An Outdoorsman’s Journal Florence/Northwoods Chapter of KAMOFLATER’S RESORT - couriersentinel_20261029_ccs-2026-10-29-a-011_art_3.xml
Call 715-861-4414
An Outdoorsman’s Journal By Mark Walters Florence/Northwoods Chapter of KAMO Hello friends, I woke up on a frozen lake, March 1, 2007, near Mellen, after winter camping, for two nights, and drove in a heavy snowfall, to the Florence Resource Center, where I would meet Mick Milner, Terry Steber and Dwaine Drewa, for the first time. My lifelong buddy, Jeff Moll, was also there and this would be our first meeting, along with several other people, for what would become Kids And Mentors Outdoors (KAMO). We had no idea what we were doing, but along with people in two other communities in Wisconsin, we figured it out. Saturday, Oct. 17 • High 64, Low 30 Some of the KAMO kids of the Northwoods chapter, after a positive day, at Shady Game Farm, near Florence. I stayed at the Northwoods chapter of KAMO’s president Johnny Johnson’s home, last night, and we had a very nice experience at a great bar, with top notch food. This morning, I would meet the gang, at Shady Game Farm, along with about 10 other KAMO members and we would hold the 20th Shady Farm Extravaganza, as Mr. Milner, “past president,” would call this hunt and it was a very, very cool experience for the 16 young hunters and all the volunteers, who pull this operation off. Shady Farm is owned and operated, for the last 40 years, by Howard Reed, and is a very large tract of forest and field, that is a pretty cool place to spend a few hours, chasing pheasant. On a side note, it looked like Father Time might put Shady Farm to sleep; good news, Stephen Sigg is taking over and will do some renovations, and that was very good news, for a lot of people today. Our day started out with Mr. Johnson, who I have found out is Mr. Volunteer, who is a timber procurement forester a long-time Florence fireman, brand new hunter safety instructor, welcoming everyone and giving the day’s plan. The 16 young hunters would go through a safety class, that was given by Jon Niggeling and Tony Erickson, and what these two men would do, was very cool. Each hunter would have to shoot several clay pigeons, before they could hunt and after each young hunter’s pheasant experience, they went back and shot more clay pigeons. By day’s end, 1,600 shells had been fired. Dan Moore, who has a cabin on Lake Emily, was here for the experience, with his German short hair, Darcy, to assist, and Dan Labeske, who is from Chassel, Mich., was here with eight kids and his German short hair, Echo. Dan and his young hunters are very proud members of the Ottawa Sportsmen Club, and he put in a heck of a day. Dan has a prosthetic leg, from the knee down and in no way, did he let that slow him down, in helping the 16 kids, who were all very anxious to harvest a pheasant. For me, this was a day of shooting the jaw, with old friends, as well as new and it was as cool as it gets, talking to the kids, and seeing how respectful each and every one of them was. Each experience consists of a hunter, a dog runner, Mr. Moll taking pictures and two wingers backing up the kids, if they missed. There was some missing, there were a lot of pheasant that are now in Heaven and a lot of laughter, on a beautiful sunny day in the Northwoods. After 16 hunts, the kids were fed elk chili, hamburgers and brats, and they were also taught how to butcher their pheasant. I have to tell you, watching my old and new friends, watching 24-year-old Blake Mclain, who was a KAMO kid who now is a KAMO mentor, this was a day worth more than I can describe. This gang of men and women, led by Johnny, get it done and in this region of the world, KAMO is extremely popular and everyone is thankful to all the donors, who keep it going. Join a chapter, start a chapter, check us out! (kamokids. org) Sunset P.S. There were a lot of very cool helpers, who I did not mention and simply do not have the space to, like Tom Jonet, Randy Foltz, Linda Henry, etc., etc. FLATER’S RESORT Where the Chippewa & Flambeau Rivers Meet Advertise Here! Call 715-861-4414 581 Advertise Here! Call 715-861-4414 Joe Flater, owner Cadott • Cornell • Lake Holcombe Your Hometown Newspaper www.flatersresort.com 270 N. Cty. E, Holcombe, Wis. 715-861-4414 715-595-4771 www.centralwinews.com Open Year-around | Bar w/food | Gas | Cabins An Outdoorsman’s Journal By Mark Walters Florence/Northwoods Chapter of KAMO Hello friends, I woke up on a frozen lake, March 1, 2007, near Mellen, after winter camping, for two nights, and drove in a heavy snowfall, to the Florence Resource Center, where I would meet Mick Milner, Terry Steber and Dwaine Drewa, for the first time. My lifelong buddy, Jeff Moll, was also there and this would be our first meeting, along with several other people, for what would become Kids And Mentors Outdoors (KAMO). We had no idea what we were doing, but along with people in two other communities in Wisconsin, we figured it out. Saturday, Oct. 17 • High 64, Low 30 Some of the KAMO kids of the Northwoods chapter, after a positive day, at Shady Game Farm, near Florence. I stayed at the Northwoods chapter of KAMO’s president Johnny Johnson’s home, last night, and we had a very nice experience at a great bar, with top notch food. This morning, I would meet the gang, at Shady Game Farm, along with about 10 other KAMO members and we would hold the 20th Shady Farm Extravaganza, as Mr. Milner, “past president,” would call this hunt and it was a very, very cool experience for the 16 young hunters and all the volunteers, who pull this operation off. Shady Farm is owned and operated, for the last 40 years, by Howard Reed, and is a very large tract of forest and field, that is a pretty cool place to spend a few hours, chasing pheasant. On a side note, it looked like Father Time might put Shady Farm to sleep; good news, Stephen Sigg is taking over and will do some renovations, and that was very good news, for a lot of people today. Our day started out with Mr. Johnson, who I have found out is Mr. Volunteer, who is a timber procurement forester a long-time Florence fireman, brand new hunter safety instructor, welcoming everyone and giving the day’s plan. The 16 young hunters would go through a safety class, that was given by Jon Niggeling and Tony Erickson, and what these two men would do, was very cool. Each hunter would have to shoot several clay pigeons, before they could hunt and after each young hunter’s pheasant experience, they went back and shot more clay pigeons. By day’s end, 1,600 shells had been fired. Dan Moore, who has a cabin on Lake Emily, was here for the experience, with his German short hair, Darcy, to assist, and Dan Labeske, who is from Chassel, Mich., was here with eight kids and his German short hair, Echo. Dan and his young hunters are very proud members of the Ottawa Sportsmen Club, and he put in a heck of a day. Dan has a prosthetic leg, from the knee down and in no way, did he let that slow him down, in helping the 16 kids, who were all very anxious to harvest a pheasant. For me, this was a day of shooting the jaw, with old friends, as well as new and it was as cool as it gets, talking to the kids, and seeing how respectful each and every one of them was. Each experience consists of a hunter, a dog runner, Mr. Moll taking pictures and two wingers backing up the kids, if they missed. There was some missing, there were a lot of pheasant that are now in Heaven and a lot of laughter, on a beautiful sunny day in the Northwoods. After 16 hunts, the kids were fed elk chili, hamburgers and brats, and they were also taught how to butcher their pheasant. I have to tell you, watching my old and new friends, watching 24-year-old Blake Mclain, who was a KAMO kid who now is a KAMO mentor, this was a day worth more than I can describe. This gang of men and women, led by Johnny, get it done and in this region of the world, KAMO is extremely popular and everyone is thankful to all the donors, who keep it going. Join a chapter, start a chapter, check us out! (kamokids. org) Sunset P.S. There were a lot of very cool helpers, who I did not mention and simply do not have the space to, like Tom Jonet, Randy Foltz, Linda Henry, etc., etc. FLATER’S RESORT Where the Chippewa & Flambeau Rivers Meet Advertise Here! Call 715-861-4414 581 Advertise Here! Call 715-861-4414 Joe Flater, owner Cadott • Cornell • Lake Holcombe Your Hometown Newspaper www.flatersresort.com 270 N. Cty. E, Holcombe, Wis. 715-861-4414 715-595-4771 www.centralwinews.com Open Year-around | Bar w/food | Gas | Cabins
Medford defensive back Colton Soczka is the first to arrive in an attempt to tackle Fox Valley Lutheran receiver Joona Tuominen on a 10-yard reception during the first quarter of Friday’s 42-7 loss to the Foxes. MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS
Gilman’s Logan Halida avoids an Athens tackler during a first-quarter punt return. This return, unfortunately, ended with the Pirates being penalized. Halida’s next punt return later in the quarter went for a 34-yard touchdown and a 22-0 lead. ALEX WILSON/THE STAR NEWS
The Medford Raiders celebrate after scoring the last point in their comeback from a 2-0 deficit at Merrill in Thursday’s WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal. The Raiders also were down 11-6 in game five, which they won 17-15. On the court for the final point were Avery Losiewicz, Olivia Schaefer (18), Lexi Semrau (9), Bridget Wesle, Kayla Baumgartner and Eve Wojcik. MATT FREY/THE STAR NEWS
