[TARNATION !!!]

Dad passed in 2004. He used his VH for many years and so have I. I have been going through some neglected piles of his stuff lately. Technically, the hunting referred to was with a Janssen Sons & Co 12 ga and a Winchester 30.30 but given a VH eventually became involved I'm taking the liberty of sharing here rather than off topic.

What I came across was sort of a poem he wrote to his sister on the occasion of her 50th wedding anniversary in 1982. He wrote of the early days of the 1930's. I'll only copy the portion regarding hunting, just beyond the log cabin home in northern Saskatchewan.

There was no electricity - just coal oil lamps or a lantern bright
... and yet that log cabin at night
Looked like a palace shimmering under the aurora borealis bright.

Much food was gleaned from the wild.
Blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries, Saskatoons
All Mother Nature could yield;
Fish, ptarmigan, spruce and rough grouse, ducks, geese and moose,
Deer both mule and whitetail or elk on the loose.
Food.... it was there for the taking.

That was Dad's world and he never really left it in his mind even when he lived in the city. Pretty clear why I became a hunter, being raised by this man and being allowed to carry the Parker VH as gun bearer prior to being old enough for my own licence.

I have slowed up and just chase upland now. Even though I have a few nice doubles these days, Dad's VH remains pretty special. I passed along the octagon barreled '94 to a deserving young hunter.

Cheers,
Jack