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Vol. 15, No. 6, Wednesday, January 15, 2020 www.LamontLeader.com
Lamont Fish and Game Association Memorial Trophy Up for Grabs BY JANA SEMENIUK The 2019 recipient of the annual Paul Nychka Memorial Trophy will be announced at the annual Lamont Fish and Game Association banquet to be held Jan. 25. Nychka was in his late 30s when he joined the association in the early 1950s. “We used to hunt together,” said long time member Marvin Letwin, 83. “I joined in 1955. He was there a few years before me.” Nychka was a member of the association for over 50 years before he passed away in 2006 at the age of 93. “He (Nychka) was a very active member of the group. He was scoring (antler and skull entries) for the club but slowed down in his older years. So, I took a course on scoring in The late Paul Nychka the early 2000s to help out,” said Letwin. “Paul always came to the meetings and he always had something to say.” Doug Butler, also a long-time member of the association, remembers how much Nychka put into his membership. “In 1946 Paul was the provincial zone representative for this region,” he said. “He rode on our float in the annual parade the year he passed away. And he was still tying flies for fishing at that time too.” Butler recounted some of Nychka’s accomplishments. “He had a lot to do with our trout pond and he really kept the club going especially during the 60s and 70s,” he said. Upon Nychka’s passing, the group was looking for a way to honour their
Marvin Letwin, measuring antlers long-time member. “We created the Service and Dedication award for the member who puts the most effort into our organization for the year. It’s called the Paul Nychka Memorial Trophy,” said Butler. Last year’s recipient, association secretary Joan Dey, detailed how the winner is chosen. “The members all vote by ballot who they feel should win,” she said. “The winner is announced at the banquet night. Sometimes it’s a tie and both member’s names will be on the name plate.”
Scoring day culminates busy season BY JANA SEMENIUK It was a busy day for members of the Lamont Fish and Game Association at the annual Horn Scoring event held in Lamont on Jan. 11. A large array of members, young and old, were present with their photos, skulls and antlers to be entered into various divisions of competition in hopes of winning one of over 50 awards being presented at the annual wild game supper banquet on Jan. 25. Trophies are available to be won in various categories under photography, big game, fish and birds. More than 130 entries in total were brought to be judged. “Today is where we get ready and decide all the winners,” explained long time association member Doug Butler. “Everybody that’s harvested an animal, or finds shed (antlers) or has taken a wildlife photo brings it in today and we judge them all. Then we will have our trophies and plaques made and ready to be presented at the banquet.” Butler explained how the skull and antler entries are judged. “We use the official Boone and Crockett system of scoring,” he said. “Judges are certified in using this system when they take a course.” He also explained that having the
largest skull or set of antlers does not necessarily mean an automatic win. “Size and symmetry count in this system. Each antler is scored on each side, every point, every length, every width, circumference and it’s all totalled up for a final score,” Butler added. “You can have a very large entry that in the end might not have as many points as a smaller one because it had too many deductions.” Butler also noted that the Lamont Fish and Game Association are about more than hunting. “Conservation is what we are,” he said. “We are hunters and anglers, but we are also conservationists. It’s so important to maintain our ecosystem for future generations.” Butler explained that the association also supports youth and families through their diverse activities centered around the outdoors. “We are very dedicated to youth and families,” he said. “We organize activities in berry picking, photography, tree planting, making bird houses, making duck nesting tunnels, and access to public lands enjoying nature. It can be hard to get kids outside these days, but once you do, they love it.” Butler noted that the association had 400 members last year.
Bear skull could capture a prize for female bow hunter BY JANA SEMENIUK Christine Hoefling, 38, is hoping to capture a prize in the women’s division from the Lamont Fish and Game Association’s annual banquet at the end of Jan. She brought her entries to the organization’s Horn Scoring event in Lamont on Jan. 11 where members enter competitions by having their animal skulls and antlers measured and scored in hopes of attaining the highest score in their group. “I brought my bear skull and my four-pointer white-tail antlers,” she said. Hoefling was bow hunting, for the first time, with her boyfriend near Glendon when she brought down her male black bear.
“I’ve been hunting since I was 12, but this was the first time we went bow hunting. I thought I would try something different,” she said. Although Hoefling stated that she kept his hide, the rest of the bear became dinner. “We made sausage, jerky and roast with the bear. We do all the butchering ourselves,” she said. “With his hide, I had a three-quarter mount done by a taxidermist and he is sitting on my wall right now.” Hoefling added that a three-quarter mount of her bear includes the full head, front paws and three quarters of the body. “He takes up about three feet mounted on my wall,” she said. The Lamont area resident has been a
member of the Lamont Fish and G a m e Association for the past year and a half. “Being a member has been Christine Hoefling holds great. I real- her bear skull on the left ly look for- and four-point deer ward to antlers on the right. that (annual) game dinner,” she stated. “It gets everybody in the community together and I really enjoy meeting people.”