WRPCO’s deer hunt for hunters with disabilities was simply amazing

Hello friends, This is a guaranteed week where I simply cannot even put 25% of what I would like to in a column due to space. In simple terms, I had an amazing weekend.

First, Chuck and Kathie Stelzner live in Howards Grove and read this column in The Plymouth Review. Several years ago, the Stelzner's sent me a Christmas card and, in the years since, we have become very good friends. Last June Chuck asked me if I would help him if he was chosen to participate in a deer hunt with disabilities. Naturally I said yes.

Second, want to see why the USA is the greatest country on the planet? Watch the maybe 20 volunteers that ran this hunt from cooks to guides. These men and women give their time year-round maintaining blinds, shooting lanes and food plots. Simply put, they are the best of the best and the CEO of this corporation should be very proud as they are all employees of WRPCO.

Third, The Petenwell Wildlife Area is 750 acres of land, water and marsh that is basically blocked to the north by the Petenwell Flowage, the south by highway 21 and the west by the Wisconsin River and the dam that holds the water for the Petenwell Flowage. This area is a wildlife refuge with the only hunting that takes place being this annual hunt where 10 hunters are given an incredible experience.

Fourth, my home is a mile as the crow flies from the refuge.

Friday, Oct. 11 High 75, Low 53

Here is where I have to be quite vague. Ten hunters with disabilities ranging from blindness, wheel chair bound or serious illness, and their guides, which in some cases such as Chuck’s, were friends or family members or WRPCO employees/volunteers, listened to what I would call the hunt master, Ben Johnson, give a serious and also humorous talk on the entire weekend's plan with safety being the number one subject.

Afterwards everyone, which was maybe 40 people, introduced themselves and then each hunt team was taken out for the evening hunt by a WRPCO helper.

Chuck and I would be watching about a 400-yard stretch of open area and had a very comfortable hunt but did not see a deer. Most hunters did see deer. What I thought was the coolest story of the night was the father/ daughter team of Richard Havey and April Havey. April is blind and has an excellent 'can do' attitude. She is 36, from West Allis and, with the coaching of her father, made an excellent shot on an adult doe that died right in its tracks. After dark, a lasagna dinner, which is this hunt's tradition, was provided and four of the 10 hunters were tagged out.

Saturday, Oct. 12 High 61, Low 43

Chuck is staying at my house. We were back to headquarters at 5 a.m. and then driven to a different stand. You are offered four hunts and for each hunt you are in a different stand, which is a well-built, close to ground level, box stand with a roof. Chuck and I are good buddies and while watching for deer we are either talking pretty intelligently or, as all of our new friends often witnessed, giving each other a hard time.

Chuck Stelzner, who is 80, has lived a very full and successful life and is an excellent mentor to me.

This morning, we saw 11 deer and the last one had a large and very beautiful coyote chasing it. Only one deer is allowed on this hunt and even though Chuck had a doe tag, he was holding out for an outside the ears buck. After our hunt, the Necedah Lions Club cooked up about as tasty of a breakfast for 40 people as you could imagine.

I have tried to mingle with everyone that is a part of this awesome American story of giving back, and two new friends for me are Dennis Westaby of Menomonie and his brother Keith of Owen.

Keith, who used to be a janitor for the Thorp school district, is blind. These two had a couple of slow hunts but kept an excellent attitude and mingled with everyone at the headquarters all weekend. On their afternoon hunt, there were lots of does and excitement, then a beautiful 8-point buck entered the field and was 70 yards away and Dennis tried talking Keith through a shot. Next thing you know, the buck got in a bad position with one of the pillars in the blind and Keith goes from shooting right-handed to left-handed and drops that 8-pointer! If that is not enough meat in that story, it had been 45 years, 1979, since Keith shot a deer.

Folks, this is a hunt that people with a Class A, B, C, or D disability could have a strong chance of getting into next year. The application process begins in March with a June deadline. Check out wisconriverpowercom. I give everyone involved an A-plus for a job well done.

Sunset