Fur Harvesters hold spring rendezvous in Ronan

Mountain men dressed in furs, buckskins and capotes made from Hudson Bay blankets mingled with their modern-day counterparts, attired in fleeces and jeans, at the Fur Harvesters Spring Rendezvous, May 16-17 in Ronan.

Not just adults came in mountain-man attire. Miles and David Dembek both wore fur hats and leather hunting shirts. The boys unloaded their plunder since they’d already traded furs with Mr. Campbell at Campbell’s Fine Furs. With their dad’s help and instruction, the duo trapped muskrats, a coyote, and a fox. Campbell traded them an otter pelt and ermine tails for some of their harvest.

As Miles flipped out a squirrel skin to show, he said, “And this is the squirrel that bit me.”

The boys and their dad, Wes, were headed around the Ronan Fairgrounds, where all the barns were full of exhibits and demonstrations.

The community center had a trap-release presentation so people would know how to release a mistakenly caught pet or human.

The arena barn had a two-day agenda of hunting and trapping presentations on otters, wolves, muskrats, coyotes, beavers and martens, hound hunting and precision shooting.

The horticulture barn was home to tables of hunting, trapping and camping goods as well as tanned skins and furs fashioned into clothing, hats, mittens, ear muffs, and more.

Youngsters had a barn full of things for kids to see and do. Kim Davie, a Montana Fur Harvesters member, guided children through making fire starters from egg carton sections, sawdust, cotton balls, and wax.

A line of “What is it?” boxes tempted kids to stick their hand in, feel the object and guess what was in each box, with hinged lids to help verify their guesses. The boxes contained treasures such as a deer jawbone, a skunk hide, and a big puff of wolf fur.

Kids could also learn to shoot an air rifle or a bow with rubber-tipped arrows. Bob Cornwell, a 4-H Shooting Sports leader, and son Colter helped youngsters hold their air rifle, aim at the tiny wooden sheep, and learn correct firing-line behavior.

The next stall over had small archers learning to shoot a compound bow. There were also black-powder loading demos for kids.

Meanwhile in the arena (which sounds like the beginning of a western movie), Gail and Bill Workman, packers at Spotted Bear in the Flathead National Forest, offered demonstrations. Bill has been a packer there for 46 years and Gail for 44 years.

Gail said Bill asked her out on their first date because her family had a rodeo arena. Bill was a bronc rider then, and rode his first entry-fee bronc at the Spokane State Fair in 1974. He sports a big belt buckle from those bronc riding days. Gail learned about packing after she and Bill were married.

The pair brought a horse and three pack mules – BeerWagon, Biscuit, and a buckskin mule. Bill and Gail packed them; and Bill, riding his paint saddle horse, led them around the edge of the arena, which had a big mud puddle in the middle.

With some pack boxes that say, “Pack it In, Pack It Out,” Gail explained how to wrap the canvas around the box and secure it with a mantie rope. Then she let spectators give it a try.

One of the last events at the rendezvous was the Mountain Man Challenge. Contestants had to set three muskrat traps, two in a tub of ice-filled water, set a double long spring trap, chop a log in half, and skin a muskrat (already deceased) as quickly as possible. The crowd cheered the contestants on, as they completed their assignments in the two-and-a-half to four-minute range. Hunter Chase won the competition.

The official close of the event was a banquet on Saturday night that boasted good food, raffle prizes, and members of the History Channel TV show’s “Mountain Men” in attendance.

    Will Stringfellow lives in the Yaak. He and Claire Walpole own and operate the Willow Bend Trading Post when Stringfellow is not appearing on the History Channel show "Mountain Men." (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
  

    Young trapper Miles shows off the otter pelt he traded for at Campbell Fine Furs. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)
  

    Colter Cornwell shows Riley Taylor how to hold her air rifle as she aims at small wooden sheep. (Berl Tiskus/Leader)