Abbotsford Sportsmen’s Club celebrates 25-year anniversary of clubhouse

The Abbotsford Sportsmen’s Club clubhouse, located just north of the city on Willow Road, turned 25 years old this year.

By Neal Hogden, Tribune Phonograph

The Abbotsford Sportsmen’s Club has been a staple of the outdoor sporting community since its inception in the 1960s. The club itself has sent thousands of young hunters through hunter’s education and provided a place for fellowship, education and sport for years.

Local historian and Abbotsford Sportsmen’s Club member Al Gurtner said before the clubhouse was built, the club owned what used to be a chicken coop on Pine Street in Abbotsford. Meetings were held at the old city hall building in Abbotsford. However, as the need grew, the core members of the club including Rob Beran, Ron Maldonis, Chuck Kolar, Don Medenwaldt and others decided a clubhouse out of town was needed.

“The guys years ago had the foresight to make that into a place to have a clubhouse so they bought the land and built the hill for people to shoot into,” Gurtner said.

The current building has been standing since 1998 at 241 Willow Road, just north of Abbotsford in the town of Mayville. The site wasn’t always able to host training events, hunter safety classes and other gatherings. Before the clubhouse was erected, the club owned a shooting range at the address. In 1997, the club built a shooting shelter to accompany the range.

After the initial clubhouse was built in 1998, the club began work on a 3D shooting range and sporting clay range. After the building was built, club president at the time Don Medenwaldt said, “I feel the property is a tremendous asset to the area, and it will sure be nice for the club to have everything located at one location.”

In the early 2000s, the success of the clubhouse had reached a level where events brought in enough people that there was standing room only available during certain events.

Gurtner said the club decided to add on a new section to the building to accommodate the over 100 people that would show up for annual meetings and hunter’s safety courses.

With the expansion looming, a fundraising effort was initiated. The club got creative, raffling off a Model 94 Winchester Clark County commemorative rifle which was one of only 11 rifles of the type that were engraved in Rapids City, S.D.

In 2002, the group added a 28’ x 58’ addition which included an expanded kitchen area, more space in the general seating area and a fireplace.

In both the initial 1998 construction and the 2002 addition, club members donated a lot of time and money toward the construction of the building. Area businesses also donated materials for the project.

The addition made the building into what it is today. In the years that followed, the club members have raised money for local food pantries through Hunters Against Hunger, provided educational services on chronic wasting disease (CWD), held 3D archery shoots and much more.

Members of the club also took their passion for hunting to the surrounding hunting community as they organized pheasant hunts, fishing contests and a spring bear field trial event which was held at the club.

Gurtner said the club used to host trap shooting leagues before Sparky’s and now Papa O’s Gun Farm began running trap leagues.

Over the past 25 years, the club has trained hunters of all ages to properly handle weapons and the ins and outs of hunting. Volunteers are always needed to help teach the classes and supervise as future hunters take field tests in the spring. If interested in volunteering, contact Jenny Hinker at 715-223-5688.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="243"] Concrete is poured for the slab as the 2002 addition to the clubhouse is built. The addition would eventually include an expanded kitchen, fireplace and more meeting room.[/caption]   [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="243"] One of the many events held at the clubhouse included Hunters Against Hunger where club members like Bruce Klieforth (l.) and Rob Beran would host raffles that could be entered by bringing in items to be donated to local food pantries.[/caption]