Four organizations team up to benefit area parks

“Everyone’s wondering how we got four organizations together,” Rodeo Committee member Kevin Hendrickson said of the gala held Saturday, November 13 at the new Stanley Community Center.

Held in part to help the Stanley Rod and Gun Club celebrate the 100th anniversary of its existence, the gala that went until 9 p.m. ended up raising $2,500 for local parks, as enabled through the cooperation of the Rodeo Committee, Stanley Rod and Gun Club, Stanley Lions, and Stanley Sportsman’s Club, along with local resident’s attendance. The Sportsman’s Club also made a $10,000 donation to the Community Center at the event.

With things kicking off at 4 p.m. but getting into full swing as the night went on, local residents could buy tickets for water, soda, and beer along with things like BBQ Sandwiches and hot dogs-plus a raffle!

Those seeking beer tickets had to be at least 21 years old on the day of the event.

With approximately 64 people in attendance at the height of festivities, a set of tables with silent auction items sponsored by area businesses was open for bidding by residents, with initial bids ranging from $10 up to $50 and $10 increments after for each successive bid.

Attendees could bid on baskets containing everything from LaGrander’s Cheese to Nolchek’s Meats, and even candles—but also a commemorative plate of area churches from the Stanley Area Historical Society, placed in the “Celebrate Stanley” silent auction choice.

Sponsoring businesses and individuals for the silent auction included Oemig’s Sports Shop, Debbie’s on Broadway, Broadway Boutique, and Galen Klisiewicz. Stanley’s Rod and Gun Club, meanwhile, donated $100 gift certificates to Hansen’s IGA, Martino’s Restaurant, Oemig’s Sport Shop, and Stanley Tire—all in celebration of the Rod and Gun Club’s 100 year anniversary. So what’s the local Rod and Gun Club and those like it about? Member Dean Samuelson explained.

"It's just basically conservation,” Samuelson said. “Promoting conservation – Fishing, hiking, skiing, anything.” The Stanley Rod and Gun Club was inaugurated as a “permanent organization" on February 25, 1921 after an initial meeting the previous Friday that had seen then Mayor Gregerson preside with a committee appointed to draft the by laws. Among the local Rod and Gun Club's first projects was making the old mill pond (now Chapman Lake) into a fish reservoir, with the suggestion of the same being made for the “tannery springs” to the southwest.

Speaking from the more contemporary meeting Saturday November 13, current City Mayor Al Haas was appreciative.

“I appreciate everyone coming out,” he said. “This is great.” As to how some of the other organizations present besides the Rod and Gun Club got involved, President Jim Jones of the Stanley Lions was direct.

“Kevin Hendrickson asked us to do it,” Jones said of how the local service organization became involved with Saturday’s fundraiser.

“He’s in Lions and on the City,” Secretary Lorena McLoone said of Hendrickson. The Lions, meanwhile, celebrated their 75th anniversary as a local Stanley presence this past September.

“We’re excited to serve our community as Lions,” Jones shared. Working together with the Rodeo/SFBC, Rod and Gun Club, and Stanley Sportsman’s Club, Jones said that all the proceeds from the night’s festivities went into the Rodeo parks account, the Rodeo having come into existence in 2004 as a successor to Stanley Steamer Days. Finally at Saturday’s event was the Stanley Sportsman’s Club, which Frank Dusick said started in the early 2000s.

“We’re about 16 years old,” Dusick said of the organization that manages the Chapman Park deer herd, along with ice fishing contests and other events. Working with parks and conservation, Dusick said the Stanley Sportsman’s Club was also focused on youth. “We try to work with youth as much as possible and get them involved in outdoor activities,” he said, a goal he said had been tough with COVID. On the wall at Saturday’s event, meanwhile, were buck pictures from the deer park that would make most anyone proud—the park bucks being protected, for the record. For those wishing to see the antlers when they shed after the rut, Dusick said a good place to check was at Oemig’s Sport Shop. With two years down and three to go in the state’s CWD program, it shouldn’t be long before the Sportsman’s Club can begin trading its deer with other game parks – but not yet.

For those seeking a set of antlers, it’s time to hit the woods, this weekend, with tracking snow just in time as of November 14.