"Uncle Kenny"

It goes without saying that we will all miss "Uncle Kenny." He fought a tough battle with ALS. Our good friend will be remembered for a great sense of humor and his dedication to the North Eighty "cause." He is the originator of the North Eighty hygiene program known as "Scrub your &$#'s Thursday." This program has resulted in a much more tolerable group of hunters. There are pictures of Uncle Kenny demonstrating the proper techniques of scrubbing but they would not be appropriate for this blog! When construction projects were planned, we could all count on Uncle Kenny to provide us thoughtful insight on how to successfully complete the program. He would put a hand to his face, engage in thought, then point out how wrong we were in the planning of the project. His "North Eighty Club House" sign will always be a fond reminder of his skill and thoughtful planning. Kenny was also a Charter Member of the North Eighty Golf Course. He provided tee markers, golf clubs, and flags for the challenging layout. There is even an Uncle Kenny toilet paper dispenser in the "Gymnasium." Kenny's hunting ability is legendary. His "Turkey Shoot" has established a record that will probably never be broken! He just "stacked 'em like cord wood!" It should also be mentioned that Kenny was instrumental in the implementation of a camp "Toddie Hour" and developed and enforced the bylaws of this blessed event. We will all miss our dear friend but we know that he is in a much better place. God Bless you Kenny, you added joy to our lives and we will never forget the good times we had together. "Love Ya Man"

The First Week of Deer Camp

The first week of deer camp found Cookie, Kolbs, Mac, Shawn, John, Tommy, and Doc in camp. As you can see, John ("I'm no Boozer") bagged a nice 7 point. Shawn missed the "Legend" and Mac spent a lot of time sleeping in the "HOOKA HOOKA" lounge. Favorite refreshment of the week was "Apple Pie." This was made from apple cider, apple juice, and 190 proof Everclear. Whoa! Cures what ails you for sure. Weather was good and we ate very well (and often). Left, Right, Center was dominated by Tommy, and now he has no friends left!

The Doctor

Absoloutely! No comment needed on this picture. The Doctor is just doin' what the Doctor does best! Sweeeeeeeeet.

The Mayor

Ok, if you're looking for the Governor of Florida, here he is! Now this boy has a unique view of the world. He is kinda like the Mayor of camp. He shows up, gives directions, stirs the pot, and tries to get out as fast as he can. This man drives quality vehicles, but if they move, he'll drive 'em. Heard recently that he is being considered for the Native American man of the year (for all his contributions to our First Nation tribes).

Now here's a pair to draw to! Put these two boys together and you could solve the world's problems in less than 15 minutes. I think they should run for the U.S. Senate. Wouldn't they be popular in Washington!

Trail cam engineering. "Nice Buck" says Cookie. Kolbs says "I don't see any Buck" and Doc says "There aren't any batteries in the thing, how could it take a picture?" As Uncie Bill says "Doesn't have a Clue!"

The "Cookster" doing what the "Cookster" does best. Just another gourmet meal on the Eighty. Now this boy knows how it's done! My personal favorite is the "Possum Innards" topped with "Skunk Sauce."

Ultimate Hunter

The "Ultimate Hunter" prepares to bust a few birds. This boy is prepared for just about anything that can fly. Now if only he could keep Brodie out of the barbed wire.......

Preparation for Winter

Ahhhhhhhh, the smell of chainsaw exhaust, the feel of woodchips against your leg. Does it get any better than this? Notice the supervision in the background. Guess old habits are hard to break.

Deer Camp

Camp officially opens Thursday, November 12th. Closes on ??????????? (when all the deer are eliminated!) Members indicating they will be at camp include: Cookie, Johnny Mac, Shawn, Kolbs, Tommy, John, and Nathan. Could always be visitors! Sign says it all.

Toddie Hour at the "80"

Ahhhhhhhh, the joys of the Fall Hunt! Toddies, Sportsbars, and Fellowship. How can it get any better than this? As you can see, Kolbs made the "special" Manhattens, and Puddles, Uncie Bill, and Cookie enjoyed the afternoon.

Clubhouse Sign

Ahhhhh, the North Eighty Club House signature sign has been refinished (again). During the fall camp the sign was removed from the building, sanded, repainted, and resealed. Weather slowed the process and we were unable to complete the task. The fall hunting camp time was used to remount the sign above the doors. It looks great and is ready to last another 4 to 5 years. If this job was measured in toddies, it would have been a very expensive job. Sometimes even a screw driver can be dangerous.

Fall 2009 Camp

Another fall camp in the books! Attendees included Kolbs, Cookie, Doc, Uncie Bill, Gomez, Tommy, John, Klinger, The Knife, and Michelle. The lone dog in camp was Brodie, with a visit by Belle! Activities included grouse hunting/woodcock hunting, bow hunting, new can lights in clubhouse, and lots of wood cutting/splitting. Brodie suffered a pretty bad cut while hunting and a visit to Kathy Jo (local vet) occurred. A nine stitches later and a lot of antibiotics and Brodie was off and running again. That dog is tough. Never a whimper! Sure isn't like his owner. Toddie hours were often extendend (on both ends) and even Uncie Bill stayed up late one night. Gomez is definitely a good influence on Billy! Meals were outstanding, to say the least. Globaki's, enough pork to lube a truck, carrot cake, cinammon rolls, squash soup, vegetable soup, jerky, french toast, scalloped potatoes/ham, etc......... Wow, what a week. The beer cooler withstood the onslaught and the only ice needed was for toddies. Woodburner kept the clubhouse VERY warm, with upstairs temps reaching around 85. Pretty ugly at night, no covers on slightly cherubic bodies. Glad the lights go out when the generator quits! The saga of Gomez cars continues. Seems the Malibu wouldn't go uphill. Cookie/Kolbs tried to find transmission dip stick, but, believe it or not, there is not one! Owners manual states "See dealer" in instances of low transmission fluids. Nice job GM! Another fine mess you got us into. Gomez did limp home with the wounded Malibu and indicated he was taking it in on Monday. Good Luck Gomez! A number of pictures were taken, they will be posted as soon as Gomez figures out his camera. If anyone else has pics, forward to me and I'll get them posted. Next up.....Deer Camp!

Fall 2009 Camp

The decision has been made. The fall hunt will be the week of October 12-19. Stay tuned for more details. More work was completed today at the N80. As we left camp someone noticed that vermin had attacked the table in the cook shack. I spent a little time treating the table AND the three stand up bars. Hope that discourages the vermin, can't hurt.

Sporty

It is with a tear in my eye that I report the demise of our treasured "Sporty," the sportsbar. Sporty had grown very weak from a serious infection and was crumbling on the site. It was determined by the Charter Members that it was time to put poor ole Sporty on the fire. Uncie Bill built a good, hot fire, and "The Knife" did the deed. Sporty burned brightly for almost 48 hours, not bad for an old soft white pine. "The Knife" indicated he will keep his eyes open for a replacement. Man, was there a lot of beer consumed around that stump!

If I was in Florida right now, I could be......

Tell somebody who cares.....

Hunger has NOTHING to do with eating......

You know what I like? I like........

Where did I ever meet these guys?

"Just another day in Paradise!"

Charter Members

This group picture should be up on a post office wall! Members include (left to right): Kim Kolbe, Rick Decker, Dave Burless, Bill Henry, John Katona, and John McNally. The story behind this picture is a beauty. It is a "beer impaired picture."

Summer Work Camp 2009

The North Eighty Summer Work Camp has come to an end. Projects for this year included: cutting firewood, refinishing clubhouse sign, deer blind updates, and numerous other small projects. Members present included: Uncie Bill, Johnny Mac, Kolb, Doc, Cookie, and Johnny the Knife. Weather was cool, wet, mixed with some sunshine. Again this camp, Cookie out did himself. The eating fare consisted of Coney Dogs, BBQ Pork Chops, BBQ Ribs, Grilled Veggies, Cucumbers/Onions in vinegar/sour cream, etc.... NICE JOB COOKIE! As usual it was "Choose Sides, Choose Fast, Change Often." Hot topics included electric cars, health care, immigration, and "Oblahblah." A date has not yet been set for fall turkey camp, so stayed tuned for more information. Make sure you play this video, it is an example of why we don't drive while we're at camp.

Summer Work Camp (Work?)

Opens Wednesday, August 19th, at noon. Organizational meeting will be held at the Sportsman's Bar in Shittymore. Cookie has taken care of food, members attending need only donate to kitty and help with meal preparation.

Project?

There was some discussion about continuing the addition on the north side of the building to accomodate a shower. Johnny the Knife came up with the idea of digging a well pit (get Skip's backhoe) that would be deep enough not to freeze and put tank/pump in well pit. Then put drain at bottom of line and run plumbing so that it could be drained in fall easily. If the well pit were 5/6 feet deep we would only have to drive well about 12/14 feet. What does everybody think?

Summer Work Camp

Recent discussion has been around a time for Summer "Work" Camp. Last of July/First of August is out.......Young State Park Camping Gig will be then. Any suggestions? Hey Uncle Bill, how is that Bar coming?

Reisig Valley Upgrade

Reisig Valley Golf Course saw significant improvements this week. Armed with a rototiller, bow rake, and grass seed, Greensmaster Kolbe created a new tee and green. The greenskeeper also sprayed bear repellent on the new trees that line the fairway. Now we need someone to come through with a new cup so we can use the Flag!

Doc, doing what "Doc" does best!

Willie to the rescue!

This is an absolute earth mov'n, snow throw'n, wicked machine. Willie came to the rescue in the road repair project. As you can see, Shawn had a lot of advice for novice road grader Kolb's! Eventually Shawn got behind the wheel (he's one of few allowed to operate this high tech machine) and made short work on leveling the road. Go Willie, Go, Go Willie!

Klinger

It seems that our boy, John Klinger, was a notable absentee from spring camp. We had a cooler of Budwiser left on Sunday, and everybody attributed it to the absence of the Kling man! Rumor is he was in the Betty Ford Clinic but is using a knee operation as a cover for his "drying out" experience. I hear he has gone as far as claiming he has cadaver parts in his now "bionic" knee. His stay at Betty Ford has resulted in the DeWars company filing Chapter 11 and asking President Obama (a close personal friend of Klinger's) for stimulus money. Bottom line is....the whole camp is rooting for you Kling! If you have any trouble, Doc will volunteer to medicate you. I suggest the Strawberry Margaritta flavor, goes well with Bud.

Bro's

These two boys stuck together like glue! You could never find one without the other being close by. Could be that this is a "man crush" thing. Damn, that Shawn is handsome! Any young ladies reading this blog? If so, I can give you his phone number. He is handsome, rich, and compassionate! He owns a Diesel Truck and a Honda quad, every girl's dream.

Working on the road!

The rain made the road a bit "muddy" so we called in the "Big Dog," Johnny the Knife. Notice our boy Bailey, supervising the work detail. It should also be noted that Johnny WILL take off the stocking cap, sometime in July! The truck ran well, thanks to crack mechanics McNally and Burless. Now, all we need is a way to spread the gravel. Stay tuned.

Cookie the "Killar" with his Trophy!

Now this man can hunt! Cookie called this nice Tom in from at least a county away, then dropped him like a hot rock. This boy exemplifies stealth and cunningness. When he enters the North Eighty, animals begin to shake and shiver in fear they might be next on Cookie's wall. This boy cooked up great for a midnight snack. Deep fried Turkey tidbits (Dave calls them something else, but I can't share that here) hit the spot with a cold beer and a hot fire. Nice-e-e-e-e-e-e-e.

Spring Hunt Summary

OK, the spring hunt is over. Lots of birds, just one kill! Cookie got a nice Tom, everybody seemed to see birds but they were with Hens and could not be lured in. Now for the important stuff. Individuals in camp included: Cookie, Bill Henry, John McNally, Shawn McNally, Kolbs, Kyle, Kris, Pete, Chris Adams, Johnny Johnson, Steve Learman, Dan Horwath, Jeff Smith and Gage. Meals were excellent and included Strokenoff, Spaghetti, Glomkies, Rubens, Taco's, and many great sandwiches and soups. As usual, we couldn't get dishes washed before more food was in front of us, it was a "eat-o-thon." New game in camp! Dice game call "Left, Right, Center" came from activities director Johnson. A few quarters changed hands in this one. Six man euchre also made an appearance with Dan being the star of the show there. Work projects included Road Construction by Johnny K with an assist from Willy's the Jeep, 100 Red Pines planted on Arbor Day by Kolbe landscaping, and wood splitting/stacking by the masses, cook shack repair (Doc/Cookie/Kolbe), cook shack drain repair (Cookie/Kolbe). Discussed projects and project leaders were: Reisig Valley Golf Club improvements (Kolbe), indoor bar (Henry/McNally), shower addition (Shawn), water well improvements (Kolbe/Burless), Shelving for furnace room (McNally), and move generator across the road project (I don't remember who was in that one!), repair of wood splitter hose (McNally). Dogs present in camp included Cassie, Zeke (not the real Zeke, but Mac's Zeke), Kramer, Brodie, and Baxter. As usual, if it wasn't tied down it was eaten by the dogs. Lots of interest in socks, table food, and running wild. Camp fires were outstanding this year. Large hollow Beech logs provided us with Chimney's that directed the fire upwards! These logs were modified by drilled holes (Uncle Bill), and "V" cuts (Kolbe) and they provided quite the background for big discussions of world wide importance. I think we solved most of the world's problems, except for the politicians. The only thing that everybody agreed on was that subject! Summary of that discussion was "there ain't a good one to be seen, and they have absolutely no idea about what the real American thinks." Some discussions got a little heated (as usual), but Uncle Bill brought his heart pressure medication and after administering the medication he was able to breath again. Glad we had a Doctor there! I will post pictures as they come into me, I just always forget to take them and have to rely on others to send some pics to me. A great time was had by all and a special "Thanks" to Cookie for doing the shopping/cooking/accounting for the group. He is "THE MAN!"

QUARTERS!

Talked with Johnny Johnson yesterday. He asked that I remind everybody to bring some quarters so they can play a game or two of WASHERS! Ahhhhhh, beer and washers, doesn't get any better than that. Kris, you could even put in the bags and we could toss some bags!

Is this his ONLY kill, or did someone else shoot it?

Shawn, used to be cookies, now it's beer!

Doc, testing medications!

The start of it all!

Who is this? Nice Hair, glasses, lip hair.

Ahhh, the genesis of "Toddie Hour"

The Ultimate Camp Cook

Wow!

A few questions......

Would you buy a used car from this man?

When did he escape from jail?

How did he ever find anyone to marry him?

How can he have such good looking kids?

Do you think he looks Irish?

Why, just plain Why?

Do you think he likes beer?

And if you think this picture is ugly, have you seen him lately? Oh boy!

$1,000,000 Reward

For the arrest and conviction of this known felon! Wanted for everything you can think of, including violation of the "todie hour curfew," thinking too much, and "scrub your nuts Thursday" rules. He is rumored to be roaming the swamps of Florida, shooting 7 turkeys at a time to feed himself. This man should be considered armed and dangerous. Approach with extreme caution. As you can see, he has beady eyes and drinks Miller's.

From Cookie!

Hi there North 80 fun guys,
It's that time of year again. I need to know who is coming and what days they are planning on being at camp. Camp will officially open on Monday April 20th at 12:00 PM at the Whittemore Sportsman's tavern. After a meal of the Monday lunch special it's off to camp.
Please email as soon as you can of your plans for turkey camp this year. I have one response already, Clark will be there on Friday and has a permit for the 1st hunt. The sooner you can get the information to me the quicker I can get the cooking assignment and let the cook's know how many they are cooking for. If you don't let me know food my be a little scares when you get to camp. I have heard that we will have some guest this year so I will need the info on they also.
So man up and get the information to me.
Thanks
I love you guys
Cookie

Heard from Klinger today. He says "...I need to "unwind" a tad.....Paging Dr. Dewars...Paging Dr. Dewars.....we have a code red at the North Eighty!" Oh, oh.

History

This is a newspaper article that was in the Alcona County Review on April 30, 1931. Just a little history of the North Eighty!

"Hooking a ride with County Agent Blumer the other day, on one of his many trips around the country in pursuance of his job as a "farm doctor" the Review man was astonished and agreeably surprised when he saw what Fred Katona has accomplished in the six years he has been on his farm in Millen and Mikado Townships. The big surprise comes when one notices tht the buildings are all lighted by electricity and seemingly everything about the place is operated by the same mysterious power. The Review man was curious at once and was not satisfied until the obliging owner piloted him down to the river where a complete power plant was located Here was a good sized pond, formed by an effective dam across the stream. The power house, on the dam is equipped with a turbine, a generator, an instrument board and other power controlled services."

There is no doubt that Grandpa Katona was quite a man! I sure wish I had his ambition and knowledge.

Projects!

The pre-spring camp resulted in a few projects being suggested. First, McNally suggested we install shelving in the furnace room to eliminate the clutter under the stairs. He was going to see what he could find that would work. It was also suggested that we construct a "BAR" in the area under the stairs. We could then have a place to store and mix the various "todies" that frequent camp. It was suggested that Henry/Shawn are logical designers/builders for this project. McNally is also going to look into the idea of "lockers" for the bunk area. He has an "idea" so this should be interesting. A shower was also discussed, but nothing was really agreed upon about that issue. Any input from anyone?

New Feature!

NEW FEATURE! A slide show is available in the right column. Click on any picture and it will appear, in a larger format, on your screen. I will try to add more pics as I get time. Never enough time or beer.

Executive Board Meeting Minutes

An Executive Board Meeting was held on Saturday, March 28th. Members present included McNally, Kolbe, Burless, Decker, Katona, and Henry (Teleconference). Summary is as follows:
1. A lack of DWH's (dish washing whores) was discussed. It was pointed out that DubaDuba was about as good as they come, unless he get's his nose in the todies early. Motion to appoint Henry as designated DWH and limit his drinking to post dish washing passed, 5-1, with Henry voting no. I think this means that he is going to continue to observe extended todie hours.
2. The lack of a Beamis cleaner was also discussed. Now here is a job nobody wants. Numerous options were discussed, but the only concensus reached was that NEHC members are outstanding at dirtying the Beamis, but we do not have anyone qualified to clean them. Any suggestions from members will be considered. Please feel free to comment.
3. Annual dues were discussed. They will remain the same $0.00, and it was decided to pursue some of the stimulus money that is now available. Executive Board members all believe that we would qualify for stimulus money to build a new bar, storage shed, sauna, shower, and carpet the place. Member Adams (director of government relations/financial institutions) has been appointed to contact his close friend Barack to arrange for the transfer of stimulus money into the NEHC treasury account.
4. The summer work camp was discussed and it was decided, like in the past, that no one wants to work. Startling.
5. The McNally blind was officially named the "Hooka-Hooka Lounge."

Meeting adjourned, nothing was accomplished (as usual) and drinking continued well into the morning. Lots of world problems solved, nothing in camp solved.

HELP!

Hey guys. If you have anything to add to North Eighty Website (blog), email it to me. Cookie, give me dates and times of Spring Hunt (when do we get to eat at Sportsman again?). I am working on a slide show of old photos. Will have up in near future.

Preparation for Spring Turkey (2009)

Spring Turkey Season is almost upon us. Charter members John McNally, Dave (Cookie) Burless, Rick (Doc) Decker, and Kim Kolbe spent March 27-March 29 preparing the camp for the Spring season. Camp improvements included a relocation of Mac's sleeping quarters, mounting of numerous deer "racks" and turkey "fans" on the west wall, and repair of gas lighting fixtures. A newly rebuilt carb was also installed and spark plugs replaced in the farm dump truck. It now runs as good as new. Master mechanics McNally/Burless worked together to get the truck running, Kolbe just chased tools and materials. Meals, as usual were outstanding. All you can eat Pollock (Whittemore Sportsman's), Beef Stew, and one pound steaks highlighted the menu. The camp appears ready for the April hunt.