President — Brian Mohn, 134 Fairview Road, Hamburg, PA 19526; phone: 610-562-1790; e-mail: papatrees@aol.com
Vice President East — Joel Whitehead, RR#2Box 90, Thompson, PA 18465; e-mail: JFRED@nep.net
Vice President West — Ned Weston, 120 Swope Road, West Sunbury, PA 16061; phone: 724-894-2239; e-mail: Nweston@netzero.net
Secretary — Tereasa Houtz, 300 Flint Lane, Landisburg, PA 17040; e-mail: PTASecretary@embarqmail.com
Treasurer — Chad Kijowski, P.O. Box 614 , Dayton, PA 16222; phone: 814-257-9846;
e-mail: HKijowski@yahoo.com
Editor — Russ Ford, 309 Pine Dale Road, Carlisle, PA 17013, phone: 717-249-7271, fax: 717-249-8509; e-mail: Ptaeditor@pa.net
NTA Director — David Shuttleworth, 5452 Tamarack Drive, Sharpsville, PA 16150; phone: 724-962-4260; e-mail: Dianeshutts@aol.com
FTA Director — Mark Kasten, RR2 Box 2287, Hallstead, PA 18822; phone: 570-278-2553;
e-mail: willsher@epix.net
Public Relations Director — Mike Gontor, 87 West 7th St., Jim Thorpe, PA 18229; phone: 570-325-4974; e-mail: FuFiGa@ptd.net
Membership Options:
Individual membership including subscription to Trapper & Predator Caller — $25
Individual membership without subscription — $10
Junior, age 16 and under without subscription — $5
Lifetime membership with subscription — $300
Lifetime membership without subscription — $100
Complete membership application on first page of association section and send dues to:
PTA Treasurer
Chad Kijowski
P.O. Box 614
Dayton, PA 16222
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
The Pennsylvania Trappers Association held our annual Rendezvous in Washington Co. hosted by District 3. It was more than twenty years since we visited this part of the state and their attention to details made it seem like they were busy planning a great rendezvous for that period of time. All the volunteers went out of their way to make sure we all had a good time. My complements to ALL!
At our general membership meeting on Saturday we inducted three very deserving members into our Hall of Fame; they are Pete Askins, Walt Sphar and Rod Zullinger. These gentlemen have given a lifetime of service to the PTA and I ask you to thank them the next time your paths cross. Other trappers recognized this year were Dave Shuttleworth as Trapper of the Year, Dave Eckels for Director of the Year, Dan Lynch for Conservationist of the Year, Jennifer Eckels for Youth Trapper of the Year, and Mike and Donna Spittle for the President’s Award. I thank everybody for time they volunteer.
Our membership voted on bids for the 2012, 75th rendezvous at the general membership meeting. We had two districts present bids, District 4 and 8. By the vote of our membership District 4 will be hosting the 2012 rendezvous in Clearfield. Next year’s rendezvous will be hosted by District 11 in Schuylkill Co. June 16-18, 2011
Some of the other highlights of the rendezvous was the well landscaped demo area and fine list of presenters for the demos. I want to congratulate Charlie Sykes for winning the Mountain Man race; this is and obstacle course set up for the Directors to run, show their district pride and entertain the members.
We are continuing our association with the Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship Pageant and Tereasa Holtz and her niece went to the pageant the same weekend as rendezvous and present Courtney Thomas, the new Miss Pennsylvania with a fur coat.
I want to invite everybody to the state banquet hosted by District 11 on September 18 in Lebanon, PA. Good times and food will be had by all who attend. Our speaker for the banquet is Tom Hardisky, and he will be presenting a program on Beaver Management. We will be drawing the winner of the PA Trappers Quilt which was made by our members. Tickets for the banquet or the quit are available through Ralph Wagner, Mike Spittle or myself.
Take someone to a trapping school.
— Brian Mohn
EDITOR’S REPORT
Hi to all,
My Thanks to D3 for a well hosted Convention. Also Thanks to D11 & D4 for taking the effort to host the next 2 Conventions. They should be good ones.
Now the next part of my report is to all of you members & districts. It is being written because of what I consider was a mistake that was made & that mistake needs corrected in some way.
I write it as a nearly 40 year Veteran of this PTA. As well as a Boardmember for many years. These are my views & opinions & they may not reflect those of all members or the entire Board of the PTA. Just the same it needs to be put before all of you. I fully understand that it may not the Politically Correct way to go about this but being OPEN & HONEST is the only way that I have been & the only way I’LL ALWAYS BE!
Here goes: Recently, at the General meeting & about 2 weeks earlier at an O&D Meeting motions were made & passed to stop any Member & District from performing a DUTY & a RIGHT that we all have. That RIGHT & DUTY is for us to do ALL that we can to enhance this Association. That DUTY & RIGHT is to help to make this Association Financially Strong. Either by giving our money & time or by making money for YOUR PTA.
Recently a District came up with an idea to made a good bit of money for this Assoc. More importantly they acted on the idea and put into being. All for the Betterment of all of us. Why these motions were made to stop those, that acted in the best interest of the PTA & did perform their Duty & exercised their Right to contribute to this Assoc., are not clear to me. Perhaps those responsible felt it was the right thing to do. OR perhaps it was done for EVIL INTENTIONS. I surely hope it was for the Former & not the Latter!
WE have no right to hinder anyone or any District from performing their Duties or exercising their Rights! WE must not stop those that are trying to help ALL of US!
In closing I leave you with these thoughts to ponder over.
Why should we put a Dagger in any member or District’s back? By doing thus WE ALL BLEED! I DO NOT want to see us Bleed to Death. Do YOU?
For those who do not know & for those of you who tend to forget. NO DISTRICT owns any money or other property. Yes, they may posess it BUT it all belongs to this Association as a whole. So anytime any District makes money it it is making it for ALL OF US. It would do us well to remember that FACT!
We should remember to not act on something we do not like with an alterative motif.
I urge that this motion/rule be nullified by any means it can be. Also that it is nulled in a speedy manner. If that action is not done by the board or any other way.
I urge that any member or any District whom desires to contribute to the Betterment of All that they ignore the recent motions that were passed. I further urge that all of you strive to help to keep YOUR ASSOCIATION Financially Strong.
One final thought: I realize the the probability that I may be chastised for putting this in writing. To this I say: I WILL CONTINUE TO BE STRAIGHT FORWARD & HONEST in ALL MATTERS! That is what you DESERVE! IT IS what IT IS!
THANK YOU for YOUR TIME!
— Russ Ford
DISTRICT 1 REPORT
Hello members,
I wish to congratulate District 3 on an outstanding rendezvous. It was well-organized and the demo area was very impressive. Thanks everyone for your hard work. I would like to express congratulations to Dave Shuttleworth for receiving the Trapper of the Year Award, Dave Eckals for receiving the District Director of the Year Award and Rod Zullinger for being inducted into the Trappers’ Hall of Fame. These gentlemen show a lot of dedication and hard work for the trappers. Their efforts are greatly appreciated. Congratulations to each of you!
The NTA 51st Annual Convention will be held at Marshfield Fairgrounds in Marshfield, WI on August 5th through the 8th.
Crawford County did the Antlers and Anglers Show in Meadville. It went well. They made a lot of good contacts. Jason Taylor did a coyote demo and was in the Meadville Tribune for his efforts. Thanks to everyone who participated in making this a successful event!
Jim Murphy and Jim Stanford attended the Crawford County Youth Field Days. Thanks guys!
Crawford County also has the Crawford County Fair in August, the Pumpkin Fest in October, and the Waterfowl Expo in September.
Mercer County has Family Fun Days at the Harthegig Club in Fredonia on August 1st and the Stoneboro Fair in September.
Our Fall district meeting will be hosted by Crawford County on September 25th at the Conneaut Lake Sportsman’s Club. Demos and Dealers will be there by 9:00 AM and the meeting will start at Noon. Jim Murphy will be coordinating a cable restraint class in the morning.
God Bless.
— Charlie Sykes
DISTRICT 3 REPORT
Whew. That’s about the only word I can come up with to describe the last month or so. The convention came by so quick, it’s hard to believe that we were there for 5 days. To all of those who helped, I could never list names without forgetting someone, so I’ll get that out right away. A huge thank you must go out to all who helped, for a couple hours or for weeks. From set up to clean up, we had help, many people taking their vacations from work during convention week, and whole families showing up to help. We had many comments on our “sea of green” worker shirts that seemed to be everywhere. Having a great turnout of help was a blessing for everyone, it certainly made it easier for me at least. Of course, my opinion is biased, but I wouldn’t trade the help crew at this year’s convention for any other. I may be wrong, but I think everyone was having fun while working. The pride in D-3 sure showed through.
I feel I have to list a few people who went “above and beyond” the call of duty to make sure this convention went off as smooth as possible. Doug Bergman, the demo area turned out incredible, thanks for seeing your ideas through. I know you didn’t get to see much of the convention, but it was all around you. I can’t forget all those who spent the Sunday before the convention in the arena digging, planting and designing either. It’s great to have landscapers and nursery people on hand for such things. A special thanks to Wilkinson’s Nursery for providing the plants, etc. for the demo area.
To all the people who worked the gates, day and night, and the D-3 booth, thanks for all your time. So many people helped here, that it would be impossible to list all of the names. Ed Maholtz, thanks for setting up home right inside the gate, so you could be there whenever needed. Barbie, thanks for getting the booth looking like we knew what we were doing and organizing everything, and Judy, the chocolate chip cookies were timely and well appreciated. Dane Culley and kids, and I guess I can’t forget our little buddy “duck sauce” either. Thanks Nick for your energy at the gate, and ordering pizza delivery late every night. Steve Lech, thanks for our firewood supply, and your daughter Johnnie Sue for helping anytime we needed it.
Dan Weiss, thanks for organizing the auction, and Steve Yilit for being our auctioneer. Mike and Zoe Kennedy, for all you two have done in the last year. Rege Denne, John Kozubal, Erwin Polansky and crew, likewise a thank you on the two cable restraint classes offered Friday and Saturday. Walt Sphar, a big thank you for watching the gates all night, a job nobody else really wanted, but allowing everyone to get a few hours of rest.Matthew Pappa, thanks for giving us announcements on the hour, some quite interesting, and John Wilkinson for the trap setting contests and mountain man race. Last but not least, the Poorbaughs for lending us a mule, and for doing whatever needed done, and for Ronnie Shriver and Tom Lane who seemed to be everywhere, day or night, to make sure everything kept working. Tom, also thanks for getting your son to dj on Saturday night and provide the “moments” of trapper karaoke. I’m sure that won’t be forgotten any time soon! It made for a late night, but everyone showed up to work Sunday morning.
I could go on and on, and I’m sure I’ve forgotten someone who played a huge part in this event, I’m sorry for that, it is unintentional. For all involved, once again, Thank You, together you’ve all joined together to make district 3 proud.
Till next time.
— Dave Eckels
DISTRICT 4 REPORT
Hello All,
Just a quick note to everyone to let you know what is going on in the district and some upcoming events.
First, let me say great job district 3 for a great convention.
The big news is District 4 submitted a bid, and was successful, to host the 2012 PTA convention. It will be the PTA 75th annual convention. Those district 4 members who attended the convention in Washington are all excited about the upcoming event. We have a lot of great ideas, but your input is needed and welcomed. So please plan on attending the fall meeting on September 26th at 1:00 pm at the Cameron Co. Fairgrounds in Emporium. We have a lot of planning to do to make the 75th a convention to remember.
The district 4 trapper training school will be on Saturday September 25th at 9:00 am. The cost if $5.00 per person, lunch is included. Whether you are new to trapping or an old pro, come on out and learn something new.
The fall rendezvous will be Sunday September 26th. There will be lots of trapping supplies, food, stories (some true), and fun. The district meeting will be held at 1:00 pm on Sunday. We have a lot to discuss, please plan on attending. Both the trapper training and the fall rendezvous will be held at the Cameron County Fairgrounds on Route 46 just north of Emporium.
If you have any questions, please call me 814-371-1170
Thanks.
— Don Klinger
DISTRICT 7 REPORT
District 7 lost a longtime member April 7, 2010. Gerald Gentzel had been in the hospital for 6 weeks and had kidney failure and complications, He was a lifetime member of the PTA and had served as an assistant director of D-7. He made many friends thru the years.He was a pest control person and with his wife Vivian,grandson Tyler and son Jeff they trapped many skunks, groundhogs, etc. Gerald is survived by his wife Vivian,daughter Amber Gentzel Morris, two sons Brad and Jeff. His oldest son Rodney died August,2,2008. He has 6 grandchildren. The fur shed will now be empty,but there are so many memories. We will miss him.
Upcoming events in District 7, August 14,trapper training day at the Watsontown Lions Club Youth Center on the White Deer pike,3.8 miles west of Rt 15 at the White Deer exit. Cable restraint class will be held at the same place and date, must register on the Pa Game Comm. website, cost $15. District 7 picnic is July 25, 1 pm at the Booneville campground near Loganton. Bring a covered dish. September 18 is our mini-convention at the Booneville campground. This will be held with the Sugar Valley Historical Day. There will be trapping demos and food stands. District 7 meeting will be at 1pm. Any questions call 570-437-2679.
— Pete
DISTRICT 8 REPORT
Job well done to Dave Eckels and all the District 3 volunteers that hosted the PTA Rendezvous at Washington, Pa.
Upcoming events in District 8: August 28, 2010 7:00 AM ,Trapper Training School at Mercersburg Sportsman Association Inc., Mercersburg, Pa. You need to pre-register. Call for application form ( 717-486-7573 ):
August 29, 2010 12:00 Noon District 8 General Meeting at Tuscarora Valley Heritage Grounds, East Waterford, Pa.: September 10, 11, and 12, 2010 Tuscarora Valley Extravaganza, Tuscarora Valley Heritage Grounds, East Waterford, Pa.
For More Info, contact me at Allen Eppleman, 4232 Carlisle Rd., Gardners, Pa. 17324, or phone at 717-486-7573 or 717-226-9623, or email aleppleman@comcast.net. — Allen Eppleman
DISTRICT 11 REPORT
I want to start with congrats and thanks to Dave Eckels and all the guys and gals from District 3 for putting on a great state convention. I was only able to attend on Friday because of a Youth Field Day commitment on Saturday. Everything seeming to be running smoothly and everyone seemed to be running smoothly and everyone seemed to be enjoying the rendezvous. I had a real pleasant surprise there, one of the District 3 staff, Tom Lane, was my vo-ag teacher from Lower Dauphin High School. It was great to catch up with him after all these years, and yes, it’s quite a few. Hopefully you were able to attend and catch up with some old friends also.
Speaking of conventions, the planning and preparing for the 2011 convention is steadily moving forward. Ralph seems to be a step or 2 ahead of me all the time. He has been really working on getting things lined up for next year. Much of our next district meeting will be devoted to the planning for the 2011 convention. That meeting will be held at the Millcreek Sportsmen/’s Association in Lancaster on August 1st. We will start at 9:00 a.m. with a few demos; there will be dealers there with supplies; also tailgater spots available for you if you want to bring something to sell. We will have a potluck lunch at 12 noon and our district meeting will be held at 2:00 p.m. We need to make some final decisions for the state banquet and continue our planning for the 2011 convention. Please try to attend this event so we can move forward together with these 2 projects.
I want to give you the info on the trapper training schools again. If you know of anyone that would be interested in attending please pass the info along to them. We will take anyone that is interested whether they are 8 or 80. It doesn’t matter.
Berks / Schuylkill County – Sept. 11 @ Auburn Fish & Game, Contact: Ron Smith (570) 294-6270
Dauphin County – Sept. 25 @ Dauphin County Anglers & Conservationists, Contact: Mike Spittle (717) 367-2637
Lancaster County – Aug. 28 @ Millcreek Sportsmen’s Assoc., Contact: Terry Suter (717) 393-4738
York County – Aug. 28 @ Starview Sportsmen’s Club, Contact: Brett Spangler (717) 384-8752
The state banquet will be held on September 18th at the Eagles Club in Lebanon. Tickets for the banquet will be $25 each or $45/couple, anyone under 16 will be $12. Tickets are available by calling me at (717) 367-2637 or email spittlefam@paonline.com. We will have the usual raffle tables for the men, women and children, a silent auction, live auction and bucket raffle. I will tell you right now, the meal is going to be one of the best you have ever had. Those who attended 2 years ago know what I’m talking about. Please plan now to attend, invite some friends and help support the Association. If you have any items for the banquet auctions or raffles, or would like to help out by soliciting something, let Ralph or me know. Ralph has letters made up if you would like to contact any businesses for donated items.
One last thing, Ralph and I are going to do a cable restraint class on Sunday, August 8th at the Conewago Rod & Gun club from 1-5 p.m. If you or anyone you know wants to attend you can register online through the PA Game Commission web site.
If at all possible, please try to come to the meeting at Millcreek, August 1st!
Hope to see you there.
— Mike Spittle
DISTRICT 12 REPORT
Hello from the Southeast again. I’m back and glad to be home. It was experience to say the least. But I’m ready to start working for the district again and I’m already looking forward to the up coming seasons. It look as if the forecast for the market will be bleak again this season but we will be trying to go full steam ahead anyway.. Some of us just never learn.
As soon as I got back , actually even before I got back Dave and I starting scheduling our upcoming mini fall convention. We are trying to come up with some new ideas this year as well as having our typical foundation to work from. Our convention will be held on September 10th, 11th and 12th. Being that I literally got home 2 days ago and Dave and I are still planning the whole event, I don’t have a lot to tell you yet. The annual fundrasing pig roast will be Friday night on the 10th and the trappers training school will be on Saturday the 11th. I wanted to get the dates to you as soon as I could so everyone could plan on attending. By the time this gets into the “Trapper” we should have the weekend all planned out. You can contact me at 610-996-2127 or at rmtcontracting97@hotmail.com. Dave can be reached at 610-273-7946. By my next report I should have more information. We also will be sending out a district flyer in August. It will outline the events of the district for the rest of the year.
Again, it’s good to be back and I hope to talk and hear from you all soon..
Watch your top knot.
— Rick Ameisen
