| By Bob Weaver 2001
The Bear Fork Hunting Club with lots of family members and guests
chowed down on
wild animal meat with lots of fixins' last night at the Arnoldsburg
Community Center.
The 300 member organization held their tenth annual Critter Dinner and
people came
from everywhere. The menu often features everything from bear to moose
meat.
A spread of wild meat
250 attend Critter Dinner
The current hunting club, which is private, leases 13,500 acres of the
Bear Fork
backwoods, written about in a ten part series in The Hur Herald.
Bryan Hastewell (L) originally from Australia, now from Frozen Run
chats with Pres. Charlie McKown
The highlight of the evening was the performance of Johnny Staats and
his group.
Staats, according to several people attending the dinner, is "the best
mandolin player
they have ever heard." At least three local people play in his
Delivery Boys band,
including Bobby Vaughan from Grantsville, Roger Bush from Big Springs
and Robert
Shaffer from Roane County. Staats has been able to cut a record deal
with a major
label and "country music eyes are on him in Nashville," according to a
fan.
Johnny Staats and The Delivery Boys under the red light
The Bear Fork Hunting Club actually goes back over 100 years, but has
been
reorganized at least twice since. The current group has a history
starting in 1984,
according to President Charles McKown. Current officers include Dip
Mace, vice
president; Mike Reip, secretary and Lee Reip, treasurer. Some members
of the Board
include Mike Marks, Gary Laughlin, Terry Willis, Richard Parsons and
Ding Altizer.
The club sponsors several family activities throughout the year,
including a black
powder shoot, shooting matches and a pig roast on Labor Day. "Many of
the things we
do are for the kids," said McKown. "We also stock trout in Bear
Fork."
McKown says there really are bear in Bear Fork. He thinks about a
dozen.
"We like the music"
A bunch of critters
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