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Account: Conservation Club
The following was compiled by the Annandale History Club secretary.   


ANNANDALE CONSERVATION CLUB

All articles are from the Annandale Advocate unless otherwise noted.

OFFICERS

February 8, 1934:  Tuesday night the Annandale Conservation Club held its annual banquet in the Legion rooms.  The banquet was followed by a business meeting and a very interesting social hour.  Between 45 and 50 sportsmen were present.

The following officers were elected to serve terms the coming year:  Dr. N.A. Runquist, president; Carl Lundeen and Joe DeChaney, vice presidents; Dr. Bendix, secretary; A.L. Lofstrom, treasurer; Clard Broberg, Dr. Norris, and P.L Sawyer, directors.  A.M. Packer of Minneapolis, a member of the Hennepin County Sportsmen’s Club, was voted as an honorary member of the local organization.

February 28, 1935:  The Annandale Conservation Club held the annual meeting and election of officers in the Legion Hall on Tuesday night.  The members and guests gathered for a 6:30 banquet served by the Legion-Auxiliary. 

The following officers were elected to serve for the coming year:  N.A. Runquist, president; J.D. DeChaney, 1st vice president; A.H. Lofstrom, 2nd vice president; L.H. Bendix, secretary;  P.L. Sawyer, treasurer; Canute Logeais, C.E. Johnson and Carl Lundeen, trustees.

 September 9, 1954: George Ryti was elected president of the Annandale Conservation Club at the meeting held at Shady Lawn Resort.

Cokato Enterprise, January 18, 1989:  Dave Leukuma, a former Cokato resident, is at the forefront of a reawakening of the Annandale Conservation Club.  Leukuma is president of the organization that has grown from two members to 108 members in less than 11 months.

BIRD HOUSE CONTEST

April 12, 1934:  The Conservation Club is sponsoring a Bird House contest and offering prizes to the winners.  Later on the club will conduct a vermin hunt.  The two captains selected are Charley Kurz and Clard Broberg.

April 19, 1934:  It was announced last week that the Annandale Conservation Club was again sponsoring a Bird House Building Contest.  The rules governing the contest are:  1. Open to boys and girls in the grades of the local school.  2.  Contest closes April 27, 1934.  3. Houses may be of any design or material.  4.  Houses must be the work of the contestant.  This rule must not be violated.  5.   Only houses made during 1934 may be entered.  6.  Contestants must agree to put houses up in suitable places for birds after the contest is completed.  Prizes totaling $6.00 to be awarded.  Competent judges will be secured to place the houses.  The houses will be exhibited in the display window of the E.H. Dunton and Sons Hardware Store.

May 3, 1934:  The winners of the recent bird house building contest were:  Class I, age 10 years and under:  1st, Stanley Lundeen; 2nd, Richard Swanson.   Class II, ages 11 and 12 years:  1st, Russell Rosenberg; 2nd, Paul Bergerson; 3rd, Donald Cheney. Class III, ages 13 years and over:  1st, Stanley Kurz, 2nd, George Paul; 3rd, Walter Powers.  Special, Dorothy Groves, 35 cents, Adolph Groves, 35 cents.  Judge, A.L. Schaum   

September 23, 1936:  The winners in the Bird House building contest were announced last Friday by M.J. Seeger, who judged the products.  Elwood Heberling, Warren Maurice, and Clifford Jutenen were awarded first, second and third, respectively in class I.  Albert Gruss, Richard Betsinger, Neil Sawyer placed 1, 2, 3 in class II.  The quality of workmanship on the houses was better than last year, but the number of entries should have been larger.  The Annandale Conservation Club is entitled to credit for sponsoring such a worthwhile activity.

April 20, 1939:  The winners in the annual bird house building contest are as follows:  Class I, first to sixth grades inclusive.  First, Donald Larson, $1; second, Darrel Andrews, 65 cents; third, Marvin Sterriker, 35 cents.  Class II, seventh, eighth and ninth grades.  First, Robert Westrup, $1; second, James Sterriker, 65 cents, third, Bob Nordberg, 35 cents.   Class III, tenth, eleventh, twelfth grades.  First, Arnold Erickson, $1.  Al Schaum acted as judge of the contest.

February 5, 1942:  The Annandale Conservation Club is sponsoring a Bird House Building contest.  There are three separate age groups: Fifth to ninth grade, tenth to twelfth grade, and Boy Scout members.  The prizes consist of $1.50 for first place, $1.00 for second place and $.60 for third place.  All boys and girls are encouraged to join.

February 2, 1944:  …Contestants must agree to put houses up in suitable places, as the main purpose of the contest is to help arouse interest in our feathered friends.  We must remember that the birds will continue to help control our insect enemies.  Feeding stations and nesting shelters may be entered in the contest.  Houses will be judged on suitability, workmanship and originality.  Provisions should be made for cleaning out the houses.  Judging will be done by a competent person.  Information can be secured from J.D. DeCheney, H.P. Betsinger or H.E. Tripp.  Houses for bluebirds, house wrens and purple martins are most common…

April 19, 1945:  The results of the bird house building contest and awards are listed. Group I:  Grades 4,5,6 – Floyd Mathees, 1st place.   Group II: 7th Grade – Robert Olean, 1st; Clifford Mol, 2nd; Howard Griswold, 3rd; Norman Aronson, 4th.  Group III:  8th Grade – LeRoy Albers, 1st; Donald Kallunki, 2nd; Milton Ransom, 3rd; LeRoy Albers, 4th.  Group IV: Grades 9, 10, 11, 12 -  Melvin Raisanen, 1st; Tom Jarl, 2nd; Maurice Chevalier, 3rd; Roger Glaim, 4th.  The prizes were 1st - $1.25; 2nd - .75; 3rd - .50; 4th .25.  Judge:  A.L. Schaum.  Sweepstakes – Melvin Raisanen.

TRAP SHOOTING

August 28, 1952:  Annandale trap shooters sponsored by the Conservation Club, held their first shoot Sunday, Aug. 14.  The meet launched the new setup for trapshooting at the Goerge Houchins farm just out of Annandale.  In Sunday’s shoot, Willard Kalash and Marvin Rasset led the field of about 30 marksmen with 22 out of a possible 25.  Ed Glazier and Frank Ledwein followed with 20s and the rest   ranged from 19 on down.

 

September 1952:  The team from Annandale Conservation Club won first place in the trap shoot held at Howard Lake Sunday, in connection with the Wright County Sportsmen’s Picnic.  Ten towns competed in the shoot.  Annandale won with a score of 97 out of a possible 125.  Howard Lake was next with 96 and Buffalo with a score of 93.

September 23, 1954:  The Annandale Trapshooting Team won the Wright County Trophy for the second time in the annual county Sportsmen’s Picnic in Howard Lake.   Annandale’s team score was 106 out of a possible 125.  Howard Lake was second with a score of 101.  Twelve teams were entered in competition.  Men from Annandale on the team were Ed Glazier, Marvin Rasset, Frank Ledwein, Leo Olson and Earl Olson.  The trophy is on display in Glazier Hardware window.

February 5, 2014:  At the Annandale School Board meeting Monday, Jan. 27, the board gave unanimous approval to joining the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League this spring.  There is no direct cost to the school district.  The Annandale Conservation Club will be a major donor to defray the costs…  Paul Jorgensen of the Annandale Conservation Club has helped to organize Annandale’s participation in a statewide clay target shooting league starting this spring.  All participants must have a firearms safety certificate through the Minnesota DNR.

June 4, 2014:  …In the Clay Target  team’s first season, 22 boys and girls registered, including 18 boys and four girls.  There were 15 high school and seven middle school students.  Most of the volunteer coaches are members of the Annandale Conservation Club.  Two of them are certified DNR firearms instructors.  Volunteer coaches include Paul Jorgensen, Desiree Schindele, Jim O’Reilley, Dean Wrobbel, Tom Starkey, Greg Macrunel and Steve Hermann.

July 30, 2014:  Sharpshooters Tom and Bob Petty, owners of Petty Brothers Old Fashioned Meat Market in Annandale, recently took first and second place at the 104th Minnesota State Trapshooting Tournament in Alexandria.  Tom and Bob have been around trapshooting for most of their lives. As youngsters, the two watched their father shoot at the Annandale Conservation Club.    

RIFLE RANGE

November 27, 1987:  Closing the rifle range east of Annandale is one thing John Monk does not want to happen, “But it could come to that if something isn’t done,” said Monk, Annandale’s acting police chief.  Deterioration of the earthen backstop at the rifle range owned by the Annandale Conservation Club is the cause of the concern.  The backstop has deteriorated so that it is possible to see cars driving on the gravel road about one-half mile east of the rifle range.

August 17, 1988:  The Annandale City Council and the Annandale Conservation Club have scheduled a public informational meeting to present plans for rebuilding and enlarging the shooting range just outside Annandale’s city limits.

September 20, 1989:  The Annandale Conservation Club has been making improvements to its shooting range.  The shooting range was in danger of being closed down several years ago for safety issues, and the problems have surfaced again.  However, club members have worked together to create a much safer shooting range.  The club plans to erect a sign listing rules of the range, which is to include safety and courtesy factors.

PROJECTS

May 15, 1952:  As one of the projects of the season, the Annandale Conservation Club planted 850 trees at the Irvin Hoffman farm south of town, last week.  The trees are furnished by the state; the club does the work. 

April 1, 1954:  The Annandale Conservation Club has made arrangements to use the Goelz Pond for their Pike project again this season.  The local club is interested in any way to assist the game and fish projects in this area.  They belong to the Minnesota Game Protective League

October 2, 1952:  The people of the community can be thankful for the Annandale Wildlife Conservation Club’s continued all-out drive to preserve our natural resources.  Their latest move in this direction was the seining of the Goelz rearing pond for pike fingerling with which they stocked the following lakes:  Pleasant, Cedar, Sugar, Clearwater, Bass, Granite, Camp, Sylvia, West Twin, John and Union.  

January 12, 1961:  The Annandale Conservation Club marked an area near Goodin Point on Clearwater Lake with evergreen trees, brush and a sign.  Vehicles have gone into the lake because of thin ice and open water.  Clyde Peterson, president of the club and other members worked on the project in order to warn people who drive their cars out on the lake.

July 8, 1981:  Granite Lake Association and Annandale Conservation Club are both working for lake improvement.  At a recent meeting of the Granite Lake Association a motion was made, seconded, and voted unanimously to donate $25 to the Annandale Conservation Club for their repeated efforts in restocking the lake with walleyes and northern pike.

Annandale Conservation Club Facebook Page:  We offer gun safety training, personal protection classes, trap leagues.  We support the future wildlife by building and donating bird and duck houses and food plots.  We have wild game feeds, steak frys and we have the largest youth fishing contest.

YOUTH FISHING CONTEST 

Advertisement FlyerFebruary 12, 2011, 12th Annual Youth Fishing Contest.

February 20, 2012:  Feb. 16 was a near perfect winter day for the Annandale Conservation Club’s annual Youth Fishing Contest.  About 220 children turned out for the event on Pleasant Lake.  There were 52 fish caught, the largest a 2.7 pound Northern.  The kids and their families consumed more than 600 hot dogs and 20 gallons of hot chocolate.  Many prizes were handed out.  $50 was awarded for the biggest fish in each age grou, and $25 was awarded for second and third biggest fish.  Age groups were 1-5, 6-10 and 11-15.

February 16, 2013:  Youth Fishing Contest, South Access Pleasant Lake, 12:00 noon.  Sponsored by the Annandale Conservation Club with donations from the community.

February 19, 2014:  …It takes about 30 volunteers to run the contest, including individuals who help drill the holes and ATV drivers.  Participants can ride snowmobile trailers furnished with hay bales and pulled by four-wheelers out to their fishing sites to keep traffic on the ice to a minimum.  The only significant change to this year’s event is the addition of a warming tent to make a full afternoon on the lake more comfortable.  Participants should bring their own pole and warm clothing, but everything else is provided free of charge thanks to contributions from businesses and other sources.

ACTIVITIES

March 1, 1934:  The program at the school auditorium Tuesday night sponsored by the Annandale Conservation Club was very well attended.  People from Kimball, South Haven, Buffalo and other points were resent.  The speaker, Sydney R. Montague, spoke of his experiences as a mounted policemen in Canada, also of his life in the frozen Baffin Bay area.  He emphasized the value of conservation.

November 11, 1951:  Annandale and the local Conservation Club received much valuable publicity last Friday night due to the fine appearance made by club members on the 9:45 TV sports program.

December 4, 1952:  The annual Fox Hunt will begin Sunday, Dec. 7th, and as usual, sponsored by the Annandale Conservation Club.  All huntsmen are requested to meet at 1:00 sharp, Sunday afternoon at the Sportsman Café, where rides will be made available.

January 7, 1954:  A Fox Hunt is planned by the Annandale Sportsmen’s Club to be held Sunday.  All those who want to join, meet at the Play-Dale recreation room.  After the hunt, lunch will be served at the new VFW Club room.  Please bring shot guns only.

June 8, 1961:  This Friday the Annandale Conservation Club will be sponsoring the annual spring dance party at the Maple Lake pavilion.  There will be dancing, food and prizes, including a True Temper spinning rod and Johnson reel.  Al Elsenpeter and his Key Notes will be providing music for dancing.  The club asks for a donation of $1.  This money will go towards propagation of fish game, food for waterfowl and upland game, predator control and assisting in the maintenance of water levels.

March 23, 1988:  The Annandale Conservation Club meets the first Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Annandale VFW Hall.  The club is recently reorganized and is planning club projects.  Anyone with ideas or anyone who wants to help can attend month meetings or contact Ed Kaz.

Date ?:  A lawful gambling permit was approved for the Annandale Conservation Club.

 

Compiled by the Annandale History Club Secretary