By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
The Elkhorn Lake Hunt Club offered a little bit of outdoor education and a whole lot of fun for families Saturday at the club’s 16th annual Family Fun Day.
The event, which lasted from 8 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. featured multiple activities for families and friends to take part in including archery, plinking cans with a BB gun, fishing, and even a morning pheasant hunt.
Sarah Mason attended the event with her father, Lon Mason, and her brother.
“I went pheasant hunting with my brother; I did the shotgun and the fishing. I got my first pheasant today actually,” Mason said.
Peg and Sam Ballou hosted the event along with 25 volunteers. Members of the Ohio Department of Watercraft, and Ohio Department of Natural Resources helped work the event.
“This is our 16th year. It was 1998 when we first started. That was in reaction to Issue 1 which was the anti-dove hunting initiative,” Peg said. “We always have had eight different venues. Four of them are archery, the pellet gun and rifle range, and we have fishing, and a shotgun range. Then we have four others that rotate every year. This year featured pond ecology with Natalie Pirvu, the turkey venue, and the Department of Watercraft with Ryan Henak.”
“The eight activities go together to make a round robin of activities to give people a chance to try to see if they like, or to just come and enjoy the day with the family,” Ballou continued.
Max Phillips and friend Caden Boles attended the event with Max’s father Dan Phillips. While attending the Family Fun Day, Phillips and Boles competed against each other in a friendly competition of who could reach 10 targets first with the BB gun. They said that they enjoyed the shooting ranges the most, but that learning about bugs and frogs as well.
Brothers Cody and Colt Bush attended the event together, and had a good time.
“We enjoy all the good people you get to meet, and have the same interest as you,” Cody said.
“Everybody is so nice here. It is just a fun place to be.” Colt added.
The Bush brothers said that the clay pigeons were their favorite activity of Family Fun Day.