The Appleseed Project: History, Character, and Rifles
By all accounts, farmer Samuel Whittemore wasn’t looking for trouble. The 80-year-old veteran of three American wars had fought his battles and earned his peace, settling down in Menotomy, Massachusetts.
Still, on a day made famous for the battles in Lexington and Concord and Paul Revere’s Ride, the grizzled warrior ambushed the Grenadiers of the 47th Regiment from behind a stone wall.
The octogenarian killed one Grenadier with his musket, then drew his dueling pistols and fired, killing two more before the Redcoats overran his position with fixed bayonets. One Grenadier leveled his musket at close range and fired, blasting a .69 caliber musket ball through Whittemore’s cheek. The musket ball tore away part of the old man’s face and threw him violently to the ground. Bleeding profusely from the horrible wound, the old man drew his saber — taken from the body of a French officer more than 30 years before — and fought the Regulars hand-to-hand before falling under the buttstroke of a Grenadier’s Brown Bess. Whittemore was bayoneted 13 times and left for dead in a pool of blood.
Samuel Whittemore would have been the oldest Colonial fatality of the entire Revolutionary War — but he refused to die. Horribly scarred but immensely proud, he lived to 98, as an American citizen.
The home range of the Revolutionary War Veterans Association (RWVA) lies just off the intersection of a pair of narrow country roads, amid the rolling green hills, cattle farms, and forests of Ramseur, North Carolina. Down a gravel path lies a 500-yard centerfire rifle range that stretches from the crest of one hill down through a valley and up the other side. A smaller well-used rimfire rifle range lies just beyond it. At this shorter distance range, I and almost three dozen showed up on a wet and muddy morning last week to learn of our shared American heritage that began on that day in April 19, 1775, through the Appleseed Project.
We were also interested in learning the skills that made Timothy Murphy the most famous marksman of his day and helped create the legend of Morgan’s Riflemen. Sheltered on the firing line from a light rain and threatening thunderstorms, we learned the history of our founders, of the moral choices and civic duty that they knew would be the most important and most fragile elements of liberty. And we fired rifles. A lot.
We fired at “Redcoats” and “sighters” and “AQTs,” or Army Qualification Tests, the scoring of which ultimately determines if you are a “rifleman or a cook.” Most of us fielded some variation of a “liberty training rifle,” which were inexpensive .22LR rimfire semi-automatic rifles retrofitted with Tech-Sights and slings, but Appleseed’s instructor’s aren’t finicky. The RWVA’s instructors believe in teaching you the basic fundamentals of shooting, no matter the rifle, and in reaching the peak of your ability. We saw dozens of .22s in every possible configuration: bolt-action hunting rifles with scopes, high-end AR-15s, and even a 50-caliber muzzleloader on the line — though the latter wasn’t intended to qualify.
When we first fired at our simulated “Redcoat” targets on Saturday, only a little more than half of us managed to put three shots into a a target simulating a Regular 100 yards away — much less the 200, 300, and 400 yard targets. At the end of the day, that same test was repeated: the success rate at the simulated 100 yard target jumped to 96%.
Throughout both days, we alternated shooting with listening to stories of our heritage dating back to the pivotal day in 1775 where Samuel Whittemore and thousands of other colonial militiamen made their mark on history. We watched our instructors as they showed us the fundamentals of marksmanship, and ran us through what they called the “AQT grind,” as we strove to hit the black centers of ever-smaller targets simulating 100, 200, 300, and 400 yard targets from standing, sitting, and prone positions.
Unfortunately, our “liberty” only lasted as long as the Whiskey Rebellion.
But hey, it was a good 5 years before we had to use the military on our own people.
Right.
Because peaceful protest always involves torturing government agents, threatening arson against those who comply with a lawful tax, calling to start a Reign of Terror complete with guillotine, and the government should do nothing in the face of such “peaceful” dissent.
Why in 200 years that could lead to the government breaking up peaceful OWS protesters who are innocently raping each other and dumping human waste on private property or something equally tyrannical like that.
So you are saying that the occupy movement has been around awhile.
I think that one thing that has transformed the country, probably irrevocably, is the transition to “suburbia” and the urban core, making the citizenry ever more dependent upon “government” services, and not necessarily welfare. Just the close cooperation necessary, and pooling of resources necessary to live in close proximity to our neighbors, strips us of much of the self-sufficiency that agrarian or country living demanded. Most in the country hunt, or come from families that do, and even if you don’t, raising livestock as simple as chickens, and managing a large garden that could feed your family gave you a large measure of control over your own survival, if not the vast variety found in modern food stores. Oddly, one of the few places you see this in an urban area are the postage-stamp gardens brimming with “greens”, along with a chicken or two, in black neighborhoods, and likely by the elderly black.
As for the article, how would Americans, as a whole, go about defending their freedom against a domestic or foreign government determined to put them under it’s boot, if not under it’s knife? Would they have the gumption to form up militias to defend themselves? As robust as the gun market has become since Obama’s election, how many sales are to new owners, and how many are to gun owners simply stocking up while the getting is good?
I think a program of rifle handling and marksmanship, coupled with the history lessons that illuminate the value of self-defense, should be requisite for all young people of about 13 to 15 years of age, male and female alike. It would help demystify the firearm, take it out of the realm of video games and movies, and hopefully instill some respect and familiarity with them as a tool, and understanding of its importance in defending yourself, your community, your state, and your nation against a world beyond that isn’t always very nice, and that in many ways would crush us at the first available opportunity.
A program to teach marksmanship amd history to 13-15 year olds would serve a fine purpose.
The most important being knowledge of the type of government we DONT want.
These kids…disciplined, focused, and informed..will grow up immune to “the narrative” forced down their throats in 99% of high schools.
Th real tragedy I’ve seen in my lifetime is not the declining number of “riflemen” willing to make a stand….I think that particular breed is alive and well…the tragedy is the number of people who dont even COMPREHEND what the Second Amendment is, and why its there.
When there is even the slightest “debate” over if it is indeed a RIGHT or not, thats frightening.
We got whupped at Lexington Green…those first standing riflemen were brushed aside….but at least then, the OTHERS knew what it all meant….and knew which side was right.
Not so today….with nearly everyone I know struggling in two-income households to pay the government for the luxury of being alive and (gasp!) daring to own property. You know their plan….instantly demonize even the TALK of defending your rights as “Extremism”, while keeping us stretched so thin with after school child-care and rising taxes, that we have no TIME to get involved.
And if anyone does, they’re freaks, malcontents, racists and worse.
“Dont GET your name on a list, a few days away from work answering bogus charges could cost you your home, and your kids…get rid of those guns, its just not worth the hassle”
They know the first line Riflemen arent going anywhere…its the second and third and fourth line they’ve worked to eliminate for the last 50 years.
Having solid, multiple ranks of patriots waiting in the wings is the key.
Because if that first skirmish line is all you can field, its pretty tempting for the Statists to try and brush them aside
Snake, you are right on the money.
I remember my father telling me that the transition to suburbia was going to change the character of the nation, and not for the better, back in the late 60′s. I was too young to understand what he meant then, but it is glaringly obvious to me now.
And just to make everyone here jealous, I managed to get my hands on a very nice Ruger No.1 in 7mm Rem Mag yesterday. It has a 3×9 Leopold on it and fancy walnut stocks. *Sigh*
Boy Scouts used to do a good job of making boys familiar and comfortable with the outdoors and, at least in more rural areas, shooting was a part of that. Of course, now Scouts have been chased from the schools, school affiliated marksmanship classes and indoor ranges have been closed, even in pro-gun areas on the trumped up danger of lead poisoning, and I can’t remember the last time I saw a Scout in uniform; when I was a kid, we wore them to school on meeting day, we marched in any parades, and presented the colors at sporting events and other public ocassions. I tried to get my stepsons involved but it was too much work and not cool enough.
I’ve never not had guns around. My grandfather’s ’03 Remington rolling block .22 was his constant companion and he was the kind of effortless shot that only one who’s spent a lifetime shooting can be. It finally gave up the ghost in the late ’60s, long after he was gone, as the chamber had just become too worn after all those years and all those deer, rabbits, squirrels, not a few birds, and untold numbers of pigs and cows sent to the smokehouse and, later, freezer. Up until we gave up farming in the early ’60s, if we didn’t grow it or kill it, we didn’t often eat it.
One of the better days of my life was the day in ’74 I sold the two pistols that had been my and my, then, wife’s constant companions in Atlanta and in Seattle bought a Ruger M77 30.06 to take on our trip to Alaska. I’ve never done more hunting here than enough to say I’ve done it and, frankly, I like a nice beef steak from the grocery store a whole Helluva lot better than I like moose or caribou. When I lived in Southeast Alaska, the only hunting was for tiny Sitka Black-tail Deer, which looked like you’d killed somebody’s dog when they were dressed, and Brown Bears. I never had any interest in hunting bear, but one hunted me once and it dropped about ten feet from me from the fourth of the five rounds of 12 ga. 00, I had in my Remington 870. Until then, I thought I’d been scared a time or two. I sold that 870 to a friend because I needed a boat gun and a saltwater boat is a horrible place for a nice blued gun with wooden furniture, so a marine finish Mossberg 500 with polymer furniture took its place. Don’t have the boat anymore, but I still have the Mossy, with a Blackhawk recoil absorbing stock so my wife’s more comfortable with it, and it also has a light. It is my “designated” home defense weapon and is always beside the bed loaded with #8 shot; I live in a suburban neighborhood and have no interest in tearing up my neighbors’ houses and maybe persons with buckshot or slugs, those are for rural areas only because of the overpenetration dangers. At home DEFENSE ranges, heavy birdshot is plenty lethal.
Alaska is a “carry unless prohibited” state, so anywhere you go in urban Alaska, the odds are pretty good that somebody in your field of vision is carrying a concealed handgun. My one and only “modern” handgun is an Interarms production Walther PPK/S in .380 that I rarely carry. I have a nice Galco “Miami Vice” shoulder holster for when I do carry it. I carried a lot back when I was still working because, amazingly, there were some people who didn’t like me.
My SHTF weapons are, of course, the Mossy and a couple of .22s and a Ruger Mini-14 in .223 that has been tweaked and modified about as far as you legally can even here. I’d be imprisoned for life if not executed on the spot for having that thing in a more “civilized” state. And my Obama Commemorative Gun bought solely as a reflection of the times in which we live is a Saiga 12 gauge, essentially an AK-47 in 12 guage, as heavily modified as is arguably legal. It is useless as a “sporting” weapon but if you have a good stock of 10 round magazines, it is very effective should one need to repell an attack by zombies or feral humans.
Art, I wish I had some neighbors like you, you would be a welcome addition to my “when the SHTF” planning sessions.
I suspect ALL of my neighbors except the hippies across the street with the Obama sticker on their car are well armed. I have Molon Labe in Greek letters on the back window of my truck and one of the hippies asked me if it was a fraternity; easy to see why they have an Obama sticker.
People here are well aware that once they leave town, they are NOT the top of the food chain so most everybody out camping, fishing, and such is armed. Lots of the macho boys like big, openly carried handguns as “bear insurance,” but I don’t. As I heard a gun store clerk once tell a guy wanting to buy a pistol for bear insurance, “be sure to get the special one with the rubber hammer so it won’t hurt so bad when the bear takes it away and shoves it up your a**.” 12 guage pump shotguns are bear insurance and some even have 10 ga. shotties, but they’re too nasty for my taste. The Mossberg has little perceptible recoil because of the recoil absorbing stock, but it does have a good bit of rise; there’s a muzzle brake in its future. The Saiga is another matter; it will beat Hell out of you. It really only likes 3″ shells, and banging out a few ten round mags at the range will tenderize your shoulder. I’m a wuss about it and have one of those Browning tee shirts with the recoil pad built in and it still beats me up.
I just got to say I have enjoyed Mossberg 12g for 35 yearsand will not change to any other shotgun,
If not for Boy Scouts, I may never have laid hands on a gun in my life. My father grew up in a big city and never met a liberal cause he couldn’t embrace. My mother, while politically conservative, hasn’t touched a gun since childhood, if ever. Obviously there were no guns in our home.
However, Boy Scouts was a big part of my teenage years. As part of that, my friend’s father took the two of us shooting to earn our riflery merit badge. I learned how to shoot a gun and how to handle it safely. I also learned the truth about many of the gun myths I had been brought up believing.
Largely because of that one experience, I am now the proud owner of three firearms with plans for many more acquisitions. My daughters will grow up knowing how to safely handle and effectively use guns of all different types.
The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) was started as a national program to train those who would be members of state militias and potential regular soldiers in firearm-handling skills. The CMP program began with the support of the US Army, which recognized that the Civil War conscripts had atrocious marksmanship skills and required a great deal of training and large amounts of expensive lead to deliver a bullet on target. The CMP program has been active ever since, providing marksmanship training long before there was an NRA. The CMP program has state and national meets regularly during the year requiring the use of match grade M1 Garand rifles made available to qualified participants in the program from the US Army arsenals cycling out WWII surplus stock. The rifles stopped being made available after the election of Hussein…
And don’t forget about our naval heritage during the Revolutionary War. This nation was built on the sea and we have much to be proud of when remembering how we took on the British, who were considered “unbeatable” on the oceans. In fact. on my blog I recently wrote about the exploits of John Paul Jones on board the Bonhomme Richard and his memorable battle with HMS Serapis. You can read more about it here: http://navalwarfare.blogspot.com/2012/03/bonhomme-richard.html
We have much to be proud of, both on land AND sea. I just hope future generations of Americans remember that. In the near future, we may once again need people like Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, AND John Paul Jones.
“we may once again need people like Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, AND John Paul Jones.”
We have them, but sadly they are not the posers who hold office now. I personally know two guys with at least the right traits….but one is in industry and one holds a local office. Above the parish level, all the office holders I have met had used-car-salesmen personalities. I suspect when the hour of need arrives, the right ones will step up and sweep aside the posers.
Many states have taken the step of statutorily establishing both a militia and a naval militia as a good defense against gun grabbers. When I still had a boat I gave joining the naval militia to see if I could angle some way to expense it off; with the price of gas in ’08, you’d consider most anything to help you afford a twin-engined gas boat. Anyway, all I found was the authorization for it in statute but no structure and I didn’t feel like becoming the architect of the Alaska Navy. But if you have a boat and your state has a provision for a naval militia, you could probably be an admiral.
Sounds fantastic. I can’t wait to attend one of these events!
I have very basic skills and am still a decent shot since I first picked up a rifle in the Boy Scouts over 20 years ago, but I really have a sinking feeling I’m nowhere near as good as I think I am.
It’d be nice to have proper marksmanship drilled in.
Regardless of how long or what type of shooting you regularly do, I highly recommend the Appleseed events. I absolutely recommend attending as a family. Whatever you’re current skill level, you will find something to improve and the history “that isn’t taught in school” is priceless. I took my boys a couple of years ago, and both earned their Rifleman. More important is the history they learned which allows them to challenge the revisionist narrative that is taught in our schools.
The Appleseed program is very active here in Colorado. We had a presentation about it at a 9-12 meeting weeks back. At first I thought it was an odd combination of activities, but it made more sense as the presenter spoke and her earnest enthusiasm was infectious. It’s on our agenda for next month.
As an Orange hat instructor in a completely different state, thanks for the great write up on The Appleseed Project. I,like many of us, started byjust wanting to learn to shoot better and found out that we wanted to help make ourselves and our country better. Teaching people that they can be self reliant through marksmanship training and teaching the real history of the sacrifices of the men and women, like Samuel Whittemore give me real hope that we can turn this country around before its too late.
Excellent article. I’ve been interested in attending Appleseed for a while now. It’s been hard saving up to get the equipment, finding places nearby that host these events and finding a weekend I can free up to get there. It’s one of my goals for 2012.
Call ahead – the one we attended had loaner equipment and I know at least one family who was invited to “come even if you can’t contribute” – youth were free.
At our local events, men pay $70 for the weekend and kids and women shoot for free. An equitable arrangement, I’d say.
Excellent article! Learning rifle marksmanship and the History of April 19th 1775 has been a wonderful journey for me. I started out 3 yrs ago not knowing much about either one and now I am an Appleseed Instructor and shoot well, thanks to Appleseed instruction.
It is wonderful not only instructing and telling the history, but meeting Americans from all walks of life and reigniting the spark of true patriotism and passion for this great country of ours in them.
Thank you for writing a accurately descriptive article about a typical Appleseed weekend. Appleseed shoots can be found in each of the 50 states. http://www.appleseedinfo.org
Hope to meet some of the readers out on the Appleseed Trail!!!
Patriot Gal
Appleseed Instructor/Shoot Boss
The Appleseed program is highly recommended. You’ll learn to shoot like a rifleman and you’ll get a historical perspective that’s hard to come by elsewhere. You’ll emerge from an Appleseed weekend with a different attitude and a confidence that you may not have had before. I guarantee you, it’s the best weekend you’ll ever spend. And, you’ll never meet a nicer, friendlier bunch of people.
Now, I thought myself a pretty decent shot, but I was quickly disabused of that notion at my first Appleseed. But by God and John Moses Browning, I quickly corrected my errors and made Rifleman on my second event. Discovered that I have excellent trigger control, but that it took a bit of effort to discover and settle into my NPOA, or Natural Point Of Aim. Burned bwtween 360 and 400 rounds of .308 in my FN FAL on those weekends. This summer, I want to hit the Appleseed field with my NM Garand. 30.06 ammo isn’t cheap, but that rifle shoots way better than I can.
A few notes:
1. Bring elbow and knee pads, especially if you’re a bit older. You’re going to be spending a lot of time prone and on your knees. You’re going to be spending some time transitioning from prone to standing and back to prone. I’ve made sure that elbow and knee pads are part of my 72 hour kit.
2. Bifocals can cause some funny front sight acquisition and focus issues. I’ve since gone to single vision sunglasses, and my shooting is much improved. Might be different for others, but it works for me.
3. Yes, you can shoot the course with a .22, and many did. It’s a good, inexpensive way to start, as the principles are the same for any long arm. But, as one of the instructors pointed out, you can’t defend liberty with a .22.
4. Make sure that the rifle you bring has a sling. Proper use of a sling will make an astonishing difference in terms of proper hold. I’d always used one, but I learned how to really use one there.
5. Don’t stop at one event. I try to attend each Appleseed that comes to my area. Shooting’s a perishable skill, and you must keep it up. No sense sitting on a big pile of ammunition if you can’t make effective use of it.
6. Turn your ammunition into skill. You can buy the ‘Redcoat’ targets cheap from the Appleseed folks. If you don’t have a full weekend or you don’t want to wait for another Appleseed event to come to your area, you can always practice the drills on your own or with friends.
7. Spread the word. Take your friends on a no-pressure day at the range and pass out some of the Redcoat targets. Get the conversation going and sooner or later, invite them to an Appleseed.
Perhaps I’ll see one of you there.
“But, as one of the instructors pointed out, you can’t defend liberty with a .22.”
I dunno about that; I think a nice Ruger 10-22 with a scope and a silencer would enable me to do a LOT of that defending liberty stuff.
You have a point there, Art – I certainly don’t disagree with that. I tend to view such arrangements more as ‘special applications / special purpose’ – and it’s not difficult to see what that might apply. I’m fortunate that all it takes in my state is a $200 tax stamp and a friendly nod from the local sheriff to obtain a suppressor. In a SHTF scenario, I’ll probably not bother with the niceties of stamps and approvals.
Having said that, if I really want to punch holes in things, I’ll pick up the FAL or the Garand. One shot per customer, and everyone gets a turn.
I don’t have a .3n or bigger rifle right now. Somebody broke into my truck and stole my trusty M77. I kinda have my mind on a .308 because I want something with some real penetrating power, something the Mini-14 doesn’t really have. I have a SHTF strategy that will enable me, my wife, and our two kids and two grandkids to live with no outside assistance and no additional supplies for two weeks and to be able to defend ourselves as necessary. Anything from a West Coast dock strike to a major earthquake/tsunami to a NoKor submarine in the North Pacific shipping routes would put Alaskans completely on their own for some time, and grocery store shelves would empty immediately and prices would skyrocket. I want to give us two weeks or so of safety on our own so that civil authority could restore order.
The only end of the World as we know it strategy I have is to try to see it coming in time to get the Hell out of Alaska and to some place where food is more readily available and the climate isn’t so dangerous. This land mass never supported more than a few tens of thousands of people, mostly at a VERY primitive level other than the Indians of Southeast Alaska, which is a much more abundant area. Alaska has close to 750,000 people, about 700,000 of whom will be dead in a year if forced to live on their own from the resources here.
Heh, as chance would have it I have a used Weatherby Deluxe in 270 Weatherby magnum on lay away right now. It is a Japan made model with the 4-9 Weatherby scope. A couple stock dings but everything else is a-ok.
Cost: $650.00 add taxes and the grand total is $705.00.
I can’t wait to take it to the range and stretch out to 1000 yrds. Should be fun! Looks like I will have to take up reloading.
Nice gun. Buddy of mine had a .458 Weatherby, thirty-odd years ago. Lord what a weapon! There’s a reason the ammo boxes had elephants on them. Beautifully made, just a piece of mechanical art. Kicked like a mule!
I’m looking at a .308, maybe even as much as a .375. I want something that will penetrate an unarmored vehicle with absolute certainty and which will penetrate most soft body armor; it ain’t just the good guys wearing armor anymore and one Helluva lot of military armor complete with the ceramic plates has been sent home by soldiers in the last decade.
I have things pretty well ordered for any likely situation, but should things get really hungry and disorderly, anyone who seems to have “stuff” is at risk, so I want to have some capability to resist the “crew” that shows up in the SUV with over-tinted windows and 22s – like put a round through the radiator and into the block of that SUV and then several rounds into the passenger compartment.
Hope I never have to do any of this stuff, but I’d rather plan and prepare and never need the plan or the preparation than face the opposite situation. I owe it to my family to do all I can to provide for their welfare. I also have two kids in Seattle, but I can’t do anything for them except give them advice, which SEA being SEA, they’re not always very accepting of.
Happiness is a belt fed weapon.
Yeah, but those belt feds are hard to come by and the Feds know where every damned one of them is.
Back to .22s, some outfit is making what is essentially a two barrel Gatling gun using two Ruger 10-22s. The design and the kit is for it being hand cranked using two 50 rd. mags. I’m thinking a R/C airplane electric starter would really get an impressive weight of fire out of that thing, but that would be illegal and nobody I know would want to do anything illegal.
Greetings:
I grew up in the Bronx of the last ’50s and ’60s but was fortunate to be in a family that had a summer bungalow about 60 miles north in Putnam County. Thus, I had the benefit of both an urban culture and a country culture.
Spending summers upstate, my friends were country boys, used to going into the woods, camping overnight, and having our days to ourselves with no threat of nearby adult supervision. Before long, I wanted to acquire the local accoutrements, guns and knives being my highest priorities.
My city-girl mother wasn’t having any of it; my father, born in Ireland and a WWII graduate, quickly became my only chance for a successful acquisition. Initially, I separated him from his “war-knife” and subsequently began working on him for a 22 caliber rifle. When my mother found out that my father was having me join a gun club in preparation for my new tool, he and my mother had an intensive dinner time discussion about the appropriateness of a relative youngster having his own firearm.
My mother insisted that this was no way to raise a child. My father’s conclusionary statement was “I’m not raising a child; I’m raising a man.”
My wife and I have been hosting Appleseed shoots on our property for the last three years. The most amazing thing to me is the vast difference in the backgrounds of the people who attend. We get active duty military, policemen, kids, never shot a gun before, single women, married couples, older individuals and people of liberal leanings.
And, everyone has a great time and learns to shoot and learns real American history.
Attend an Appleseed near you!
11B40,
God Bless your Dad.
I second that. From a 95B20.
Appleseeds are *awesome* – and it sounds like yours was exceptionally cool!
(Five hundred yards, eight inch target? Criminy!)
Thanks for writing it up – I hope your friends have a great time at the next one.
Awesome article, love the history at the start.
I have always been a firm believer in teaching the four “R’s”… Readin’, Ritin’, Rithmatic’ and Riflin’.
Bob,
Thanks, for this excellent retelling of history and of your own experience at an Appleseed. I have attended two and am still working toward my Rifleman patch. I’ve enjoyed the camraderie as well as the opportunity to improve my rifle skills and learn a little more about my country’s founding. You can get an idea of what the weekend’s like by viewing this short video at my website http://www.dianereid.com/appleseed
CIVLAKFLT
Bob,
Thanks, for this excellent retelling of history and of your own experience at an Appleseed. I have attended two and am still working toward my Rifleman patch. I’ve enjoyed the camraderie as well as the opportunity to improve my rifle skills and learn a little more about my country’s founding. You can get an idea of what the weekend’s like by viewing this short video at my website http://www.dianereid.com/appleseed
Growing up in a Michigan farm family that did a lot of deer hunting and rabbit – pheasant and quail hunting – the noticeable departure from ‘living with the land’ increased as the family grew apart and moved closer to the work centers in the suburbs.
The one facet of being comfortable with ‘mother nature’ that stayed strong with me as the family became more ‘citified’ was my membership in the ‘scouting movement’!
Shooting was almost part of the family gene pool – but most appreciated from my childhood was the ability to be absolutely comfortable in a forest environment and this I credit to my years as a Boy Scout.
I had military basic training in the red dirt country of Missouri – and while some of the trees and green ground growth were strange to a Michigander – the night sounds of insects – birds and animals made for a peaceful night – peaceful night for one with a Boy Scout background. It was the guys from the big coastal cities that had no knowledge of forest lore – that couldn’t sleep in night maneuvers due to strange sounds or the discomfort of sleeping on rough ground!
Knowing how to make a softer sleeping surface with a few pine boughs – or knowing that the screech of a barn owl is not the sound of a hungry Black Bear certainly helps in the adjustment to military life or to life in general!
An understanding of truth and honesty are part of the Scouting program that would stand all Americans in good stead today!