Middle River Veteran’s Outdoors Sponsors
Once again, some very lucky military veterans had the pleasure and excitement to experience a deer hunt in the Middle River area. The event was organized and hosted by the Middle River Veterans Outdoors. Randy Larson leads this event, with what he says and is thankful for, LOTS of help from Elroy Aune, Trevor Berg, Jason Cervantes, Mike Brazier, Tyler Aune, and Austin Aune. Kyle Arola, Thief Lake wildlife manager, also helped with organizing the hunt.
The hunters, traveling on their own from throughout the state, arrived at American Legion Post 444 in Middle River on Thursday, October 10, and enjoyed a delicious supper served by the Middle River Auxiliary as they all got acquainted. There were four new faces to the group with the rest of them also participating 2 years ago.Following the meal, they went over the ground rules for the weekend and explained what the weekend would consist of. They proceeded to check in at the Middle River Legacy Center AirBNB and left for their first hunt in the afternoon.
u The following morning, they were up bright and early and traveled to the Elroy Aune farm which would serve as their main headquarters. Following breakfast and grabbing a bag lunch, the guest hunters were brought to their assigned hunting areas which were provided by land owners Jeff Kezar, John Orpen, Elroy Aune, Joe Melby, Jake Efta, Carolyn Johnson, and Mark Horien. Hunters were transported to their assigned hunting area with a Ranger provided by Hubert’s of Thief River Falls. There were 11 hunters in the group with 10 of the lucky ones bagging a deer by the end of the hunt. However, one of the hunters downed 2 deer with one shot so that made 11 for 11! Middle River Veterans Outdoors is very proud to say that their organization receives a lot of positive feedback on the abundance of deer bagged each year and the quality of their hunt.
The evenings were spent visiting and enjoying each other’s company. Even though the age of the hunters ranged from 29 to 77, their close bond from life’s experiences was obvious. They were members of all branches of the military where they served both Foreign and Domestic service. Gary Guggenberger of Bemidji shared his story of being a POW in Vietnam. Check out Gary Guggenberger’s story on YouTube.
Veteran Arlon Gilk provided a special meal for the group on Friday evening as he served fresh boiled shrimp in seasoned water, topped off with potatoes and carrots. All other food and lunches were prepared and served by Connie and Joe Savageau.
The work of field dressing the deer, removing the bones, and preparing them for the trip home was taken care of by the Middle River Veterans Outdoors committee. “Not all veterans have the opportunity to hunt deer,” said Randy. “This event facilitates the opportunity for avid hunters as well as those who have never hunted and provides fresh venison for their return home.”
All the hunters reminisced on the past four days of beautiful weather, great food, a good hunt, and most importantly the special comradery they shared with fellow veterans and the committee that made the experience possible.
Randy summed up the experience with, “It is a pleasure and an honor to be able to look at these smiling faces at night and I am so glad to give back to those who have given so much.”
He would also like to give a huge recognition and thank you to the Elroy Aune family who hosted the event at their farm.
