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Note: Latest news items are posted in reverse order. The most recent posting will be at the top of this page.
To see the latest trail camera photos and videos, click the link on this page.
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5-5-08 Happy "Cinco de Mayo", a festive time here in Texas. Texans from whichever group are eager to help anyone celebrate a special date, so long as there is plenty of beer and bar-b-que. We don't discriminate either - just find the party on St. Patrick's Day, June-teenth, or Cinco de Mayo.
As our gift to the memory of the day, we offer the design of the "Turkey Transportation" system invented and created by our recent hunter from Picayune, MS - Tim Kellar.
Tim probably has 150 + lifetime birds to his credit, and you can bet a hunter with that level of experience often found himself miles and miles into the woods with a heavy gobbler to carry back to the truck. So being a clever innovator, Tim came up with a nifty device to make this burden lighter. The photos below will show you how Tim says it is done. |
4-28-08 We continue to receive great photographs taken by visiting turkey hunters this spring. The following set of pictures were collected April 18-21 by David Harp and his trusty Canon 40 D.
We are indebted to those who furnish us with photos of their time with us. Hunters see many, many things of interest while they are here. With a digital camera's almost unlimited storage, a photographer can fire away without worrying about the expense of developing film into photographs. Every now and then, a spectacular photo will turn up in a collection. We always are interested in what interests our hunters.
David's photos are posted below in a slide show format. |
4-25-08 As he promised to do, Kevin Miles (from the Great State of Kentucky), sent a collection of photos he gathered while hunting at the Mustang Ranch Camp the first few days of the season.
He gave each photo a title. Just click on each photo to read Kevin's comment on what the photo is showing.
We are happy to post photos taken by our hunters. Kevin's efforts will give you a good sense of what you will see on a hunting trip to the Mustang Ranch Camp. |
4-15-08 It is always a treat when one of our hunters takes time to send photos collected on his/her recent visit with us. The reason: we just never know what hunters see that might be worthy of being photographed. And, indeed, often visitors see things about West Texas that we locals either don't notice or take for granted. So we love it when our hunters send photos.
John Hungerpiller was here hunting turkeys recently. Shown below are some images he collected while here. Thanks, John - we appreaciate your sharing these photos. |
1-21-08 When the 2007 season is finally completed in about a week, we will be publishing our first-ever e-mail newsletter. It will contain a summary of the season and will have photos of the best bucks taken by our hunters at all our camps.
If you would like receive this e-mail, and if you are pretty sure we don't have your e-mail address, send us an e-mail to let us know. We'll get this new cyber-publication headed your way around the first of the month. |
1-10-08 With airline luggage restrictions being what they are, hunters who travel here by plane simply cannot take all their deer meat home with them. Oh sure, they can get about 50 lbs. of the better cuts into a fifty-quart cooler, but if they have taken a buck and three does on their hunt, we are often asked what happens to left-over deer meat? Good question, and it's about time we detailed the process on this website.
Perry Rollins, a long time friend of ours, takes deer meat out to the El Paso area (about 400 miles from here) and donates it to a couple of orphanages over the border in Mexico. When the freezers in our skinning shed get crammed with left over meat, we'll give Perry a call and he'll show up pronto to help clear things out. Such was the case last Sunday. Perry wondered about how much meat we thought we had, and we guessed about 300 lbs. But after getting it all loaded, Perry was sure there was over 1000 lbs in his truck.
He will stockpile the venison until he gets about 2500 lbs before making the long haul to El Paso. He has a storage facility about twenty miles away where he accumulates deer meat from several hunting camps. Perry's generous work is a true blessing to those Mexican orphanages, and it is a win-win for all concerned. We need to get rid of deer meat periodically. Perry needs all the meat we can furnish him.
Just so you'll know that any left-over deer meat at the Adobe Lodge is never wasted. |
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| Perry Rollins |
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| Hauling meat to Mexico |
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| Too much meat for the freezer. |
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| Perry and David |
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12-21-07 We are in our "Christmas break" now. Time to catch up on office work and such. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
We start back right after Christmas with several hunts scheduled at our Home Camp, the Mustang Ranch Camp and the Hatfield Camp. We will be posting the results of these hunts as soon as they are completed. As a matter of interest, there is one remaining open slot at the Hatfield Camp for Jan. 3-6, just in case anyone might have an interest. Although time is short, we can make things happen fast on this end.
Re-bookings from our 2007 hunters have been near record levels. Way over 75% of our hunters so far this year have re-booked for either 2008 or 2009. We are getting numerous phone calls and e-mails asking about open dates. We don't post the open dates to the web simply because they change so frequently. To find out just what dates we currently have available for the 2008 deer season, send us an e-mail and we can attach this list to our reply.
Paperwork is a necessary evil of the hunting business. Booking Agreement Contracts have now been mailed to all those booked to hunt with us at all camps in 2008. We have just dismissed the armed guard who was hired to hold a cocked-pistol at our head until this dreaded task was completed. Paper work - ugh !
We are trying to find more ranches and landowners that would be willing to participate in our no-frills hunting program. Yesterday, we visited with Bill Black down at Ozona, the one rancher who has been hosting our no-frills hunters for the past few years. Looks like his offer was mighty successful in 2007 because his hunters this season took all available slots for 2008. So maybe Bill will open up more of his country to this style of hunting. He really likes the format, so we'll see what develops. We are working with another indivudual on a similar program. Nothing has been carved in stone yet, but we will report on this website when/if it comes together.
Below are some photos that have absolutely nothing to do with deer hunting, but it might be interesting to see what Texas ranchers do for fun. |
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| Bill Black - who offers our no-frills hunts |
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| Kennel-up |
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| Special dog box |
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| Erby Chandler - and daughter Cari. |
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| Erby and grandson Miken. |
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| Bill's dog doesn't need encouragement. |
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| The sheep are moved around in the pen. |
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| The sheep get plenty of exercise. |
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| Erby's turn with his dog. |
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| Outside now and the commands begin. |
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| The dog is supposed to bring the sheep to the man. |
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12-6-07 FLASH. The largest buck ever harvested by an Adobe Lodge hunter was taken this morning at the McManus Camp. The lucky hunter was Justin Carissio from Wilmington, DE.
What a day for Justin. He was sitting in his blind and spoted this magnificent buck walking from behind his blind toward the feeder. When first seen, the buck was about 40 yards away and you might guess that Justin certainly didn't need to check him out with his binoculars.
As he got his gun out the window, the only shot presented to him was a quartering-away one - not a shot he wanted to chance. He waited. The buck walked behind a cedar tree, out of sight. He waited some more.
Finally, the buck walked right smack out into the open, about 65-70 yards now, and Justin, who shoots, believe it or not, a lever-action .30.30 but with a Leopold scope, got the cross hairs on him as his heart began to thump soundly in his chest - an understandable condition for us deer hunters. He touched one off.
The buck doubled-up but didn't lose his feet. He ran off. Wisely, Justin sat still in the blind for a full 45 minutes before venturing out to look for blood which he found. But there wasn't much of it, and he lost the trail fairly quickly.
When Beaver McManus made his rounds to pick up Justin, two other hunters had taken bucks so the decision was made to return to camp, get started on those bucks, and return for a better look after a while. So after the photo session on the two bucks, and after the butchering process on them was well underway, Beaver and Justin returned to search for the buck. And Beaver is pretty good at this sort of thing. When asked about the buck he'd wounded, Justin said - "He was a good one"- an understatement as it turned out.
Arriving at the "scene of the crime", Justin watched Beaver begin his tracking process. Looking more for an unusual deer track than for blood, Beaver found a couple of tracks that he judged to be from a deer in distress, and as he had predicted to Justin, the tracks started going up hill. The pair followed.
Beaver finally noticed a large tree with a very visable rub. Beaver told Justin he'd bet the buck lived around here and was trying to make his way home. So they split up - each taking slightly different trails in that general direction. Beaver made the find and hollered out to Justin - "Here he is, and you won't believe this buck." The trailing covered about 150 yards, according to Beaver during the debriefing period back at camp.
This buck is a spectacular West Texas specimim. He is an honest main-frame 12 point with five scorable kickers. The photos below show the unusual double-kickers below each brow tine. Our taping, done accurately and carefully, found him to have 173 3/8 inches, a full two inches more than our previous best-ever taken by Bill Knapp hunting our Home Camp back in 2003.
Justin said that when he thought he'd lost that buck, he'd never in his whole life felt so low. Now, he says he never felt such a high. It's no wonder. Our congratulations to Justin Carissio and to Beaver McManus.
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| 20" + outside width, 18 6/8" inside |
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| 17 scorable points |
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| Four kickers below the brow tines. |
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| Beaver McManus and Justin Carissio |
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Home Camp Hunt # 6 ends: The least fun part of a hunt is when it's over. But sooner or later, it is time to get everyone packed up and headed to the airport.
We try to make the whole event as painless as possible. Pictures of this process best tell the story. Click each photo below to enlarge the photo to see what's going on.
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| Turn out the lights, the party's over. |
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| Loading up the coolers. |
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| Weighing-in ceremony. |
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| Digital read-out for the scale. |
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| Our cargo van is handy. |
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| Head'em up and move'em out. |
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11-22-07 Happy Thanksgiving.
We are reluctant to post the photos below because some folks will get the wrong idea. But rattlesnakes are a way of life in West Texas. Since 1963 when your humble writer of this newsletter moved to the Duncan ranch after college, there have been countless ranch hands consisting of wetbacks, high school and college kids and friends all over the ranch. And then for the past twenty-five years, there is no telling how many hunters and hunting guides who have been "out in the woods" around here.
In all this time, no one has ever been bit by one of the reptiles. Sure, we see rattlesnakes from time to time. Especially when the weather is threatening, we seem to see more of them. When it is dry, like it is now, we see few of them. Indeed, we think rattlesnakes are pretty accurate in predicting when it is about to rain. We rancher-types like to see them out on the road because more often than not, a rain is coming - always a blessing for this dry country.
But there are just some places where rattlesnakes are not welcome. Around the house or the barn, for example. Nevermind how many rats or mice they might eat - just kill them and let other non-poisonous snakes do that work.
So last Tuesday night, as we were getting Bill Boyette and his nice buck set up for the formal photo session in our "studio" alongside the skinning shed, there were lots of hunters and others out to congratulate Bill on his trophy. One of the hunters, Scott Brewer, walked around the corner of the building to relieve himself and in the dim light coming through the window of the gun room, saw something which looked a whole lot like a rattlesnake. Sure enough, he heard a "click-click" warning from the tail of the creature, and he gave notice to the assembled group that a rattlesnake was there.
Guide Roy McFadin and skinner David Gonzales grabbed up a couple of shovels, and since we already had the camera in hand for the photo session which was about to take place, the execution of the snake was recorded in the images seen below.
Once again, folks, probably 95% of our hunters never see a rattlesnake. For deer hunters in the fall, it is a rare event, indeed. Spring turkey hunters in April are more likely to see one, of course, but again, most do not. But having a snake in camp on November 20, when they are supposed to already be in their den, is newsworthy and we wanted our loyal readers to see what happened.
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| First contact. |
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| The snake finds a hole. |
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| He doesn't make it. Roy stops him with a shovel. |
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| The best photo of the lot. |
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| Now you've got him. |
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| The end comes quickly now. |
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| Unexpected and unwelcome trophy. |
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11-10-07 On our visit to the Bar H Camp yesterday, we found a bunch of super-happy hunters. The group of four already had two bucks on the ground, and the others reported seeing numerous quality whitetails.
All from NJ, these hunters are here because Lil Brendel decided to give husband, John, a hunting trip as a present. What a gal. All we can say is that John better take good care of Lil - he'd never find another one like her.
The photos below don't quite capture the spirit of the camp. Bar H owner Bob Helmers, his staff and all the hunters were having a LARGE TIME. Isn't that what hunting is supposed to be about anyway?
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| One's in the cooler - another is coming soon. |
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| Steve Conrad gets his photo taken. |
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| O.K. Steve - SMILE NOW. |
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| Steve and his buck. |
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| Bar H hunters - all from NJ |
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| Wildlife scene |
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| Texas Dall caught napping. |
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| The processing begins. |
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| The audience. |
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| Meanwhile, breakfast is being prepared. |
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| Outdoor brunch. |
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| Tim Brendel and the old oak tree. |
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| Rattling time |
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11-9-07 Yesterday we visited the Mustang Ranch Camp and the Hatfield Camp to see how everyone is doing. The weather is mighty warm for this time of year. Must have been over 80 in the afternoon. Hunters at both camps reported seeing good amounts of deer though, despite the heat. Of the six hunters in both camps, all but one are multi-year Adobe Lodge veterans and are being fairly selective on what they will take. Only one buck was taken on the first day of hunting.
Here are some of the photos we collected yesterday in our travels:
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| Removing some antlers |
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| Wrapping meat |
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| Imported Italian delicacies. |
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| Lunch time at the Mustang Ranch camp. |
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| Roughing it in hunting camp |
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| Hatfield Camp hunters. |
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| The lull before the storm. |
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| A better look at that feeder |
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| Pork chops, potatoes, green beans. |
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| Supper time at the Home Camp |
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11-06-07 Now that hunting season is well under way (and fixing to get much busier this week as we host hunters in five different hunting camps), it is time to show our loyal readers some camp photos we have collected that have nothing to do with deer hunting, but everything to do with "The Adobe Lodge Experience".
Study the photos below and you will understand one of our policies: We weigh you when you get here, and we weigh you when you leave. If you don't gain weight, we don't pay the cook.
It is easy to see that Charlie Bowers, so far, has gotten paid for every hunt he has worked.
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| Charlie Bowers has cut up plenty of ribeyes for supper. |
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| Dutch oven cobbler for dessert. |
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| Making coals. |
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| Another fire - more coals for the cobbler. |
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10-21-07 Our first hunters are in camp so the 2007 season is officially underway. This kick-off hunt will end at noon tomorrow and as soon as possible, we'll be posting photos. In order to have a place to put them on the Home Page, we'll be moving the 2006 stuff elsewhere. Not sure just where yet, but it will all make sense when we get'er done.
Only one buck has been taken so far. But he is a dandy for a couple of reasons: First of all, he is exceptionally high and is one mighty handsome trophy. What makes him so special is this: he is Nick Bellnoski's first-ever bow kill. Made one heck of a good shot, too.
Tragically, another bow hunter lost his buck. Despite following a blood trail for hundreds of yards, and despite an all-day search yesterday by numerous Adobe Lodge staff members, the search found no buck, no where. Buzzards are still in the area, though. Maybe those high-flying scouts can do it. |
10-18-07 Today we will see the arrival of our first hunters of the season. For months now, every activity has pointed us toward this event.
Often we are asked - "So what do you guys do in the off-season?" With about three months of solid deer hunting, and maybe six weeks of serious turkey hunting in the spring, it would appear that we work less than a half-year.
Not so. There is hardly enough time in the off-season to get everything set to go. Blinds and feeders are repaired and moved; new blinds and feeders are built and assembled; lodge repairs, maintenance, painting chores are done; new hunting venues are scouted and evaluated.
It is like the old story about the cowboy out west of here who had to get up way before daylight every morning to "jingle-in" the horses for feed, milk the cow, and do the rest of the chores so he could be on the back-side of the pasture before daylight for the day's livestock roundup. Then, upon returning to his house after dark to again do all the same work in the dark, he was finally able to eat a little supper.
After six months of this, he went to the ranch foreman and allowed as how he belived he would quit his job.
"Why?", was the only response from the boss.
"Well," replied the weary cowboy, "When I went to work here, you promised me a steady job. Now I have come to understand that just isn't so. I don't have a thing to do between 10 at night and 4 the next morning."
A hunting camp isn't quite this bad, but it comes close.
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10-2-07 - Now that our census work is mostly completed, it appears that we need to remove a goodly number of does - and spikes. During this extraordinarily good year, there should be zero spikes, but sure enough, a few of the rascals we seen by the biologists in the helicopters.
So we have created a specific hunt for spikes and does. Three days, three deer, lodging, meals, and our full array of services all for only $1250. If you have an interest, shoot us an e-mail and we can attach our flyer which more fully describes the offer. You can upgrade the hunt to include a management buck (our choice) for an additional $500 - no kill, no pay.
This special hunt will be conducted December 20-23, 2007 from noon on Thursday until noon on Sunday. You'll be home in plenty of time for Christmas and ought to have a lot of good venison to take you through the rest of the winter. What a great Christmas present for the young hunter(s) in your life. |
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| Pon Lawdermilk 1946-2006 |
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ADIOS, OLD PAL
Pon Lawdermilk died at home early on December 4, 2006. He was 59 years old.
Pon had suffered a debilitating stroke in early April, 2005. Despite months of therapy and work, Pon never regained his ability to walk or talk. His sainted wife, Joyce, was by his side through the whole ordeal, and she remains our hero for the care she provided our good friend and cook.
We are indebted to Tillman Lawdermilk, Pon's son, for faithfully bringing Pon to the camp for special events like our Guide Meeting fish fry in August. Tillman works several of our hunts each year, and we are glad to see the name "Lawdermilk" still on the roster.
Pon started cooking for the Adobe Lodge way back in 1992. He would save up his vacation from Conoco and would cook the first six-eight hunts each year. How Pon was able to work so many hunts back-to-back, we'll never know. Being a hunting camp cook is a demanding job: you have to get up early morning after morning; make three good meals each day (not to mention desserts and snacks); have them ready on time; clean up the kitchen numerous times per day; put up with cranky guides and hunters - (plus the outfitter); be prepared for the unexpected crisis (water heater goes out; the screen door falls off the hinges; electrical outages just as you are in the middle of a meal; etc, etc,etc).
Through it all, year after year, there was no single individual that had more to do with the success of the Adobe Lodge than Pon Lawdermilk. Hunters loved his cooking and they loved him. To say he was accommodating would be an understatement. At the kickoff meeting which starts each hunt, Pon would always tell the hunters that if they needed anything - ANYTHING - from town, just let him know. He never failed to deliver either. Pon kept the road hot in that red diesel pickup of his.
Pon could do most anything and fix most everything. No one had a better work-ethic - ever. We used to say, and not in jest, that it would take three good men to replace him. And if the communists ever invaded, you would want Pon Lawdermilk in your foxhole.
He always did his share, and more. At the conclusion of a hunt, Pon would take it upon himself to strip all the bed and get the washing done just so the cleaning crew could get a jump-start on their job. Going above and beyond was just standard-operating procedure for Pon.
In the hunting camp, Pon made numerous good friends from all across this great nation, and he stayed in touch with more than we'll ever know. Following his stroke, several hunters drove hundreds of miles just to see him and offer their good wishes. If Pon liked you, you were his friend for life.
So Adios, old Pard. You are in a better place now, and rest easy. We'll all miss you.
If anyone who knew Pon would like to send a card to his family, their address is:
Box 713
Mertzon, TX 96941
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