W
W337
Guest
He was a child of the 'Great Depression'..born in 1921. His parents were humble working-class people, living in Kokomo, Indiana. As a child, he spent all day on Saturdays..helping his Dad make extra money, delivering his blocks of ice to people all over town. Back then, there were no refrigerators, just ice-boxes....aluminum shell and wood interior, only two shelves and a space for the block ice below that. He made fifty cents a week, for his work. 
As a young adult, he joined the United States Air Force....and served six years, during and after WWII. Before it was over, he had been stationed in 3 different states as well as in Iraq, Saudia Arabia, Egypt and Turkey. When he got out of 'active duty', he went to school at Purdue University, starting in 1948. In what would have been his Senior year, the Korean War began. Dad was a 'patriot', and so, re-enlisted in the Air Force for two more years....because his country needed him.
When he got home, he returned to Purdue and got his Bachelors' Degree in 1954. In July of 1955, after one year of teaching in Indiana...Dad took a job in the far west suburbs of Chicago, teaching the first ever high school program that provided FOUR YEARS of Electricity classes. He went to school at night while still teaching, and by 1958, had earned his Masters' Degree from Northwestern University. He continued to teach high school, but also for eight years, worked a second full-time job at Electro-Motive Div of General Motors. Why? Because he and his wife had FIVE children by the end of 1955.
Dad had always been an outdoorsman, something that was handed down to him from HIS Dad. He had been taught at an early age, to successfully fish and hunt and trap. While going to Purdue, he helped feed his family....by 'live-trapping' cottontail rabbits in central Indiana...selling them to other families in Lafayette. Back then, rabbit was a common food in rural areas. Dad had always loved squirrel hunting, and was the best at it of any man I have met. He would 'still hunt' with a .22 rimfire rifle....and 'head shots' was the name of the game. No sense in spoiling any of that good meat by using a shotgun.
He taught me to love the things that he loved, about life, and about the outdoors. He taught me to fish (and so did Grandpa), he taught me to shoot and care for my guns, and of course he taught me to hunt. And hunt, I did. Many years saw me feeding my family from my harvests of rabbit and squirrel, as well as venison. And every single rabbit and squirrel...were taken with a .22 rimfire rifle, usually scoped.
I remember when I was about 16, my Dad asked me if I would like to go with him to a gun show. He had gone to them for years...I knew that. But I had no idea what a 'gun show' was all about. I learned quickly. My Dad, by then, had aquired quite an extensive collection of revolvers, shotguns centerfire and rimfire rifles. He had rented a double space at this gun show, and we loaded up FORTY-FIVE .22 rimfire rifles into his Suburban. I thought he must be selling a lot of his collection. But then, we loaded four sheets of plywood on top of the car, and Dad went back to his den....for 'the sign'.
We got to the gun show early that Saturday morning, and I went to work doing what Dad told me to do. Before it was all done, I had carried most all of his cased rifles into the gymnasium....while he carried in and set up the plywood display. We had only two folding tables, set up in the front of our space. All around the back of the space, were the four sheets of plywood....standing in bases my Dad had made from 4x4's. On each sheet of plywood, were two vertical rows of wooden pegs. My Dad hung each rifle in it's assigned place, with the forend on one peg, and the trigger guard around the second peg. Lastly, came 'the sign'. When he put it up near the top of his display, I realized we weren't 'selling' all those guns. The sign read "An Old Squirrel Hunters Collection of .22 Rimfire Rifles". Dad had only brought 5 guns to sell that day......he was just 'sharing' the rest, with other rimfire gun lovers.
In later years, after he could no longer get in the squirrel woods and hunt, he continued his love of rimfire shooting, by traveling in his van to rimfire competitions all across the country, east of the Rockies. He became known as 'the Goodwill Ambassador of BR-50'. He eventually became a two-time World G-line Champion in Larry Browns' sport of BR-50, in 1991 and 1992. He shot shot four different guns, one an XP pistol...and all of them built by Mr Bill Calfee. (*Thanks, Bill).
I still have that old gunshow sign, in MY garage, on the wall. Thanks, Dad!
As a young adult, he joined the United States Air Force....and served six years, during and after WWII. Before it was over, he had been stationed in 3 different states as well as in Iraq, Saudia Arabia, Egypt and Turkey. When he got out of 'active duty', he went to school at Purdue University, starting in 1948. In what would have been his Senior year, the Korean War began. Dad was a 'patriot', and so, re-enlisted in the Air Force for two more years....because his country needed him.
When he got home, he returned to Purdue and got his Bachelors' Degree in 1954. In July of 1955, after one year of teaching in Indiana...Dad took a job in the far west suburbs of Chicago, teaching the first ever high school program that provided FOUR YEARS of Electricity classes. He went to school at night while still teaching, and by 1958, had earned his Masters' Degree from Northwestern University. He continued to teach high school, but also for eight years, worked a second full-time job at Electro-Motive Div of General Motors. Why? Because he and his wife had FIVE children by the end of 1955.
Dad had always been an outdoorsman, something that was handed down to him from HIS Dad. He had been taught at an early age, to successfully fish and hunt and trap. While going to Purdue, he helped feed his family....by 'live-trapping' cottontail rabbits in central Indiana...selling them to other families in Lafayette. Back then, rabbit was a common food in rural areas. Dad had always loved squirrel hunting, and was the best at it of any man I have met. He would 'still hunt' with a .22 rimfire rifle....and 'head shots' was the name of the game. No sense in spoiling any of that good meat by using a shotgun.
He taught me to love the things that he loved, about life, and about the outdoors. He taught me to fish (and so did Grandpa), he taught me to shoot and care for my guns, and of course he taught me to hunt. And hunt, I did. Many years saw me feeding my family from my harvests of rabbit and squirrel, as well as venison. And every single rabbit and squirrel...were taken with a .22 rimfire rifle, usually scoped.
I remember when I was about 16, my Dad asked me if I would like to go with him to a gun show. He had gone to them for years...I knew that. But I had no idea what a 'gun show' was all about. I learned quickly. My Dad, by then, had aquired quite an extensive collection of revolvers, shotguns centerfire and rimfire rifles. He had rented a double space at this gun show, and we loaded up FORTY-FIVE .22 rimfire rifles into his Suburban. I thought he must be selling a lot of his collection. But then, we loaded four sheets of plywood on top of the car, and Dad went back to his den....for 'the sign'.
We got to the gun show early that Saturday morning, and I went to work doing what Dad told me to do. Before it was all done, I had carried most all of his cased rifles into the gymnasium....while he carried in and set up the plywood display. We had only two folding tables, set up in the front of our space. All around the back of the space, were the four sheets of plywood....standing in bases my Dad had made from 4x4's. On each sheet of plywood, were two vertical rows of wooden pegs. My Dad hung each rifle in it's assigned place, with the forend on one peg, and the trigger guard around the second peg. Lastly, came 'the sign'. When he put it up near the top of his display, I realized we weren't 'selling' all those guns. The sign read "An Old Squirrel Hunters Collection of .22 Rimfire Rifles". Dad had only brought 5 guns to sell that day......he was just 'sharing' the rest, with other rimfire gun lovers.
In later years, after he could no longer get in the squirrel woods and hunt, he continued his love of rimfire shooting, by traveling in his van to rimfire competitions all across the country, east of the Rockies. He became known as 'the Goodwill Ambassador of BR-50'. He eventually became a two-time World G-line Champion in Larry Browns' sport of BR-50, in 1991 and 1992. He shot shot four different guns, one an XP pistol...and all of them built by Mr Bill Calfee. (*Thanks, Bill).
I still have that old gunshow sign, in MY garage, on the wall. Thanks, Dad!
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