Black Powder Trails

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Greetings from inside my warm teepee in the village of Iron Belly, where myself, Henry Frapp, and Bill Tyler are lodged for the winter as usual. You cannot imagine the comfort of a teepee at night in the winter… snow piled along the outside bottom edges to keep the warmth inside, a warm fire crackling softly in the middle with all the smoke going straight up and out the vent flap way up top, and six or eight inches of deep thick fur buffalo hides to sleep on, and elk or buffalo hides for blankets. Come on in, grab yerself a slab of that elk roast and some smoked salmon, and slide over to my blanket here so we can go over our schedule this month.
Club voting also takes place on Sunday, November 30 and also at the General Membership Convention on Monday, December 1, so please make sure you vote on one of those days. Let’s all do our duty as responsible members and vote for those who you would like to see in the various positions that run our Club. In my opinion if someone does not vote, he or she really has no right to complain about anything or anybody. Once you’re out here it takes all of 10 seconds so….. come on out and VOTE!!!!!!!!!! (Also remember that you will need to present your current membership card to vote.)
Our annual Blackpowder Potluck Christmas Dinner Party (and December meeting) will be on Saturday 13th at 6 pm. If you have not yet contributed…. we do politely request monetary donations to cover the cost, typically 3 or 4 bucks per person or something in that range. Call Greg if you have further questions about this and would like to contribute. We collected some of it at the November meeting. Please consider coming out early to help us set up the clubhouse, and also remember we need to take it all apart and put it away afterwards so plan on staying for that as well if you can. Call Greg to find out what time he needs people there to start setting things up. Bring a dish to pass, dress in your absolute finest proper attire, bring a blanket prize/gift if you’d like to pick one up, and join us for this pleasant and cozy evening of great food, among close friends. The bar will be open as usual.
Our regular Walkthru is on Sunday 14th, at 10:00 am. Join us on this crisp winter day for a pleasant shoot. Frivolity and jocularity are usually in abundance here. Mosquito spray is not required at this event, a rarity on the walkthru to be sure.
Our annual “Last Chance” walkthru will be on Sunday 28th, at 10:00 am. Come on out and we’ll bid this year farewell with a bang.
Don’t forget “The Wintering” coming up on the last full weekend in January, and I’ll have more on that next time.
From our little group to you and yours….we wish for you all a safe and very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Until next year my friends….. bon jour.

Mark Johnstone       
Scribe, Blackpowder