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Isaak Walton League back on track
ARAPAHOE -- A conservationist and avid fly fisherman from 17th-century England would be proud today of a group of outdoor enthusiasts from Arapahoe.
Izaak Walton, dead since 1683, should be smiling in his grave.
A group of men from Arapahoe have resurrected the community's "Izaak Walton League of America," and -- in the name of the man for whom the league is named -- encourages the protection, wise use and restoration of America's soil, air, woods, water and wildlife.
The Arapahoe chapter is now the fastest-growing Izaak Walton League in the nation -- 72 dues-paying members in 1 year.
Arapahoe's original Izaak Walton League was chartered in October 1945, and was very active through the 1960s and 1970s. They sponsored "turkey shoots," giving away turkeys, hams and blocks of cheese for prizes. Until 2001, when membership fell off, members taught hunter safety courses.
The group reactivated its charter last year, and, with a renewed sense of direction and mission, members are restoring the 1945 clubhouse south of Arapahoe and planning outdoor activities again.
The clubhouse was the chapel at the prisoner-of-war camp at Atlanta. Nine of 12 religious murals painted on the walls between the windows have been successfully removed and will hang in the museum in Arapahoe.
The clubhouse now has new windows, sheet rock, wiring and insulation.
The exterior walls and the Izaak Walton League emblem will be repainted this spring.
The league has blue rock, pistol and archery ranges, and members teach hunter and bow safety classes.
League members want to provide activities for youths, and the group is sponsoring two high school shooters at the state trap shoot. They would like to become involved with 4-H shooting sports activities.
The group recently sponsored a wild game feed fund-raiser and raffled off an ATV four-wheeler.
More fund-raisers are planned, as storage and indoor restroom facilities are on the "to-do" list.
The Izaak Walton League of America is one of the nation's oldest conservation organizations. It began in January 1922 when 54 Chicago fishermen decided to band together to "go forth and smite the living daylights out of the polluters and the dynamiters and all other miscreants demeaning and diminishing the peerless sport they embraced and which had come to such dire straits." (Excerpted from, "Born with Fists Doubled: Defending Outdoor America, The Izaak Walton League," by William Voight Jr., 1992.)
Fishing was as important to charter member Dr. Preston Bradley of Chicago as it was to Izaak Walton, that English author who wrote the fly-fisherman's bible, "The Compleat Angler," 269 years earlier. For William Dilg, Dr. Bradley's fellow gentleman fisherman and charter member, fishing was an obsession.
Naming the club "The Walton Club," after their angler/hero, however, wasn't good enough for those 54 Chicago men, Voight writes, and the name evolved into "The Izaak Walton Club," "The Izaak Walton League" and ultimately, "The Izaak Walton League of America."
Chicago Chapter No. 1 declared the organization was "Defender of America's Out-Of-Doors" in its first official newsletter, dated August 1922.
The newsletter's front page featured an editorial written by Emerson Hough, author of a popular novel called, "The Covered Wagon." In his editorial, Hough called for a halt to government agencies not dedicated to the preservation of outdoor America and to journals and publications devoted only to commercial gain. The newsletter slammed "the alleged true sportsmen of this country" who practiced only self indulgence.
Through the years, the focus of Izaak Walton's followers expanded to include more than their beloved fishing waters. The organization's mission statement reads: "To conserve, maintain, protect and restore the soil, forest, water and other natural resources of the United States and other lands; to promote means and opportunities for the education of the public with respect to such resources and their enjoyment and wholesome utilization."
The Izaak Walton League is one of the country's largest lobbyist for conservation efforts. A portion of each member's dues helps support lobbying activities.
There are approximately 1,100 members in 18 Izaak Walton League chapters in Nebraska.
For information on the Arapahoe chapter, contact one of these officers:
* Marlin Wendland, president, (308) 962-5304
* Dan Kreutzer, vice president, 962-5457
* Kelly Smith, secretary, 962-7407
* Dennis Monter, treasurer/membership dues recipient, 962-8485 or dmonter@atcjet.net