

Left: Tom, far right, Jack Bishop, second from left. The other two are unidentified.

Jack Bishop was a good hunting buddy of Tom's as they hunted fox night and day. Jack and Tom traveled to North Carolina to hunt fox.

THE MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN MAINE RANG WTIH THE SOUNDS OF HOUND MUSIC

TALLY HO!!

THE MOUNTAINS OF WESTERN MAINE RANG WITH THE SOUND OF HOUND MUSIC FROM OCTOBER 5TH THROUGH OCTOBER 10TH, 2009.

Jim and I started out early from Lucinda on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009. Our destination being Chelmsford, Mass and the Best Western of Chelmsford. The drive was long but without incident. We enjoy going for a good meal at the "99".
We had ten (10) hounds along. We must be getting used to handling the hounds on these trips as the stops to let hounds out do not seem so bad anymore.

Sunday, October 4th, we were on the road again. This day would be less driving but more shopping. It is tradition to make our first stop at the New Hamshire Liquor Store for some "social lubrication" as Bob Hedburg puts it. A stop at the Kittery Trading Post is next. They have made some major changes over the years and now rival Cabela's for selection and the gun department is great. Jim found a new barrel for his Contender which made him very happy.

Next, would be a stop at L. L. Bean in Freeport but we decided to forgo a stop this time. Instead stopping at the new Cabela's in Saco, Maine where both Jim and I found some stuff we desperately needed.
Always, we must stop at the New Balance store in Skowhegan, Maine for new shoes. And at Walmart there too.

After all our shopping stops we did not want to be late for supper at the Pine Grove Lodge. We arrived about 5:30 Pm Sunday evening, unloaded the hounds, unloaded our gear, ate a great supper and watched the Steelers, of course.

The hunting for the next six (6) days was great. The hound music and hound work was good to excellent. The seeing game and shooting was not so good. I did say, "If we had a hare for every spent shotgun shell we would have had a bag full." But we didn't. I shot two hare and had several misses. Jim had some misses too, I believe.

We did miss one day of hunting because of rain, Wednesday. Which saved some cost in ammunition. So, we went shopping, of course, just to make up the difference. We did an awful lot of shopping for men who reportedly don't like to shop. Sometimes you need hunting stuff and dog stuff.

The hounds did an outstanding job in the field. New addition to Little Toby Creek Kennel, Iron Mountain Tia, fit right into the pack and did a great job. Tia is in contention for "Rookie Hound of the Hunt" award. Tia is AKC registered and came to us because she was thought to be more of a "hare hound" than a rabbit hound. She handles great and is always around.

New hounds to Maine were, Kipper, Angee and Sheeba.

As always, Patch, Blacky, Wiggles, Speckles, Jim's Lucky and all the rest did a great job. Only Gracie (seven years) seemed to be bothered by something. Who knows. We did find a lot of ticks in the Maine woods and bought medication which cleared up the problem, finding none after administering to the hounds. Otherwise we ran into no other problems. We did see a coyote one day but not while hunting. No moose were sighted. There was a bunch of moose sign. Another day we saw two whitetail deer on Fletcher Mountain.

The hospitality at the Pine Grove Lodge was great and Andrea's cooking even greater. If you leave the table hungry at the Pine Grove Lodge it is your own damn fault.

I know I can speak for BWHH Jim when I say everything about the Pine Grove Lodge and Bob and Andrea was OUTSTANDING.

Thanks to Jim, too, for being a good traveling companion and hunting buddy. I hope we have many more such trips.

Not too many photographs were taken by me. A few are listed below. To make them larger on your screen just click on the picture.

(Below)

We set up camp at the Pine Grove Lodge in Pleasant Ridge, Maine and made ourselves at home. Or to be more precise, we were made to feel at home by Andrea and Bob Howe. After all these years of staying with them, it is like going home, again.

(Above)

The foliage was lush and colorful making it difficult to see a hare in the underbrush. They could sneak by without a sound. Or even set down beside you. Sometimes you knew the hare was there, you just couldn't see him.

(Above)

Patch (shown) did an outstanding job. Patch has always been a great hound. She just turned ten (10) years old and still does a wonderful job. All the hounds did a great job.

Jim's hound, Lucky (seven years) did an outstanding job.

He is is under consideration for "Hound of The Hunt" AND "Most Improved Hound of the Hunt."

(Above)

BWHH "Old" Jim takes a break from a cold day afield.

(Above)

Dog Handler Jim Hanson in the kennel at the Pine Grove Lodge. Bob Howe opens his kennel to us which is another reason we feel right at home.

(Above)

Veteran Maine Hare Hunter and Beagler, Jim Hanson, loads beagles into the dog truck in preparation for a great day afield.

(Above)

There was a lot of activity at the Pine Grove Lodge during the six days Jim and I were there. From "leaf peepers" to deer hunters. The gentlemen in the photo are preparing for a bird hunt.

(Above)

BWHH Jim Hanson talking on a cell phone from the Western Mountains of Maine. Technology is making its way deeper into the wilderness. It seems you can no longer escape from it.

(Above)

The Autumn colors were glorious.

Lucky (L) looks on as the Hare Man (R) shows off for the camera a freshly harvested brown Snowshoe Hare taken near "Hutch's Hill" in the Western Mountains of Maine.

Again, Lucky did an outstanding job.

This is about it for this trip. Our next outing to Maine will be March 13 through 22. 2010. We are already making our plans. Cottontail season, PA Hare Season, maybe a trip to NY are all in the plans.

I hope you can read my scribles and will use the comment section.

All for now.

Fraternally In Beagling and Hare Hunting,

Joe

A TALLY HO!! FROM THE ARCHIVES

TALLY HO!!
GREETINGS TO THE LOYAL ORDER OF THE BIG WOODS HARE HUNTERS OF THE ALLEGHENY

DOES ANYONE RECOGNIZE THE TURKEY IN THE PICTURE BELOW?
WHO IS THE HUNTER, WHERE WAS THE PICTURE TAKEN AND IN WHAT YEAR?
Was it in season or out?

Let me know if you know this convict.

It looks like a nice big Tom turkey.

The picture was taken in the spring I would guess.

HARE HUNTERS VENTURE TO LAKE ONTARIO

TALLY HO!!

TO: THE LOYAL ORDER OF THE BIG WOODS HARE HUNTERS OF THE ALLEGHENY

BIG WOODS HARE HUNTERS VENTURE TO LAKE ONTARIO IN GRAND STYLE!

Pictured above with their catch are (L) Grand Master Hare Hunter Jim Taylor and (R) Captain Jack Hughes also a Big Woods Hare Hunter. Not pictured, but taking the picture we assume, is Grand Master Hare Hunter Jim Hanson.

The first day out the fishing trio caught a giant 25 pound King Salmon, a King Salmon weighing in between 11 and 12 pounds and a couple of Rainbow Trout.

The second day of the trip was washed out due to impending stormy weather on the lake. They did manage to catch the storm on the way home in Salamanca, NY.

We understand they had a grand old time at the Yacht Club Pig Roast.

LITTLE TOBY CREEK KENNEL MAKES THE BIG TIME

TALLY HO!!

TO: THE LOYAL ORDER OF THE BIG WOODS HARE HUNTERS OF THE ALLEGHENY

WITH THANKS TO JIM TAYLOR, LITTLE TOBY CREEK KENNEL HAS MADE THE BIG TIME.

LITTLE TOBY CREEK KENNEL WAS A SPONSOR AT THE 2009 TREASURE LAKE LIONS CLUB CHARITY GOLF CLASSIC HELD ON JUNE 19.

ABOVE: Unknown Golfers stand by our sign.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

TALLY HO!!

TO: THE LOYAL ORDER OF THE BIG WOODS HARE HUNTERS OF THE ALLEGHENY

GREETINGS:

IN THIS POST YOU WILL FIND SOME OFFERINGS FROM THE ARCHIVES.

MAINE HUNT 2000

March 24-April 1, 2000

Below: Four hare hunters ventured to the great state of Maine. Pictured are from left to right, Master Hare Hunter, from Shippenville, PA Mr. Andy Hoover, from Lucinda, PA, Hare Hunter J. R. Ewing, from Shippenville, PA, Master Hare Hunter Merle Wetzel and from West Freedom, PA Russ Wetzel.

The four ventured to Conklin's Lodge and Camps near Patten, Maine, 100 miles North of Bangor, Maine.

Above is the Lodge at Conklin's where some very good meals were served as I remember.

Below are the hounds staked out in front of the camps where we slept. The snow pack was about three feet deep and the shower was 100 yards from the sleeping quarters which left for many a cold walk at 3 am.

Below, left to right, Andy Hoover, Joe Ewing and Russ Wetzel.

Below, Merle Wetzel.

Below, the hare hunters starting out on the first day. It looks like a beautiful day in this picture. I remember a rainy day, at least one and leaving Merle's hound in the woods over night.

Below, Russ with maybe the first kill of the hunt or maybe Merle had the first kill. In any case it was one of them.

Below, Andy Hoover with harvested hare and his hounds Red and Luke.

The hounds did a great job as I remember but they were wore out at the end of the week. Besides Red and Luke, my hounds were John and Toby. Merle took a couple too.