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"The Path Less Traveled"
By Jerry Moll
6/1/2006 1:22:45 PM
By: Jerry Moll
Jeff’s heart nearly leaped from his chest as he impulsively threw back the covers, jumped out of bed and hit the floor running. What he was running to or from he had no idea, still blurry eyed trying to determine the source of this awakening commotion. “Up and at-em boy, it’s time to get ready for church”, came the stern words of his Mom as she slung open his bedroom door while hurrying about her Sunday morning routine. Jeff had been sleeping like a rock, dead to the world but for only about three hours before this morning reveille call. As he sat back on the edge of the bed pulling up his jeans and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he stopped to reflect upon the events of the past evening and early morning hours. He tried to piece together all that had happened at the Nite Hunt he and his hunting buddy attended, but at this point sorting out all those details was like trying to see through an early morning fog. Jeff eased his way the hall to the bathroom washed his face, brushed his teeth and headed to the kitchen for some breakfast. Now that he was starting to feel somewhat human again his only hope was to stay awake through the preacher’s sermon so he could continue in Mom’s best graces. Hopefully after lunch he could curl up on the couch for an afternoon siesta leaving some time in the evening for catching up on homework before school tomorrow.
It all started at school on Friday when Tommy Neal asked if he wanted to ride down to the Jackson Creek Fox & Coon Club coonhound event on Saturday. Of course Jeff said yes immediately, not wanting to miss a chance at showing off his nice young Redbone female, Dolly. “Sounds good, I’ll pick ya up around 5:30 and we’ll be there in time for the show too, said Tommy as he headed down the hall to biology class. Jeff really appreciated the invite as he was still a year away from having his driver’s license and didn’t have a ride to the Coonhound events without Tommy. Jeff’s Dad had not been very supportive of the Nite Hunts since he had a few coworkers down at the steel mill give him the “low down” on how those things worked. It wasn’t long before he was passing the details along to Jeff about the lying, cheating and bullying that goes on and warning there was no need for him to get caught up in all of that. Jeff really didn’t want to buy into all the negative stuff, he just enjoyed hunting his dog and the idea of meeting new people who had similar interests of Coondogs and Coonhunting sounded like fun to him.
Saturday night at Jackson Creek had been Jeff’s second Night Hunt and things weren’t going well for him in that regard. He had been hunting his dog and keeping her in shape all along, but had yet to win a cast. He was starting to feel like maybe the Nay Sayers were right about the Nite Hunts, because it sure seemed like those more experienced guys were taking advantage of him, the latest “Newbie”. In his very first hunt Dolly stuck red hot right off the lead and Jeff struck her instantly, then she hushed presumably trying to figure the track out, but when she open up way deeper in the woods the Judge up and minused her. Jeff was sure this cost him and Dolly the cast and was fairly certain these guys were just upset because Dolly had a better nose than the other dogs in the cast. On this latest hunt as they approached a tree to be scored Dolly met Jeff off the tree and was snorting around on the ground and smelling up samplings before she went back to the tree as the Judge instructed all to handle the dogs. Jeff was a little more than upset when to coon was spotted and the Judge informed him that Dolly was minused both ways. Jeff tried unsuccessfully to argue his point reminding the Judge that he had forewarned him about Dolly meeting him off trees. This all just seemed very unfair to Jeff and he felt he was being taken advantage of, but he wasn’t quite ready to give up just yet.
After school on Monday, Jeff walked down the road to the neighbor’s to get his opinion on how things had been going. Frank Hoog had been involved in Coonhunting all his life with the exception of a short stint abroad when Uncle Sam called him to serve. After the service Frank spent many years breeding Bluetick hounds and was a veritable encyclopedia of pedigrees all the way back to the Mayflower, or so it seemed. As Jeff approached the old farmhouse he spotted Mr. Hoog out in the yard cleaning his daily mess of catfish. “Hey there Youngin, how are things a-goin for ya these days”, Frank queried as he looked up from the fillet board. “Oh things could be better Mr. Hoog, you know how that is”, Jeff responded with a grin. “Oh, I sure know what you mean there boy, that’s for sure. Heck if’n I’d been born rich instead of so darn good lookin, why me and the Mrs. just might be a livin in some high rise penthouse somewhere”, Mr. Hoog offered with a smirk. To get right to the point Jeff changed the subject, “Oh I went to another one of those Nite Hunts and got beat again”. “Did they cheat ya boy, or was it on the up and up. Why, you know what I’ve told you over and over. Most of those competition dogs I wouldn’t take as a gift. Most of them have no nose at all and they run wild through the country like they are crazy till they run across a hot track to tree it or they just make slick tree after slick tree. I just never had any use for them hunts at all, a bunch of cheaters that could beat my good dogs if they were huntin a Poodle. Yep, with that bunch it’s all about the handler and how he can stick it to you, it’s not about the dog. Now come out back here Boy and I’ll show you what some real Coondogs look like”, Frank invited as he wiped off his hands and motioned toward the kennels.
“Now you see here in this first kennel a real fine lookin animal, one of my best stud dogs Jack. O’l Jack has no titles and has never even been to a hunt, but he’s moving up the ladder on the top reproducers list and folks are starting to take notice. Those titles are completely useless I tell ya, but Jack’s pups are winning in them hunts honestly and I’m proud of it. And to think some folks won’t breed to Jack just on a-counta the fact he don’t have no titles, just don’t seem right does it? Here in this pen is my Dual Gr Ch Gold Ch Loco that finished out at a very young age, yep he’s a goodin. He finished those titles quickly, but now let me tell ya it was all 100% honest too. Course I never put him in any hunts, he was finished when I bought him from the Johnson brothers back a few years ago. Everyone would be amazed at his mouth and ability, but I never turn the old boy loose anymore. You know a hound that valuable, it just not worth risking something bad a happinin, ya know. Once you turn a dog loose you just never know what could happen to them out there in the dark.”
Jeff shuffled his feet in the loose gravel looking for a good reason to get the heck out of there without being disrespectful. He had heard Mr. Hoog’s stories time and time again and really didn’t want to stand around and listen to it all another time, especially since he had six more dogs to talk about. Sure it was tempting to hang around awhile longer as the smell of deep fried catfish and hush puppies floated its way out of the house and down toward the kennel. Yep, Jeff knew from experience that Frank’s wife Velma Sue could cook up a storm, but right now he need an exit strategy and quick. “Sorry to run off Frank, but I’ve got lots of homework and my nightly chores to get at. Thanks for the visit”, Jeff blurted out giving a halfhearted wave while heading toward the driveway. Frank just stood there with his hat in his hand scratching his head wondering what had gotten in to that boy. Jeff did some serious thinking on his walk back home and was starting to see some puzzling inconsistencies in Mr. Hoog’s philosophies, stories and views on Competition Coonhounds. It seemed strange to him that Frank didn’t hunt in the hunts, but he claimed to be an authority on the subject. First he says the hunts are all about worthless titles on worthless dogs, then he brags on the titles his dogs and their pups have achieved, but swears all these were earned honestly, when he wasn’t even there. Now Jeff had been taught to show a great deal respect for his elders and he would never say anything to Mr. Hoog that was disrespectful, but the level of reliability he could put in Frank’s words was sure shifting. Jeff was now convinced he needed another opinion; there were just too many holes in Mr. Hoog’s theories and possibly those of his Dad’s co-workers and he need to know the truth.
The next day at school Jeff made plans with his buddy Tommy to drive up to Sammy Henshaw’s place and see about going on a pleasure hunt. Jeff’s Dad and uncles had known Sammy since they were all kids and Sammy had the reputation of being a hard hunter and a straight shooter. Jeff felt like if he could spend some time talking with Sammy it would give him some direction about continuing in this sport or to give it all up. The best case scenario in Jeff’s mind was to go pleasure hunting with Sammy and get his take on Dolly’s performance and abilities too. As soon as school let out Jeff rushed home and started into his chores and homework. His Mom was none too happy about his plans for driving way off to Henshaw’s on a school night. But, once Jeff’s Dad found out where he was going he reassured his Mom that it would be alright and that talking with Sammy might be the best thing he could do. Jeff was relieved that all was well on the home front and soon Tommy was pulling in the drive with his old beat up Nissan. Tommy walked back and got Dolly while Jeff grabbed up his light, boots and a jacket and away they went.
The thirty mile drive went by quickly and soon they were pulling into Sammy’s driveway as it was starting to get dark. Sammy was outside loading his dog in the box and appeared to be getting ready to go hunting. “Hi I’m Jeff Sanderson, Berle’s son from down by Sparta”, Jeff nervously said while sticking out his right hand for a shake. “Why sure I haven’t seen you since you were knee high to a grasshopper, how’s your Dan and Uncles Tom and Fred been a doin, haven’t seen them in forever”, Sammy quizzed while giving Jeff a strong, firm handshake. “They are all dong great, this is my hunting buddy Tommy Neal and we were hoping we could ask you a few coonhunting questions”, Jeff said now starting to feel much more at ease. “Sure would be glad to help you out if’n I can, wish you had your gear with you as I’d just as soon talk out in the woods while the dogs are a workin”, Sammy said while strapping on his light. “Well we did bring our gear and my Dolly dog and we would sure love to take a hunt with you if we could”, Jeff replied while grinning from ear to ear. “Well just jump in with me then Jeff and you and I can talk on the way to the woods while Tommy follows, that a way you guys can head out when you need to. Lets get this show on the road boys, we’re a burnin darkness, let’s go”, Sammy motioned as he slammed his tailgate and jumped in his truck.
Sammy drove about fifteen minutes to the hunting spot, long enough for Jeff to explain what he had been hearing about the Nite Hunts and what he had experienced in his two times out. Sammy was quick to point out that he wasn’t on those casts with him, so he would have a hard time knowing if he had really gotten taken advantage of or not. But, he also informed Jeff that he participates in about 150 casts per year and will get a bad one now and then, but the majority of his casts are made up of good people with good hounds. “Well we’re here and we’ll see if these hounds can tree one in the slough. There’s usually at least a foot of water about anywhere in here, but the coons can be treed if your dog has what it takes”, Sammy offered as he shut the truck off nearly touching a cable across the old abandon farm road. As the hounds were sent in to the east Dolly opened several times and then hushed as the dogs splashed through the stagnant, pungent water. Soon all that could be heard was the constant chorus of bull and tree frogs with an occasional hoot owl joining in. Jeff started explaining to Sammy that this was an example of Dolly doing exactly what she was supposed to do, but it had gotten her minused and he wondered if they had gotten taken advantage of. Sammy explained, “Well Jeff I sure don’t want to hurt your feelings, but if you struck Dolly in a situation like this, I would minus you too. You see, that’s what we call babbling or loose barking, Dolly didn’t have a track where she opened or she surely would have trailed in on outta here”. “No you’re not hurting my feelings at all Sammy, that’s what I want to know. You see I’ve heard so may horror stories about these hunts that anytime I’m minused, I think I’m getting the shaft”, Jeff responded. About that time Sammy’s big Walker hound Drum opened with a huge bawl mouth deep in the country and Dolly chimed right in with him and the race was on.
As the trio walked down the old road to tighten up on the hounds Sammy explained further about the hunts and Coonhunters in general. He described that some situations that happen in Nite Hunts can be likened to the Boy’s own Sparta High School football and basketball teams. The referees are not perfect and neither are the rules, during a game you may get a good break one quarter and maybe a bad break in another. You’ll hear players and spectators complaining about how their team was robbed of the victory due to a bad call, but you’ll never hear them complain when a “bad call” goes their way. Jeff and Tommy looked at each other knowing they couldn’t argue with that logic, they had seen it with their own eyes many times. Sammy suggested they stop and take a listen to the hounds for a bit and they could still hear Drum working through the slough between a quarter and a half away, but there was no Dolly. As they stood listening and soaking up the night air Dolly came busting through the brush toward them and was gone just as quickly as she came. “Now, there you go again, I’ve been minused for that too and she didn’t even come close to stopping”, Jeff insisted. “Now just where in the rules does it say anything at all about a dog stopping as a requirement to minus them? Where was Dolly the last time you heard her, was it right here?” Sammy fired back. “Well, maybe it doesn’t say so in the rules and I know she was way in there opening, but that same argument is what folks use on casts and at the clubhouse all the time when they feel minused unfairly”, Jeff responded. Sammy went on to explain that old “stopping thing” has been passed on for years and years by houndsmen that can’t or won’t admit their dog does anything wrong, it’s nothing more than an worn out excuse. Everyone perked up when they heard a big booming locate followed by another coming from the other side of the River. As the bawl switched over to a hard chop Sammy said, “You can just tree O’l Drum right there and we better start that a way.
When they got about halfway to the tree you could hear Dolly’s high pitched mouth against Drum’s big heavy course chops. This put some spring in Jeff’s step, sure he knew that Dolly just backed Drum, but at least she was doing something other than embarrassing him at the moment. As they approached the tree Dolly came toward them, jumped up on Jeff, then returned to the tree after checking another tree or two. Jeff spoke up before anyone else could, “Yea I know Dolly should be minused again, not for coming back to me, but for checking those threes and not going directly back to treeing”. Sammy gave Jeff that knowing grin and proceeded to tie Drum to a sapling near the big cottonwood he had been treeing on. As they spread out and put their lights in the tree, Tommy hollered out, “I’ve got him boys, right here”. After a pat on the head and a “Good job boy”, Sammy untied Drum and they were off toward the trucks. Jeff said, “Boy Drum did a nice job working that coon through the water and cutover, bringing him down across the river and having him, a real nice job”. “Well thanks Jeff I appreciate the complement. You know when Drum was young he would babble a little, meet you off trees and not finish every track he started, but with hard hunting and discipline, he’s made a fine hound for me. You see, there is nothing wrong with Dolly that can’t be fixed if you just put your mind to it and be consistent with her. It’s getting pretty late already for it being a school night, do you boys know how to get to the highway don’t cha, I’m goin on huntin”, Sammy said as they approached the trucks.
As they loaded up the hounds, Jeff and Tommy thanked Sammy for the hunt, advice and hospitality. Sammy told the boys they were welcome back anytime and to call if they needed any help. As Tommy slid into the driver’s seat, Sammy waked around to Jeff’s side of the truck to give him on last piece of insight before they headed out. Sammy said, “Jeff you should know when I first started out I felt like I was being cheated too and other folks seemed to go out of their way to convince me I was right. Finally I decided I had to do some real serious thinking for myself and figure out the rules and why I wasn’t winning. You see, I figured out if someone isn’t winning there is usually a problem with the dog, the trainer or the handler and in my case I determined it was all three. I decided right then and there I wanted to be a Competition Coonhunter and I was going to do what it takes to get myself and my dog ready before I went back to a hunt. From that day forward I have won a lot more and I have enjoyed myself a lot more. Sure, like I said before I have a bad cast now and then and I flat out get beat more than I want to, but now-a-days I put the blame squarely where it belongs, at both ends of my leash. Now you boys have a safe trip home and we’ll see you soon”.
Jeff and Tommy reflected on the night and the discussions as they drove home with a renewed sense of vitality about the Nite Hunt game. Jeff couldn’t wait to explain what he had learned to his parents because he knew the level of trust and confidence his Dad had for Sammy. And sure enough the level of support from Jeff’s parents increased and they encouraged more participation in the Coonhound events and the youth programs. Within a few months Jeff and Tommy had made several trips back to Sammy’s for some good hunts and some great advice. There were no Nite Hunts entered for a good while, but the next time Dolly was entered she made a good showing and won the cast. As folks got to know Jeff and Dolly at the area coon clubs he earned their respect and admiration of owning a good dog and being a smart, straight up handler. Jeff had not visited with his neighbor Mr. Hoog in a good while and rumor has it that the old Gent doesn’t have much good to say about Jeff and Dolly these days since they have been doing some winning. Jeff had never considered himself much of a scholar and especially not a fancier of sophisticated things like poetry, but lately while alone out underneath the starts awaiting Dolly’s beckoning call he’s found himself reflecting on the thoughts of Robert Frost’s, “The Road Not Taken”. The expressions of Frost tend to inspire and support the direction Jeff has chosen, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and it has made all the difference…"
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Last Updated by: Jerry Moll
8/29/2006 8:23:37 PM
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"Summertime and the livin¡¦ is easy"
By: Jerry Moll
The thick layer of grey haze floated between the hazy moon and the dark treetops reminded me it was mid-summer in Southeastern Indiana, as if I really needed another clue. An observable cloud of nighttime humidity seems to go hand in hand with summertime around here and really makes the corn grow; at least that¡¦s what Dad used to say. With every step forward I could feel the sweat trickle all the way from the base of my neck down to the small of my back. The once dry t-shirt was now fully saturated and the additional perspiration had no place else to go. Stopping to take a short breather, I instinctively reached for my S/C water bottle holder hanging by my side, but the container had been empty for awhile now. These hills were tough, but still much better than the perils of the low ground and cutover that lay ahead.
As I topped the last hill I could hear the hounds treed in the distant bottom, beseeching me to give them some type of relief. Both hounds were taking uncharacteristic but reasonable pauses in their tree barking due to the choking heat and humidity. While starting off again in their direction I mumbled to myself about the foolishness of hunting more than one dog at a time and of not driving around to get closer before heading toward them. I like to keep sending dogs off trees rather than patch hunting; I guess I¡¦m stubborn that way and sometimes I have to ¡§pay¡¨ for it. As I plodded along I recalled just five short months ago when the snow and ice covered ground was almost too treacherous to walk on. I remembered being bundled up in my old Carhartt coat and gloves, longing for warmer weather. ¡§Be careful what you wish for¡¨, I thought to myself while stopping to remove a pair of wood ticks crawling up my right arm.
The closer I came to the banks of Laughery Creek the more the local mosquito swarm went on the offensive, coming at me from all directions in full attack mode. Our annual bull nettle crop (itch weed) was growing well, towering well above my head making it nearly impossible to navigate without walking sideways stomping a pathway ahead of me. I knew from years of experience not to scratch the itch of the itch weed, no matter how uncomfortable, it only made it worse. I laughed to myself thinking about how my brothers and I used to play in the creek as youngsters with cutoff shorts as our only clothing without a care in the world. Now I¡¦m covered with jeans, boots and nylon trying to protect my ... more
“Now That Is A Coondog”
By: Jerry Moll
With every step the thick layer of crusted snow on the barren soybean field crunched beneath them like fresh tortilla chips making it extremely hard to hear anything else as they pushed forward. It was a cold Saturday night, in the single digits with no air moving whatsoever; yes it was still as a stick in northern Iowa. There was no need for a light; a man could have easily read a book with the bright moon and stars above reflecting on the white snow below. Individually Tony and Joe thought they were carrying on a conversation with the other, both totally oblivious to the fact they were completely muted by the situation. The hounds had been gone for a good, long while and the tracking system showed them way out of pocket to the north and definitely out of hearing.
Taking a break on a small ridge and cupping their ears Tony and Joe could hear the steady chopping of their two hounds Sally and Ranger. As with any houndsman this was music to their ears and brought smiles to their frozen faces. They were off again, crunching through the snow, still talking to one another without either knowing the other was speaking. There was still a mile or more to go and each time they stopped for a breather the treeing was louder and motivated Tony and Joe to press on. As they arrived at the tree they were surprised to see the forest floor around the tree covered with blood from the hound’s pads being cut by the crusted snow. There hearts filled with pride upon seeing a large raccoon perched up high in the mighty oak. They knew it took a lot of heart and determination from their hounds to tree a raccoon under these adverse conditions. Tony and Joe leashed the hounds and rubbed their ears, praising them for a job well done. As the two seasoned houndsmen started the long journey back to the truck they agreed, these were sure enough COONDOGS.
Bill and Mike pulled up to unlock the gate at the Melville deer club, nearly 1,000 miles to the south of our northern houndsmen Tony and Joe. After driving a quarter mile to the north they stepped out for another listen as the pungent smell of the swamp hit them in the face like a blast from a furnace. Above the vast acres of frog chorus they could hear Nell and Singer treed solid just a half mile to their east. The guys had to face the music; it was time to pull the boots up, no more driving from here.
They had originally cut the hounds to the north and after listening for an hour or so t ... more
“A Fresh Beginning”
By: Jerry Moll
The freeway security lights flickered on and off as they traveled easterly along interstate seventy-four while the rising sun interrupted the morning’s darkness and the weary passengers’ slumber. Mike Jackson and his younger brother Paul wriggled about the truck seat, squinting and rubbing their eyes from the sudden burst of sunlight beaming through the windshield. The young boys had dozed off while riding home from a night of Competition Coonhunting with their Uncle Carl Stephens. Uncle Carl had retired from the local foundry a few years back and was now a full time pleasure/competition hunter that loved to invest his time in his younger sister’s boys, the youth of the sport. Carl sure enjoyed the boy’s company, especially on the weekends when they could hunt all night without the bother of homework or worry of having to get up for school the next morning.
As they turned off the freeway and started down the back roads toward home, Uncle Carl started pointing out the beautiful daybreak scenery one can only witness in the Midwestern springtime. It was an extraordinary time of year, the grass was greening up, the leaves popping out on the trees and the countryside was full of new life. Uncle Carl rolled his window down slightly to soak up that springtime smell and they all noticed the peepers were making quite a racket down in Jackson’s pond. Paul pointed out a nice Tom Turkey strutting his stuff down along the east fork of Frederickson’s Creek near their horse pasture. A little further up the road the boys laughed out loud watching Pete Sampson’s nanny goats butting at their kids while they jumped back and forth over them rambunctiously playing in the small pasture. Turning west on Ditch Road, just across the creek they noticed Fred Allen’s Jersey cows nursing their young calves in the morning sun while the bull stared at them from across the ravine in an adjacent pasture. The sight seeing tour came to an end as their old farm house can into view over the next hill. Yes, it was a beautiful morning, but right now Mike and Paul were looking forward to hitting the pillow for some much needed shut eye.
After the boys washed up and slid under the covers they began to reflect on their fantastic day and night attending the Friendship County Coon & Fox Club’s annual youth hunt and show. They could not believe the gracious hospitality extended to them, a vast departure from what they had previously seen and heard about the spo ... more
Building Bridges-Mending Fences
By: Jerry Moll
It was that very special time of year, early November in Indiana. The leaves had long since turned and were absent from nearly all the trees by now, scattered to the wind they blanketed the forest floor as well as many of the creek banks and farm fields. Farmers had been fortunate this fall with dry weather and that beautiful harvest moon on the clear nights bringing us several early white frosts. The golden brown soybean fields had all vanished to barren farm ground and the remaining cornfields left standing were few and far between. Our raccoon season had just opened two days ago on Saturday and I felt very fortunate to take the entire family out on opening night. We stopped and bought snacks and drinks for the night out while on our way to a farm I’ve been hunting since I was just a young boy. We turned the dogs out and as we sat there on the majestic oak ridge listening and soaking up the night air it seemed as if the deadlines and stresses of the daily grind were long gone and we were in another world all to ourselves. By 11:00 or so the moon was up bright and the kids were cold and worn out, so we loaded up and headed back toward home. We had treed several raccoon, walked a few miles, ate a lot of snacks and had a great time laughing and cutting up. While driving back home I reflected upon how fortunate we were to have this great Hoosier outdoors to enjoy, the beautiful night, these lovable hounds and most importantly to be able to share it all with our children on this peaceful November night.
On Sunday evening after dinner, homework and bedtime I headed our once again, just me and a young female. It was a still, cloudless night with millions of bright stars and a huge moon lighting the sky. The kind of fall night where there is not a sound in the woods but maybe a faint trickling of water in the creek and a house dog barking several miles away. When you venture out on these clear nights you know Jack Frost is not far behind you. Beautiful yes, but not exactly the kind of night you would pick to work a young dog, but I was enjoying the gorgeous night and the time spent with the young hound even if I did need to keep my expectations low. We covered a lot of ground that evening, made some bad trees, caught a possum and even treed a few coon. For her age and experience I was content with the performance and had her back home in the kennel by 1:00.
Today was Monday and our local club had a one hour event scheduled ... more
Eight Men Out
By: Jerry Moll
My recollections of the AKC World Coonhound Championship Final Cast, September 30th 2006, Warsaw, Indiana.
Joe Newlin, member of Silver Lake, Indiana’s Sportsmen and Farmers Conservation Club, and I had been discussing possible final cast locations for months and the time was at hand to nail it down. It was noon on Saturday September 30th and the 2006 AKC World Championship Show was about to get underway. Joe, Ron Manns and I agreed to stay for the inspiring opening ceremonies. It was complete with the presenting of the colors by the local American Legion and the twin trumpeted National Anthem. I had to shake off the chills before we headed out for a final inspection of the proposed hunting grounds.
While preparing to leave the fairgrounds we called and invited Mike Nelson to be our lead judge for the final cast. We all have known Mike for years and he’s a top houndsman and judge, so we were very excited when he said yes. To my delight Joe and Ron agreed to serve as Mike’s back up judges, I sure didn’t want to hold this final cast without them beside me.
Once my Ford was pointed south on State Route #15 we went about twelve miles to check out the first spot. What a great location, lots of timber, corn and beans for the dogs to scatter into. The country block was situated in a one by two mile square with a farm road running south from the north side taking us very near the center.
Many of the soy bean fields had harvesting equipment setting around and there were lots of grain bins and dryers, none of which were operating at the time due to recent rains. We spent some time checking out cell phone reception, establishing landmarks and talking with several adjoining landowners. The three of us quickly agreed this was THE place and briefly discussed needing a back up plan if we needed to move for some reason. Ron suggested we use a spot he had guided me to several years ago and as I recalled the hunt I remembered that Jenni and I had gotten a sound thrashing from Ron and his fine hound Tree Grippin’ Joe. If I remember correctly, for every coon Jenni treed, Joe treed two. That spot sounded good and it was back toward Warsaw, so we headed back north. I checked in with our friend, Don Weisehan with the Kosciusko County Sherriff’s Department and he knew exactly where we would be and said he would be glad to patrol the area between 9:00 and midnight.
From this point things moved very quickly through the fantastic top ... more
“To Everything, There Is A Season”
By: Jerry Moll
The wood floor creaked loudly in the early morning silence as I slid one leg at a time from under the covers and stepped out of the bed. I grabbed my pants and shirt from a nearby chair and tiptoed toward the staircase trying not to wake anyone. It had been a long night of tossing and turning without much sleep, but I was now wide awake quietly closing the bathroom door behind me to finish getting dressed. “Quiet as a church mouse”, I kept reminding myself as I gently pushed open the screen door going out to the summer kitchen where I would find my work boots. Everyone in the house was sound asleep as far as I knew and I sure didn’t want to awake anyone this time of morning.
Bruno, our mixed breed farm dog jumped up to follow me, wagged his curled tail and looked up as if he was wondering what in the world I was up to this time of day. We startled the sleeping chickens and they cackled loudly while frantically flying down from their nightly roost in the hen house. I doled out their morning feed and water and using my two cell flashlight scanned their nesting boxes for fresh eggs, grabbed them up and headed out toward the hog lot. Luckily the pig feeders and water troughs were nearly full, so topping them off went rather quickly. Filling of the cow tanks near the barn was the only task yet to complete before I headed back toward the house. I normally didn’t work my chores before sunup in August, but Dad had agreed to take me on my very first squirrel hunt before he went to work this particular morning and I wanted to keep my end of the bargain. Before I could squirrel hunt on my own, Mom required me to have a least one hunt with Dad, so this was a very important day for me.
I could see well enough to cut off the flashlight as I walked back toward the house with my work boots and pant legs now sopping wet with the morning dew. Easing onto the summer kitchen, I noticed a light or two was now on and I could hear Mom and Dad talking quietly over their breakfast coffee. Reaching into the corner behind the old cupboard I pulled out Dad’s Ithaca Model #37 Featherlight 20 Gauge, soaking up the fresh smell of 3-in-1 oil I had just coated it with the night before. I opened the cupboard door and grabbed the new box of Federal High-Power #6 shot shells, just purchased the day before at the Gambles store in town. As I stuffed several shotgun shells in my pocket Dad emerged from the Kitchen and grabbed up the Ithaca, “Let’s go, we ha ... more
“Time Marches On”
By: Jerry Moll
Over 300 years ago Irish, French and English fox and scent hounds were first brought to America by the most affluent settlers of the new world. For centuries the ancestors of these hounds had used in Europe to hunt for fox, deer, rabbit, wolf, and bear. Some say their lineage dated back to hounds used in battle by and against the Great Roman Empire. The majority of these early scent hounds varied tremendously from one to the next in appearance and ability because breeding up to this point had been exercised strictly on ability and performance factors. Distinct from the majority was a running hound being bred “true to type” and consistent in appearance and performance was the English Foxhound. These hounds had been designed specially for their noble sport of foxhunting by English Nobility and to this point had not been available to the average citizen.
Although the more wealthy settlers imported these hounds from Europe for sport and enjoyment, they eventually spread out among the countryside. In the new world anyone could hunt and own hounds and soon the average settler was enjoying fox hunting, the sport of kings. These foxhound packs flourished in Virginia and surrounding areas and gradually moved west into the mountains of West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee before making their way to the South, West and Midwest. The very best foxhounds were bred to the very best foxhounds regardless of color, so the size and color of individual hounds within these newly created packs was wide-ranging. As this process evolved there were hunters who personalized their foxhound pack by selective breeding toward specific color and type, culling those not fitting the profile and not allowing anything outside these specifications to be mixed in. There specific packs were normally given the family name of the breeder or the region in which they lived.
A more pressing need for the average settler in these early days of our country was a dog to assist in making a living and providing for the family. The typical scent hound, foxhound or running dog would simply not fill the bill. These pioneers needed a dog to serve numerous purposes for the household, such as guard dog, livestock protection and putting food on the table by catching game. There was no room for mediocrity with these dogs of high utility, the family simply could not feed a useless dog and they were culled immediately upon this determination. The family farm dog prospered t ... more
“Where Eagles Fly”
By: Jerry Moll
The dawn’s bright sunlight burned my bloodshot eyes as the flight attendants pulled up the window shades and handed out warm lemon scented wash cloths. Each of the 260 passengers were awakening one by one to their multi-lingual morning greetings and the once dark and quiet airplane turned into an intense, hustling and bustling crowd. I had dosed off just a few hours prior while watching the in-flight movie, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s “Sleepless in Seattle” and as I washed my face and tired eyes I can remember thinking how I sure could relate to the sleepless part. While the morning coffee and bagels were being served, they announced we would be touching down in Frankfurt, Germany in just a few minutes. It had been a long nine hour flight from the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Airport but it didn’t seem like we had traveled 4,350 miles, but I guess time flies (pardon the pun) at 37,000 feet and 530 miles per hour.
From the appearance and chatter among the English speaking passengers I concluded most of them were traveling to Europe on business just as I was. The company I worked for at the time had purchased a building site in the small town of Ko³o (pronounced Co-wa) in central Poland to build a manufacturing plant. I was to meet with several companies concerning the architectural design, the purchase of manufacturing equipment and to develop a contemporary plant layout. I was very excited about the assignment, but was more than a little uncomfortable with the situation; I had traveled a good deal for business before, but never outside the continental United States. My flying experience had been limited to several day trips in a co-worker’s single engine Cessna and several longer trips to the western and southwestern U.S. on standard commercial aircraft. This airplane was unlike anything I had experienced; it stretched over 200 feet long with a wing span of 170 feet, weighing in at about 450,000 pounds. On a more personal note, I didn’t like being out of contact with my wife Brenda, her being eight months pregnant and having two-year old Nicholas to care for. As if that all were not enough, it was just a few weeks prior to Christmas 1993 and I really didn’t want to be away, especially more than half the world away.
After an uneventful landing in Frankfurt, we were delayed on the runway for a good while before we were asked to deplane out in the middle of the tarmac. I was unpleasantly surprised when armed guards ushered us ... more
"The Path Less Traveled"
By: Jerry Moll
Jeff’s heart nearly leaped from his chest as he impulsively threw back the covers, jumped out of bed and hit the floor running. What he was running to or from he had no idea, still blurry eyed trying to determine the source of this awakening commotion. “Up and at-em boy, it’s time to get ready for church”, came the stern words of his Mom as she slung open his bedroom door while hurrying about her Sunday morning routine. Jeff had been sleeping like a rock, dead to the world but for only about three hours before this morning reveille call. As he sat back on the edge of the bed pulling up his jeans and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he stopped to reflect upon the events of the past evening and early morning hours. He tried to piece together all that had happened at the Nite Hunt he and his hunting buddy attended, but at this point sorting out all those details was like trying to see through an early morning fog. Jeff eased his way the hall to the bathroom washed his face, brushed his teeth and headed to the kitchen for some breakfast. Now that he was starting to feel somewhat human again his only hope was to stay awake through the preacher’s sermon so he could continue in Mom’s best graces. Hopefully after lunch he could curl up on the couch for an afternoon siesta leaving some time in the evening for catching up on homework before school tomorrow.
It all started at school on Friday when Tommy Neal asked if he wanted to ride down to the Jackson Creek Fox & Coon Club coonhound event on Saturday. Of course Jeff said yes immediately, not wanting to miss a chance at showing off his nice young Redbone female, Dolly. “Sounds good, I’ll pick ya up around 5:30 and we’ll be there in time for the show too, said Tommy as he headed down the hall to biology class. Jeff really appreciated the invite as he was still a year away from having his driver’s license and didn’t have a ride to the Coonhound events without Tommy. Jeff’s Dad had not been very supportive of the Nite Hunts since he had a few coworkers down at the steel mill give him the “low down” on how those things worked. It wasn’t long before he was passing the details along to Jeff about the lying, cheating and bullying that goes on and warning there was no need for him to get caught up in all of that. Jeff really didn’t want to buy into all the negative stuff, he just enjoyed hunting his dog and the idea of meeting new people who had similar interests of Coondogs and Coonhun ... more
"A Slick Treein’ Idiot?"
By: Jerry Moll
Sam was so comfortably snuggled into his old hunting coat with his back against a huge tulip poplar that he had nearly dozed off to the lullaby of the sweet early morning sounds of the woods. Dew drops dripped from the green leaves of the nearby bushes and filled the air with that April Springtime smell as the peepers maintained their constant chorus back and forth between Jackson’s pond and Wilson’s swamp across the ridge. Every now and then a lone gobbler would strike up a cord down in the meadow below Pipe Creek Bridge, but so far his persistence was ignored and unanswered. An unpleasant roaring sound startled Sam as he quickly jumped to his feet, looked at his watch and instinctively reached for his tracking system. Those lulling sounds of the springtime woods had been abruptly interrupted by the roaring sounds of rubber on asphalt as one car then another traveled down the back roads on separate sides of the timber toward the factories in town. Soon these roads would be full of morning travelers in a hurry headed for work and Sam was feeling the urgent need to round Sugar up and get on outta’ there before she became someone’s new hood ornament.
It had been a long night for the pair, starting out at a local coonhound event against a cast of proven winners and seasoned handlers. Sam felt very confident and initially unconcerned despite the obvious competition he was facing. His new prospect, Sugar, had been turning in consistent quality performances out there in the dark alone for the last several weeks. Tonight she had looked up to par early on with two split trees boasting “Rickies” in plain view of all before the wheels completely fell off. For the first forty-five minutes Sam was on cloud nine until his lead completely evaporated due to Sugar scoring 200- on a blank while the remaining dogs in the cast were split with plus points. Sam could not understand how his nice young female could look so good and perform so well, then just have a “stupid attack” right there in the middle of an important nite hunt cast. He wondered what caused her to come up short like that for no apparent reason. Was it something he was doing wrong as a trainer, was Sugar short on ability, short on brains, or was it all a genetic throwback? Sam even wondered if he had one of those “slick treeing idiots” the inexperienced cyber coonhunters banter back and forth about on the coonhound message boards.
As the cast members signed the back of th ... more
“Back Home Again”
By: Jerry Moll
A huge cloud of grey filled the air behind school bus #16 as it bounced along the rarely traveled dirt road past Herb Miller’s field of hand tied corn shocks. Now about half way home on my hour long bus ride, I was getting impatient and anxious to get the trip over with. Trying to pass the time away, I crossed my arms on the back of the seat in front of me for a place to rest my head while making a halfhearted attempt at taking a nap. The nap idea was proving to be quite unsuccessful as the remaining kids on the bus were making quite a commotion. Bob, our bus driver flipped back and forth from Cincinnati radio stations W-L-W and W-S-A-I trying to find something more to his liking. I perked up a little as he caught the end of “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, but after a few more channel selections he seemed to settle on the news. Great! Just what I wanted to hear, more political analysis of President Richard M. Nixon’s resignation a few months prior and his recent unconditional pardon granted by current President, Gerald R. Ford. Luckily Bob switched back over to W-S-A-I just in time for John Denver’s "Back Home Again”, now that was soothing to the ears and I finally started to relax.
It was Friday, November 8th 1974; the opening of coon season here in Indiana and not much else really mattered to me at the time. I truly believe I did not hear a single word spoken to me by a teacher or fellow student this entire day as my mind was 100% focused upon turning my hound loose once it got dark. I had been working hard trying to save money for a hound since the previous winter. Mom and Dad were a little unhappy with me considering the work needing done on the farm; they didn’t want me wasting valuable time and money on an ol’ hound dog. Since I had worked and saved the money on my own, they reluctantly said it was my decision, but I could tell they sure didn’t like it much. Dad reminded me several times that year, “Son if your chores get to slippin’ on account of that dog, he’s gonna’ have to go, that’s all there is to it”. Up to this point everything had been going along smoothly along those lines as I made absolutely sure nothing was left undone. The more I thought about it, I was admittedly unsure how I was going to keep all my chore responsibilities covered and still spend all the time I wanted to in the woods.
I kept my savings folded up in one of those old Prince Albert tobacco tins; you know the red ones that w ... more
“The Good Ol’ Days
By: Jerry Moll
The cigarette smoke obstructed Dale’s vision like an early morning fog as he opened the rusty steel door and stepped in to the Greenbow County Coonhunters Club. He concluded he must be the first one back from the Nite Hunt as the usual guys were still sitting around playing cards or warming themselves by the old pot belly stove. The club cook Henry Petri hollered over from one of the card tables, “Sonny, a man sure hates ta’ get up when he’s a-winnin’, if’n ya need anything from the kitchen, jus’ help yourself and leave the money right there on the counter”. That advice sounded pretty darn good to Dale as he was cold from the night air and getting a might hungry to boot. Taking Henry up on his offer, he stepped back into the kitchen to find a big slow cooker full of chili soup, you know the kind with lots a meat, maters’, plump macaroni, bits of green and red peppers along with several different kinds of beans. Dale filled up a bowl to the brim, poured a styrofoam cup of steaming hot coffee, grabbed some saltine crackers and laid $2.75 on the counter. This night hasn’t turned out half bad after all, he thought to himself as he found a perfect spot to sit down next to the wood stove to warm up and wade into that bowl of beef & bean chili.
Chester McFarland, the coon club’s resident old-timer, was sittin’ there by the stove and noticed Dale at the table eatin’ his chili. Chester says, “hey youngun’ looks like you must not have done to good tonight since your back so early, huh?” Dale, not really wanting to talk about his night, begrudgingly answered, “yeah, I had the big end of two blanks and the other dogs had scored on a coon and felt my chances were pretty darn slim, so I hollered “uncle” and went to the truck.” Chester chuckled a little and said, “yep, them tree dogs are a dime a dozen these days, but a good track dog that’ll have a coon when its treed is scarcer then hens teeth, I tell ya.” Dale grumbled a little as he crushed the remainder of his saltines to spread over his bowl and looked at Chester and said, “you outta’ get ya’ some of this here chili, sure is good”, trying his best to change the subject. Chester not being one to give in that easily, said “I can remember them ol' runnin' dogs Bubba Baker use to raise over on Hoot Owl Flats. Every once in a while one would fall out of the pack and start to treein’, if you’d latch on to one of them, man you had somethin’.
Dale polished off his chili, picked up his ... more
“What You Breed Is What You Get”
By: Jerry Moll
It was an exceptional winter evening to be out in the woods, late January and thirty-five degrees with a soft westerly breeze keeping the tree branches busily smacking each other overhead. Remaining patches of snow lay deep on the north face of each ridge while the south hillsides were thawing and slick from the day’s warming sun. A slab rock creek at the far end of the hollow below produced a continuous roaring sound as the water rushed within its banks from the vast acres of snow melting by the minute. The sky was alive with millions of stars seemingly at arms length and a beautiful crescent moon reminiscent of that huge grin on Alice’s Cheshire Cat.
Being outside in the night air was a welcome change for Harry and Larry and they were enjoying it as well as each other’s company for the first time in several weeks. Old Man Winter had settled in on their corner of Indiana and the two had been confined to their respective homes for quite a while. It had not been fit outside for man nor beast with the daily temperatures bouncing around in the lower teens on the good days and in to the single digits or negative numbers on most nights. But, tonight the duo’s expectations were extremely high with the change in weather and the prospect of running one of those late winter love sick boar coons seemed almost a certainty. As the pair sat on the remains of an old poplar log their two females Flossie and Fannie seemed to be taking turns giving tongue as they struggled on an old track below, working it back and forth over the hillsides about a quarter mile to their east. The gyps could run the track well on the south banks but would stall out and run in circles or back track on the frozen north sides. It seemed they were taking two steps forward and three steps back as the wait on the log grew longer and longer.
Both Harry and Larry had bought these females of “good” lineage with the intention of breeding and raising some nice puppies from them. Their theory was to keep and train the ones they could not sell off the teat and make themselves some extra spending money, maybe even enough to run a few nite hunts in the area. As was the usual case when these two friends got together the discussion soon turned to the philosophical aspects of coonhound breeding. “Ya know Ol’ Flossie ain’t too bright, maybe I’ll just breed her to one of them studs with the dew claws and glass eyes, they say them dogs have the “good stuff” in their backgrou ... more
"Prepare To Win"
By: Jerry Moll
There were but a few numbers remaining on the countdown of Dave’s trusty Timex Ironman™ wrist watch as the knots began building in his stomach. He and his hound Matilda had won their qualifying cast earlier in the evening by treeing the only two coons scored and were now attempting to make through the late round for a berth into the semi-finals. This second cast proved to contain much stiffer competition from both the dog and handler standpoint, but as the cast progressed Matilda had secured the deciding lead. There was just one “minor” issue that was eating at Dave and causing him to squirm in his nylon bibs and shuffle the leaves beneath his Mucks, three minutes were remaining in this cast, but only two minutes left on the stationary rule.
This severe anxiety attack of Dave’s actually stemmed from Matilda’s high point in the cast when she slammed a red hot coon by herself with the other three dogs completely out of pocket. This coon put the duo way out ahead of the pack; nothing could take away the cast win from them, well almost nothing. This one coon had Matilda so excited that she just had to return and tree some more until Dave had to re-tree her only to be handled and re-cast again. The thought of her returning the second time never even crossed Dave’s mind as he strutted through the regulation one minute walk. But return she did and it was the moment of truth, Dave had to tree her now to prevent the scratch. Could she be on a different tree? Would she leave the tree before they arrived? These two unlikely scenarios seemed to be their only possibilities at this point. But, no Matilda was locked down tight; right below the same “Mr. Ricky” that gave her such an impressive lead just moments before. Dave’s heart sank as he snapped the lead on her knowing full well a less capable hound had just won his cast and advanced toward a major title and some major bucks.
The cast members quickly congratulated the winner, signed the scorecard and scattered to the winds in search of their hounds. Meanwhile Dave and Matilda were heading back to the truck, one down in the dumps and one bouncing around as proud as a peacock, just happy to be alive. As Dave walked along he kept asking himself, “How in the world can a dog like this get beat when she’s the best out here”? Dave recounted in his mind the number of nights he hunted her, the coon they had treed, the lost sleep and sometimes the lost work over the last two years. He ... more
"Always Hoe Out Your Row"
By: Jerry Moll
The frost glistened in the moonlight illuminating the green winter wheat as I stepped over the last woven wire fence into the field, now within a quarter mile of her. She had been treed for quite a while and was sounding more convincing with each step I took. The long walk had finally eliminated the chills I had accumulated from waiting while she worked the cold feed track out of the creek bottom and up onto the oak ridge. It was getting up into the morning somewhere after 2:00 am, but the night sky was bright as noon. I believe you could have sat down and read the wall street journal with no additional light. As I looked out over the landscape I took note there was not a cloud in the sky and not a noise to be heard but the rhythmic ringing chop of my hound off in the distance. Immediately I paused and gave thanks to our God for providing such scenery, such an opportunity to be one with nature, just me and my hound.
As far as December nights go, the young gyp and I had started out the evening pretty well, treeing two coons early on before things started to backslide. The afternoon had been overcast and the coons seemed to move right at dark, if not before. Directly after our short lived success the skies began to clear showing a spectacular full moon, followed by the temperature dropping quickly into the low teens. As I continued on my trek toward her I pondered how this next event of our night would set the stage for the next several hours. Would I wind up in bed all warm and cozy like “normal” people, or would we be out here for the duration trying to end the hunt on a good note? I had been working steadily on this female for treeing wrong and depending on what she had to show me in this tree of hers, we could be in for a long night. The idea of leashing her up and heading for the truck regardless of what she had did cross my mind. It was cold and I was tired and boy did that nice warm bed sound good to me. But as the tree line came into sight I could hear Dad’s voice in the back of my head, “always hoe out your row son”, “always hoe out your row”.
What in the world does hoeing rows have to do with coonhunting you might ask? Well, I had somewhat of a unique childhood, growing up on a small Indiana farm the youngest in the family with twelve brothers and sisters. No, this is not a misprint; there were actually thirteen children in our family, six boys and seven girls. The trips to the grocery store much less anywhere else away f ... more
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