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?