The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1942-11-19
Turning Over An
Old Leaf
BY Phillip A. Gladheim

Not so many years ago November
for me meant watching football glad
iators clash on soddcn field in pur-
suit Of a slippery pig-skin while thou
sands of CHEEKY people dressed in rae
coon coats, wrapped in automobile
blankets, decorated with yellow chry-
santhemum, and waving pennants, sat
or stood on the grandstand resounding
in unison their hurrahs and rah rahs
through the raw wind, rain and snow.
Then a turkey dinner THANKSGIVING
day with the folks at home. And if
unusually fortunate seat at the
opera when the season opened at the
close of the month.
But of more recent years Novem-
Der spells for me different, a far
more homelier, yet truly a sports
mans mood. Coming across some
lines from AN old English hunting
song describes my feelings best:
"Of all the joys that sporting yields,
Give me to beat the stubblc-fields
Quite early in November:
A brace of pointers staunch and true.
A gun that kills what'er | view-(if
one knows out to shoot.
In wintry woods, when leaves are
dead,
And hedges beam with berries red
The pheasant is my spoil.
In stout shoes and brceches out 90.
And beat through tangled bushes
low"
Twas such a time wncn live hand
picked nimrods in the fall of 1888
went to Thinking Springs on the Ca
capon River down in Hampshire
County, W. Va. 1t was an expedition
repletc with good hunting, providing
delicacics for the board, midst gran
dose scenery associated with interest
ing folk traditions. 1t was an expert
cncc of the out-of-doors that was
unique have attended many thrill
ing football games, but memory places
them all together in a lump. This is
not so with the hunt. In my expert
cnce all adventures in the field and
stream are decidedly azygous, that is,
each event stands out single and $50
lated in the memory. And such was
the Thinking Springs party | am
sure these experiences can never
again be duplicated. We were pre-
pared for both stream and field. How
we'll | remember our decision to di-
vide our attention between a famous
bass hole and an equally famous
squirrel ridge the first afternoon,
after we had made camp in an old
hunters cabin.
On returning to the cabin we
checked the bags and laid ON the table
four 2-poundcr bass and an even
dozen squirrels. In the five days we
bagged alone 1925 squirrels, most of
them were cleaned, sailed down, and
put in candy-buckcts. But there were
other items on the hunting list. Al
ways being famous for wild turkey,
and having seen fresh signs that first
afternoon we decided to be at their
feeding ground before dawn the fol-
lowing morning Each of us had a diff
ferent turky-callcr device Speaking
Of unique things-thc variety of
turlley-callcr devices would be an in
teresting study. | have known a num-
Der Of veteran turkey hunters and
they have perfected their own tcchnic.
Those who come to mind at the mo-
ment are Roscoe Day, Of Petersburg,
W. Va. Eliza Shanholtz, of the Ca
capon country, Oscar Cosner, Dick
Frye, and Warren Kolkhorst, of Key
scr, W. Va. If you want to learn folk
lore associated with the hunting of
wild turkey there is no section as rich
with stories as from kcyscr to
Petersburg, W. Va. 1t is conceded by
sportsmen that the last stand of the
vanishing wild turkey is in this sec
ton of the Allcghcnics
| will never forget old man Shan
hoItz. His turkcy-callcr was very
odd affair, consisting of slab of oil
stone, a followed piece Of walnut the
shape and size of half-cgg she'll
with an eight penny nail set in the
apex, the point of which protrudcd
slightly below the rim, and bluntcd by
a file He would Scrapc the bluntcd
nail-point, which was set in the hol-
lowcd-out walnut wood, against the
oil-stonc in such a way as to deceive
the clevercst gobbler.
What greater thrill than to stalk
Indian-likc silently over scattered
leaves in the forest before dawn
climbing to high llnoh-and there in
the frosty air wait for drove of
turkeys who you could hear scratch
ing the leaves in search of bccch-nuts
The scratching was audible from a
great distance that bccalmed morning
Then the old man began to WOO them
closer with his instrument, that at
least to turkeys cars was music they
understood. 1t was grand sight that
morning. We did not have long to wait
for the drove of sixteen turkeys to
make their appearance, We each