articles from December, 1994 newsletter:
President's Message
What a great summer -- fishing, swimming, boating, water-skiing, picnicking, visiting, berry picking, relaxing, and OK, painting, mowing, gardening, fixing and cleaning.
l'm about "inged" out. (But hey, I did it all without a flannel shirt.) Then there's all the "inging" the Club did this summer too -- netting, measuring, hatcherying, selling, lighting, building, volunteering, counting, sampling, watching and meeting. (I probably missed a few "ings" in there.) Webster defines "ing" in two ways -- (1) action or process, and (2) product or result of an action or process. The Club certainly is doing its share of the first. And we're looking for more ways to "ing" for the Lake. As far as the second is concerned, the results aren't in yet. In fact they will never truly be in. The product or result of our actions and processes is, of course, the protection and preservation of Lake Vermilion and its environs. Sure we can count our loons and be reassured the number is the same as last year. We can test our water and not see any increase in coliform counts. But those numbers don't tell us we've achieved our goals. They only tell us we've made it through last year -- with no guarantee for next year or future years. That means we have to roll up our sleeves and do if all over again.
The question becomes, how does the Club keep from being "inged" out? I don't have the answer, but here's what keeps me going. It's the Board members who bring their ideas to meetings and ask why aren't we also doing that for the Lake. It's the members who take time to reach out to Board members and ask the same questions. It's the members who take the time to ask someone new to come along when they're doing something for the Lake.
It's the constant renewal of faith in our Club to do what's right for the Lake that keeps all of us working. So keep those letters coming, keep giving us new ideas, keep volunteering, keep telling new people about us -- keep "inging" us. Help us, won't you, to better implement the first part of the "ing" definition so that we'll all be successful in fulfilling the second part?
To the Lake, Rick Pearson
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Aesthetics?
Webster defines aesthetics as the study of the mind and emotions in relation to the sense of beauty. But what is beautiful? Truth, goodness and beauty have been described as the supreme values. We are attracted to lakes by the sublimity and beauty of nature. Why else would we live there? Yet, in our passion to save what nature affords, we sometimes destroy the very things that entice us.
Nature is beautiful only to the mind prepared to recognize her for her own sake apart from the practical delights she brings. Pressure is increasing to enjoy the natural beauty and aesthetic qualities of our lakes. This elusive concept and the privilege to define it in our own personal way belongs to each of us. The fate of that concept and the natural environment will depend on our conduct as its trustees. Natural aesthetics is a distinctive attribute of our lakes that must be preserved for all to savor.
Robert E. Korth,
University of Wisconsin Extension Service
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OLD BUCKETMOUTH
As a kid, I grew up in an average-sized, Central Indiana town. It was during World War II and there wasn't a whole lot for a young boy to do. The family couldn't go anywhere; no gas or tires for the car, and chances were that your dad was in the Army so you didn't see him very much. There wasn't an abundance of money and that was probably just as well because there wasn't anything to buy with it anyway. Remember? Some of you do.
So, we made our own fun. The boys played soldier till they dropped, ate green apples and went swimming. Giris were not important until much later. And, I went fishing at Myers Gravel Pit. My mom had absolutely forbidden me to go near the place, so I only went once a day all summer long. Myers Pit was the cleanest, clearest body of water I have ever encountered. You could see bottom at 15 feet.
It had two ends, the deep fishing end and the shallow swimming end. They were still dredging gravel in the shallow end and that was good, because some of the boys couldnY't swim and you could wade out a long ways without getting in over your waist. The deep end was kinda scary. To my knowledge, nobody had ever touched bottom, so we didn't know how deep it was. But probably the best thing about the whole Pit was there were no snakes. none, not a one.
To get from my house to Myers Pit I had to first wait for mom to get busy, then run out the back door to the alley. Then go up the alley to 29th St.; up 29th to the Delco-Remy baseball field, cut across the outfield to the Big Four Railroad Track. From there, down the tracks to 38th St. and then go through the Big-Four underpass tunnel which came out at York Field. You would stop in Mr. York's barn lot, lake a stick and dig in the manure piles to get enough worms to fish with. From there it was only a couple of blocks and there you were, Myers Gravel Pit. The whole trip was only about a mile and a half, but it seemed a lot longer when I had to constantly keep looking back over my shoulder to see if Mom was coming.
At the very end of the deep end was this big red clay bank which sloped down to the water. We used to pour water on it, get it good and slick, then slide down on our bellies. Then there was this tree with the rope on the limb which you could swing out and drop off into the water. At least you could until Fatty McAndrews broke the rope. Well, late one night we had this really bad tornado; it was horrible. Trees were topped, roofs were gone, power lines were down. I had to stay in the house for a couple of days because Mom didn't want me heIping with the power lines. When things got fairly back to normal, I took off for Myers Pit. Upon arrival, I saw that the big rope tree had uprooted during the storm and fallen into the water. The trunk was at an angle and still above the water; while all the limbs were below the surface. Immediatery turning a negative into a positive, I walked out on the tree arunk where I would be able to drop my fishing line into the deeper water, where all the big ones would be. I recall lying down on the trunk and peering at the tanglement of leaves, branches and limbs. What a mess, but there was something which didn't look quite right. One of the limbs didn't appear to be attached to the tree. As I lay there on my stomach, trying to figure it out, the crazy thing moved. Ever so slightly, but it moved. The realization hit me like a thunderbolt hitting a duck's tail. HOLY BEJEEPERS: THAT'S A FISH. THAT'S THE BIGGEST FISH I HAD EVER SEEN. THAT'S THE BIGGEST FISH IN THE WORLD.
I knew right then and there that I had to catch him. If it took the rest of my life, he was gonna be mine. He was a Largemouth Bass; you could tell by the black stripe on his sides. How big was he? I don't know. To a 1O-year-old boy Iying on a tree trunk, I don't know. Maybe 30 pounds. To Al Lindner sitting in a $20,000 bass boat, probably five or six pounds. I don't know. Doesn't really matter. I named him Old Bucketmouth.
I quickly ran back up the bank to where I had hidden my fishin' pole in the weeds. Then, back down to the tree where I very carefully and quietly impaled a worm on my hook, lowering it down even with the fish. Nothing happened, except the fish sank down about two feet in the water. The next time I tried three worms on the hook. No, he didn't take and this time he sank out of sight. I didn't see him again that day. The bass wasn't there every day, although I was most of them. On the days Bucketmouth was home, I tried evevy kind of bait imaginable. Fat worms, skinny worms, long worms, short worms. Nope.
Bucketmouth wasn't having any of it. I tried crickets, grasshoppers, toads and even a slice of pickle loaf; all to no avail. That fish would simply slide down in the water. This went on for day after day, week. after week. Bucketmouth kept his mouth shut: it was up and down, up and down. It reminded me of a yo-yo.
Well, school started and I still didn't have my prize. One day, in the rain, I was on my way to school. When I got there, I said to myself, "No, we are not having school today." And I struck out to go fishing. It was raining harder now. When I got to York Field, I was thoroughly soaked, but totally committed. As I walked in the tall wet grass, something jumped out ahead of me. It was a frog. 1 took a few more steps and there went another frog. My brain finally clicked in: "Frogs, frogs, Bucketmouth will eat a frog." I found an old Mason jar and quickly captured about a half dozen frogs, stuffing them into the jar. I had only gone a few more yards when I tripped on a mound of grass. When I looked back I saw that I had kicked the top off a slithering nest of baby garter snakes. Well, snakes are good too. You can keep 'em in your pocket in case a girl comes by. So, I poked three of them in the jar with the frogs.
The clay bank was really bad with all the rain, so I had to slide down on the seat of my new school pants. As soon as I got out on the log I opened the jar to get a frog. One of the baby snakes squirmed out and plopped into the water. In about a half a micro-second the whole world erupted. Bucketmouth hit that snake with an explosion like a stick of dynamite going off. You could have parked a truck in his mouth; and mine too for that matter. After calming down to about an eight on the Richter scale, I opened the jar and took out another snake. When the sharp hook hit the little reptile's tail he took to an absolute wiggling fit. He hadn't even reached the surface when Old Bucketmouth was on the way up again. The fish jumped a good two feet out of the water. He shook his head like a bull dog on an alley cat, but the snake was in his jaws and so was the hook. When Bucketmouth started down, I started up with the pole. I yanked so hard that the pole, line, hook, snake and fish all flew out of my hands, over my head and landed about two-thirds of the way up the clay bank. I looked back only to see the fish had thrown the hook and was steadily flopping his way back to the water's edge. I made a head-first dive and grabbed the fish around his gills. As we both lay there, gasping for breath, in the red slime and mud, I recall thinking this was to be one of the happiest times of my lif e. I thought, "He's mine, he's mine; I've caught him, he's mine." Well then, why, if I was so happy, did the raindrops falling in my eyes taste so much like salt? ] was crying. That's why. It was then I realized two things were about to happen here. First I would probably live through this. Secondly Old Bucketmouth probably would not. I then knew why I was crying. I didn'twant Bucketmouth to die. After all, the victory was mine; I had won the battle. Why would I kill such a magnificent creature? In a way, he would always be mine. That was enough. I cradled him in my arms, carried him out on the log, thanked him for a wonderful surmmer and slid my friend back into his own environment. Catch and release? Well, could be.
As I was walking down the Big-Four tracks towards home, I was again thinking of two things. First, what was I going to tell Mom had happened to my new school clothes? The second thing was, why would Old Bucketmouth only bite on a snake? The first question had no answer and I suffered for it. The second question was simple: Bucketmouth absolutely hated snakes. He ate 'em all.
See You On the Lake,
Sparky
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LOON LOVERS DIGEST
Ten More: Casual Readers Beware
21. If the egg hatches, what are the odds the chick will survive?
Very good. Since the parental care of chicks is excellent (by human standards, obsessive), adult loons usually see their chick(s) through to fall migration. One New Hampshire study determined that 84 percent of all hatched chicks survived, but the intensive protection efforts there may have increased the rate. Around 50 percent is a good estimate.
22. What time of year gives loons the most trouble?
It's certainly not summer when loons enjoy a season of easy fishing and slight stress. Very few dead adult loons are found on northern lakes. Disease often affects loons in the fall when large numbers congregate: thousands of loons have succumbed to botulism on Lake Michigan. But winter is the loon's worst season. The stress of coping with salt water, violent winter storms, marine pollution and parasites make life on the coast tough for loons. Off the coasts of the Carolinas, Florida or Texas, natural selection does its best work.
23. How often do loons come ashore?
Usually only to nest. A loon is a total water bird. It is not inconceivable that a loon (if it did not mate) could live out its entire life without placing a foot on terra firma.
24. Can loons walk?
Not really. Loons sort of push themselves along on land, but cannot stand erect and walk like a duck or goose. The legs are simply too far back on the body. Ninety-nine percent of all the mounted specimens are lies, showing loons standing up straight on their two huge feet.
25. What do loons eat?
Mainly fish. If a loon lives on a lake with an abundant fish population, the loon will probably eat fish 99 percent of the time. Favored prey are perch, suckers, bullheads, sunfish, smelt and minnows. Non-fish items on the menu include frogs, salamanders, crayfish and leeches. Keep in mind that loons are very flexible feeders: they eat what they find.
26. Do loons eat game fish?
Sure. They love trout if they can find them. Small northern pike, bass or walleye all look the same to a hungry loon. Unlike people, loons don't distinguish between game fish and rough fish -- a meal is a meal.
27. What about salt water diets?
Fewer studies of salt water feeding habits have been done, but it's safe to say loons use the same opportunistic fishing strategies there. Herring, sea trout, rock cod, flounder would certainly be on the menu.
28. How big a fish can a loon handle?
Since loons have a rather elastic esophagus, they can swallow fairly large prey including trout up to 18 inches. Spiny prey like sunfish or walleye may present a problem. Loons have been found dead with two pound walleyes stuck in their gullets. Such large prey, however, are the exception; the average loon prey can be weighed in ounces rather than pounds.
29. What is the "penguin dance"?
Well named, the loon's penguin dance is the bird's most dramatic territorial display. Loons literally stand on the water by violently kicking their feet while holding their head down with their bill tight against their breast. While this defensive display might drive away some natural enemies, it does not work well with people. Some uninformed fishermen or boaters think it's entertainment and stimulate the display. It requires a lot of energy to perform (try it next time you're swmming). Anyone accidently stimulating the dance should retreat immediately.
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Meet the Black Bear
Campers and hunters in Minnesota's woods benefit from knowing the black bear's habits.
Black bears inhabited most of Minnesota at the time it was first settled. Presently, bears are found in the northeastern one-third of the state, or generally north and east of an imaginary line from Roseau to Pine City. This resident black bear range covers about 30,000 square miles.
Research in northeastern Minnesota has shown that adult female bears establish home territories about four square miles in size. Adult male bears normally range over an area of about 10 square miles. Female bears defend their territories from other adult females. Adult males do not defend territories.
Bears prefer to remain solitary except during the breeding season. However, several bears may congregate at locations of abundant food supply such as berry patches, garbage dumps, and along streams.
The black bear (Ursus americanus) is an omnivorous animal. It eats anything that resembles food in looks, smell or taste. Studies made on the food habits of bears indicate they eat primarily vegetable materials consisting of grasses, fruits, berries, buds, leaves, nuts, and aspen catkins.
Bears also eat animal matter consisting of carrion, insects and their larvae, and small animals. Occasionally, an individual bear may develop a taste for domestic livestock such as sheep. A bear food study conducted in Maine, however, found that only 8.1 percent of bears' year-around diet was animal matter including livestock and game animals.
DESCRIPTION
The average female black bear weighs 150 pounds; males average about 250 pounds. Bears stand between two and three feet high at the shoulders and are light brown to black in color.
The black bear does not truly hibernate. lnstead it goes through a period of dormancy during which normal functions such as eating and excreting are discontinued.
The bear may select a den site under an upturned tree, a log, a brush pile or in a natural cavity under a rock ledge. It generally does not breed until about 3-1/2 years of age and normally every other year thereafter. In January or February, one to four young are born after a gestation period of seven to 7-1/2 months. When born, cubs weigh three-quarters of a pound and are hairless. They grow rapidly and follow the sow when she leaves the den.
Cubs usually stay with the sow until their second summer. But they are able to fend for themselves come their first autumn if something happens to the sow. In Minnesota, bears usually stay in the den until April, although they may leave for an occasional foray during mild winterdays.
MANAGEMENT
Minnesota's black bear population is a valuable wiIdlife resource. Previously unprotected in most of Minnesota, black bears were given overdue recognition as game animals in 1971. Their harvest has since been regulated to provide a continuing source of recreation. The increased status and protection is likely to provide more bears for enjoyment by hikers, campers and other visitors to Minnesota's forest country.
The secretive nature of black bears and the dense cover where they are fqund makes them difficult to census. Population trends have been based on estimates from field personnel. These estimates were based on observation of "bear signs," i.e., tracks, stump and log workings, scats, and tree markings.
Occasionally, individual bears kill livestock or damage crops and apiaries. Damage complaints, especially those involving cabins, campgrounds, and garbage collection sites increase greatly in years when berry and nut crops fail. This is not a reliable sign that the bear population is increasing; it means only that bears are hungrier than normal. Such bear problems should be handled on an individual basis rather than by attempting to reduce the entire population. The food supply for bears is dependent upon variations of temperature and precipitation and cannot be ensured by reducing the number of bears.
The problem of bears damaging camps can often be eliminated by following a few simple procedures. Wash all dishes and pans promptly. Put all garbage and food scraps in a trash barrel, or burn or bury garbage away from camp. Empty trash cans frequently and deodorize them. Store food in odor-proof containers or hang it from a tree limb where a bear can't reach it. And, remember! Bears are powerful, wild animals, not pets!
Copy for this report was prepared by the DNR Division
of Fish and Wildllfe, Section of Wildlife.
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Recap of 1994 Loon Survey
Since the Club started the loon survey in 1984, we had never had to cancel or schedule a recount until this year. The morning of July 23 began as a good "count" day, but in one hour's time the wind was howling straight out of the west and it became impossible to spot, much less count -especially on the east end of the lake in any portion of Big Bay.
Then due to many factors we couldn't recount until Aug. 9 -- and we learned a very good lesson. Just a matter of about 2-1/2 weeks made a big difference in the behavior of the family unit and action of the chicks. The chicks are, of course, larger, dive more and are more independent of the adults -- and the adults, instead of both parents being close by, we found very often only one of the adults with the chicks.
However, the good news is -- the total for 1994 was 284. This is down just a bit from 1993, but not enough for concern since over the last 10 years there has been an appreciable increase. Next year, should we encounter another "bad hair day," we will schedule the recount within a couple of days!
We are very grateful for the volunteers who help us each year. A total of 114-3/4 hours were spent by 34 volunteers on the survey, which was conducted over two days.
Barbara Shook, director
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Another Lake VermiIion Family History
by Edward W. Harding
"lncidentally, my first visit to our lake was when I was 3 years old, and my earliest memory of the lake was of my dad using strong language on the one-lunger Evinrude we'd rented from Shivery at the dam. We had a place on Hinsdale island at that time, about five miles down the lake from the dam. We have a new place now, much closer to the dam and it even has a road to it!
"I like the new features in our publication - very good. To bring you up-to-date on the Harding clan now, let me remind you that Pat is my second wife, with three kids in the state of Washington who have issue also; and my side of the family includes Nancy Gruchow, my first born; Diana, who still lives in Colorado, who has two boys to go with Nancy's Aaron and Laura, Bill Smiley is married to Sue and has three kids who've been up to the lake, as have Diana's boys and husband John. Nancy's husband, Paul Gruchow, is a published author of many books of the Boundary Waters country. Sara and Sue and Bill are demon fisher-people, which makes up for my lack of energy in that regard. But l'm a pensioner now, so forgive me. I must not forget my son Fred, named after his Grandfather Harding, who is a big help in opening up our place in the spring and closing it in the fall.'
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Way to go, Jason!
Now, that's a big smile! And this is where it all starts, folks!
Jason Metsa (13 when he caught this beauty) Is an avid fisherman and is very much into Catch & Release. When he was fishing last summer with his fishing buddy Steve Sorgenfrel, he caught this northern. They did measure the fish (40-1/2 inches), but didn't want to keep it even long enough to weight it. Just hoist her up, take her picture, and release her!
"Way to go, Jason!"
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WILD RICE
Minnesota grows more wild rice than any other state.
The annual harvest is regulated by the DNR Enforcement Division.
WILD RICE was important to Minnesota's American Indians. They built villages near wild rice stands and even fought wars for prime fields. Many Minnesota lakes are named " Rice." The Chippewa name for rice, "mahnomen" (meaning "good berry"), is used as a place name in, for example, Mahnomen County or Mahnomen Lake.
HISTORY
In the early 1900s, the Chippewa indians gathered rice and sold it to local settlers. Later, demand for this native delicacy outstripped the supply and farmers became interested in growing it.
By 1939, wild rice had become an important crop. To protect its future, the State Legislature established the Wild Rice Law. This law authorized the Department of Natural Resources to organize and control the state's rice harvest.
Minnesota has more rice stands than any other state, about 15,000 to 30,000 acres. Wild rice is native to North America and grows from southeast Manitoba eastward to the Atlantic seaboard and south to Florida and Louisiana.
The greatest concentrations, however, are in the Great Lakes region. During a good rice year, 150 large harvestable stands grow in Minnesota. Several thousand small patches also grow along various lakes and streams throughout the state.
CHARACTERISTICS
Wild rice is not actually rice, but a hardy, annual, aquatic grass. Like oats, the grain of wild rice is surrounded by a hull that is removed during processing. And like other aquatic grasses, wild rice has a hollow stem with cross partitions (septa) between stem nodes. In spring, after winter dormancy, the seed germinates under water, producing a single root and leaf. As more leaves grow, the tops float on the water surface. By late August, the rice stands begin to ripen. The small-grained rice along rivers or sandy lake bottoms ripens earliest.
The cultivation of wild rice in man-made paddies is rapidly growing in Minnesota. Paddy rice now accounts for over three-fourths of the total crop. Non-shattering varieties of rice have been developed (see below). Combines and other large scale equipment harvest this rice. Paddy water can be lowered to allow machines to harvest the crop.
REGULATIONS
For many years, the DNR Enforcement Division has managed the harvest. The harvest interests many groups: American Indians, duck hunters, harvesters, buyers, processors, and marketers. Under Minnesota law, the state owns all wild rice grown in public waters "in its sovereign capacity and for the benefit of all its people."
Since wild rice is an annual grass, it must re-seed itself each year. The grain ripens from the top down and falls into the water. This is called shattering, and is a common characteristic of wild grasses. To compensate for shattering, harvesters must work out careful schedules and techniques.
Before setting the opening day of harvest season, the Director of Wild Rice must determine that the rice is ripe, and that seed returned to the bed is mature and will germinate the following spring.
By authorizing surveys in early August, the director determines the size and condition of the principle rice crop. A second survey in mid-August determines if there has been any failure in the crop because of water levels, disease, high winds or other factors that might affect the crop.
Then the director issues a "Commissioner's Order." This order details wild rice harvesting regulations and establishes the season. State law makes it unlawful for any person to take wild rice from waters within the original boundaries of the White Earth, Leech Lake, Nett Lake, Vermilion Lake, Grand Portage, Fond du Lac and Mille Lacs reservations -- except for persons of American indian blood or residents of the reservation on which the wild rice grows.
The wild rice committee of the Leech Lake Reservation and the Fond du Lac Reservation manages all native wild rice within the boundaries of the reservations. The director assists these committees by furnishing signs for posting rice beds and announcing the reservation season schedule. The director also announces non-reservation schedules via radio, television and newspapers. Conservation officers assist reservation officers in enforcing regulations established by the reservation committee. The Tamarac and East Lake National WiIdlife Refuge restrict harvesting to indians only.
Write or call the DNR Enforcement Division for a pamphlet on wild rice harvesting regulations in Minnesota.
HARVESTING
Two people in a small boat or canoe harvest wild rice. One poles or paddles while the other flails the rice. Using two sticks, the ricer bends the rice stalk over the boat and taps gently to knock off the ripe grains. He leaves the unripe ones untouched. This process is repeated every two days or so, three or four times each harvest season. Intervals allow time for the heads to ripen gradually. Even so, the bulk of the rice falls into the water for re-seeding and as food for waterfowl.
PROCESSING
Once the ricer sells the green rice to the processor, the moist grains must be dried and hardened and the chaffy hull removed. The steps involved are:
*curing
*parching
*threshing
*winnowing.
Commercial rice processors handle such a volume of rice that they have had to invent new methods of processing. To cure the rice, the processor places it on a dry, flat surface, such as a concrete floor, in a layer several inches deep, and occasionally stirs and turns it to prevent heating.
Parching is done in containers rotated over a gas or wood fire. American indians parched small amounts of rice in an iron kettle over a fire.
Hulling or threshing equipment ranges from an oil drum containing rubber-shod paddles to commercial oat-hullers. American Indians danced on the grains to remove the hulls.
Winnowing is done with a fanning mill and then the grain is cleaned to remove impurities such as sticks and grit. American Indians placed the rice on a blanket and tossed it into the air. The wind caught the hulls and carried them away.
Since there is no standard equipment, individual processors have come up with a variety of ingenious inventions to accomplish the processing of rice.
COOKING TIPS
Aside from the work and technical aspects, there remains one other important fact about wild rice: namely, it tastes good and is nutritious as well. High in protein, potassium, phosphorous, and B vitamins, it is also very low in fat. Wild rice is best cooked one part rice to four parts salted, boiling water. It tastes good alone or with numerous additions. Some people even eat it for breakfast instead of other hot cereals.
For an enjoyable side dish or for a main meal, try one of th e foIlow ng: substitute broth for water, or add any or all of the following when the rice is done: sauteed mushrooms, celery, onions, water chestnuts, green peppers, bacon.
Combine rice with equal parts green beans or peas, add toasted almonds and chopped parsley, or add a can of soup to the rice for a tasty casserole.
Wild rice also makes an excellent stuffing for duck or other fowl. In fact, there are no limits to the uses of wild rice other than a cook's imagination.
Copy for this article was prepared by the DNR Bureau of information and Education.
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Wild Rice Soup
1/2 c. Wild Rice (best with hand-parched)
1/2 lb. Bacon- diced
3 T. Bacon Drippings
3/4 c. Chopped Celery
1 c. Chopped Onion
1/3 c. Chopped Green Pepper
2 --14-1/2 oz. Chicken Broth
1 -- 4 oz. Can Mushrooms
3 Cans Cream of Mushroom Soup (undiluted)
Wash rice. Boil for 15 mlnutes, then drain. Fry bacon until crisp. Drain. Saute celery, onion and green pepper in bacon drippings (3 T.) until tender. Put in large kettle. Add rice, broth, mushrooms, soup and crumbled bacon. Cook 1 hour at low heat. Do not add salt.
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Big Tree Contest
This past summer we posed a question to our members -- who has the biggest deciduous tree on their property?
The winners among those entries returned were: Howard Ankrum, Everett Bay Rd. - east end, two entries -- one birch with a circumference of 66-1/2 inches and one aspen of 55 inches; Elder Metsa, Metsa Rd. - west end, came up with a basswood of 72 inches; and Steve Raps of Pehrson Lodge, Head-O-Lakes Bay, enormous maple with a circumference of 78 inches!
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Charter Member News
A few issues ago of the newsletter, we posed the question, "How many charter members of the club still hold those memberships?"
We continue to hear from you. Just recently we leard from Arthur C. Johnson of Virginia whose charter certificate is dated April 26, 1968. Another from Virginia is John C. Palo, certificate dated April 27, 1968. John is also a former member of the Board. I also heard from Mrs. Jessie Boyle whose husband, R.0. Boyle, joined on May 17, 1968.
We also received a rather beat-up copy of a charter member card from Robert L. Reid. Unfortunately the card went through the wash -- but it had to have been dated early 1968 as that is the year of incorporation.
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