Maine has a longstanding heritage of hunting. At the turn of the century men went afield to put food on the table and fill the larder for a long, hard winter. The first day of deer season was much anticipated and greeted with a family gathering that would do justice to a holiday celebration. In the predawn lantern light, a large hearty breakfast was enjoyed with enough food to sustain an all day outing in search of game.
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FIRST PRIZE – Fourteen-year-old Sheridan Smith of Hodgdon used perseverance on Youth Hunting Day to down his first six-point, 150-pound prize on the coast of Maine. The day was challenging as it was rainy and windy, but Smith can look back with pride.
Fathers, sons, uncles, grandfathers, cousins and brothers-in-law all showed up in the to share breakfast while planning the day’s outing. This was one morning when the camping spirit took over, and the males worked over a woodstove to offer up mounds of home fries, fried and scrambled eggs, bacon, ham, sausage and homemade toast with homemade jelly and jam. A crock of baked beans was often warming in the oven.
The actual hunting strategy, who hunts from what stand and who walks the ridges to drive deer to the shooters, was settled in a few minutes. The conversation throughout most of the early morning meal concerned great past hunts and great hunters who had passed on, young hunter’s first deer, the big bucks of seasons’ past and, of course, the deer with record-breaking racks that got away for one hilarious reason or another. The conversation filled the hearts and souls with memories as the hearty food filled the bellies and fueled the bodies for a special day in the woods.
As we work our way into the new millennium the need to hunt still burns strong in the heart and mind of regional sportsmen. Wild game as table fare is enjoyed rather than needed and the pre-hunt breakfast tradition remains strongly intact, yet slightly altered to fit the era. Full tables of outdoorsmen, past and present, as well as stories about bragging-size bucks with new yarns and anecdotes thrown in to keep things fresh.
Over the last thirty years or so hunters breakfasts have changed from family meals to community get-togethers. A half dozen hunting buddies around a homemade camp table covered with bacon, eggs, toast and coffee has turned into a hundred townspeople lining rows of tables with a dozen different food choices. No longer just a sportsmen’s fraternity, the hunter’s breakfast is comprised of men, women and children from a wide range of lifestyles and businesses enjoying an array of freshly cooked food. Who’s who is easily discernible by attire, there are those dressed for work and wishing they could go hunting and then there’s the lucky orange clad group, smiling yet a bit fidgety for fear of missing first light in the deer woods.
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SIX POINT – Joshua McNinch of Littleton downed a six-point 168-pound buck in the Haynesville Woods on Youth Hunting Day.
Most hunters consider the food perfect, regardless of what’s served, and the reason is simple and straightforward—they didn’t have to get up and cook it. The eggs are any way you like them; over easy is very popular. Most cooks choose bacon as the morning meat, but every once in awhile ham or sausage links show up. In the land of potatoes home fries are a must and occasionally some onion pieces will be cooked in unison to add flavor. Toast with butter and jam is the mainstay and bread is always a touch of class. A few early chefs go all out with pancakes or French toast done to order. Up in “The Valley” ployes are often on the menu. Now that’s the way to put on the feed bag for a day of tramping the tree lines. Add some real maple syrup and it’s heaven before first light.
Two or three varieties of muffins make a nice addition and don’t forget the donuts. Store bought are common, but fresh fried dunkers are a true prize. Milk for the youngsters, coffee to jump start those with a little age on and lots of orange juice to fight off early winter colds are the common beverages. The “piece de resistance” of any authentic hunter’s breakfast is the baked beans. Not canned but soaked all night, baked all day, sweet and pungent, salt pork packed New England baked beans. Such a meal is a cardiologist’s nightmare no doubt, but as an exception to the rule one or two traditional hunter’s breakfasts a season can be tolerated.
Fish and game clubs or rod and gun clubs are the most common hosts for such early morning events, and I do mean early. Most start around 5 a.m. but a few start as early as and serve until 9 or 10 a.m. Club members serve as cooks, and spend many hours procuring and preparing food and setting up eating areas. Other members serve food, wash dishes and silverware and clean tables. Success requires a group effort.
For five dollars you can’t beat the array of food and best of all there’s no cooking or clean up. Pay, eat, share a few stories, thank the sponsors and head for the deer stand. Hunting and fishing clubs putting on breakfast events have been joined by VFWs, American Legions, Granges, ATV Clubs, snowmobile clubs, volunteer fire departments and many more civic and service organization so each town has multiple events throughout October and November.
Many hunters’ breakfasts have added door prizes and raffles to put a few more faces in the places. There’s not a hunter out there who will turn down a chance at a new rifle or shotgun, and that prize of 100 gallons of heating oil looks better every week as the price goes up and the temperature drops.
Finding a breakfast near your hometown is a snap, just look in the local paper, listen to community announcements on the radio, check the bulletin board at church or in the supermarket or talk with other sportsmen. It’s likely there may be three or four predawn dining opportunities at various sites in your town or village, often spread out over two or three weekends. I’m betting there’s a hunter’s breakfast near you this Saturday morning. Stop by and fill up on food, friendship and free advice on how to bag a buck.
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FIRST WEEK PRIZE – Wallace Townsend of Island Falls and his son Tracy Townsend of Michigan show off their 606-pound bull moose that was shot during the first week of the annual Moose Hunt.
Hunter breakfast on tap
The Molunkus Valley Sno-Drifters will hold a hunter’s breakfast from 4-9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3 at the clubhouse at 58 North St. in Sherman. The menu includes eggs, bacon/sausage, homefries, toast, French toast, pancakes, beans and drink. Cost is $5 per person and $2.50 for children under 12. There will also be a raffle.
Houlton Rifle and Pistol Club to meet
The monthly meeting of the Houlton Rifle and Pistol Club is at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 at the range located adjacent to Houlton International Airport. Recreational shooting will follow the meeting. All members are encouraged to attend.
Smoki-Haulers Snowmobile Club
The Smoki-Haulers Snowmobile Club, located on ITS 83 in Oakfield, holds meetings at 7 p.m. the second Monday of each month. They have open membership at this time; dues are $25 a year. For more information, call Bob Locke, membership chairman, at 757-8478.
The clubhouse, which is accessible off I-95, is a 40×60 log building built five years ago with a good-size parking lot to park and ride for sledders and ATV riders. The club is responsible for grooming 115-125 miles of trail.
The Smoki-Haulers Snowmobile Club is holding a special super raffle to be drawn on Nov. 10 at a public supper. Only 300 tickets are being sold at $25 each. First place is $1,000; second and third, $750; fourth ad fifth, $500 and sixth, $250. When a ticket is drawn, it will go back into the drawing and could be pulled out again. The odds are six in 300.
