An Outdoorsman's Journal

    The Joe 2025

Hello friends,

   KAMO, "Kids And Mentors Outdoors" www.kamokids.org is one very cool organization that is bent on getting kids outside. We have 6 chapters in Wisconsin, and we are very good at what we do. This week I am going to write about our annual "Joe" deer hunt which is based out of The Mackensie Center at Poynette. We take 23 kids deer hunting all over in Columbia County, teach them about biology, hunters safety, feed them for three days and have some pretty cool events at night.

   Friday, December 12th
   High 23, low 14

   I am going to be real short on space to tell this very cool story so I will be brief on everything. My young hunter is 13-year-old Brody Mueller from Horicon. I met Brody last summer at a KAMO outing on Castle Rock lake and taught him how to paddle troll a canoe for walleye. Brody is with the Dodge County Chapter of KAMO and KAMO is a major outdoor lifeline for Brody since his father’s passing 4-years ago.
   Frigid weather would be the number one story this weekend along with major harvesting of deer and just today on a short day of hunting a six pointer and five doe would be hoisted up the KAMO deer pole. Later this evening a conservation warden and a wildlife biologist would give the kids some sound lessons on safety and wildlife management.
   Our cooks, we could not be more fortunate. To feed 55 people for 3 days, 3 times a day it takes planning and volunteers. Our 4 main helpers were all a part of my childhood as I grew up in Poynette and without them we would be eating cold meat sandwiches.

   Saturday, December 13th
   High 3, low minus 7

   My truck said minus 7 as Brody and I headed towards Pardeeville and then further north to hunt on our new friend Morrey VanSwol's property. Morrey is 94 and has a handshake that is strong like steel and a brain that is sharp as a razor. Last night we saw 2 does but Brody was not offered a good shot. This morning our hunt was uneventful but this afternoons was the opposite. We are hunting in a box stand that was built many moons ago and watching a forest that was recently logged and due to many treetops, visibility is poor. The bonus is that lots of deer are feeding on the new growth from the tree tops of the fallen oaks.
   Brody had a lot of experiences including one where we watched a buck breed a doe 3 times and he could not get a shot.
   Back at camp, well after dark our deer pole now has 15 deer on it and the mood at camp is electric despite the freezing temps.
   Tonight we had our annual bingo game for the kids, all 23 participate and 23 games are played with each young hunter winning a gift which in most cases were donated by good people from the Beaver Dam area and wrapped by Sally Braker who is the wife of Jim Braker the DCC of KAMO's President.
   Last spring I was given a brand new 12 Winchester 12-gauge that I donated to one of our final games of bingo. The DCC chapter of KAMO donated an over and under Federal Firearms 20-gauge and the two very cool games of bingo were played. Brooklyn Goldberg of Fox Lake won the Winchester and Sully Subera of La Crescent Minnesota won the 20-gauge.
   These kids were both very helpful and positive all weekend and the entire group of 23 made us mentors very proud.
   In closing, I am the founder and president of KAMO and have been since it was born in 2007. I am giving up my position as I am simply overwhelmed in my very positive life. I also feel that a change would be very good for KAMO. If you know someone that may be interested let me know, we have an excellent Board of Directors and I will be a major part of KAMO as well, just not the top dog!

   Thank you to everyone that helped make The Joe possible for 2025!

   Sunset