Sarah with her new puppy.
Sarah is now a senior in high school.
In 2006, our youngest child, Sarah asked for a puppy for Christmas. We knew that would not work because
we did not want to be house training a puppy during a cold, snowy South Dakota winter. But our family dog, Repo, was starting to get up in years so we decided that we could honor her request but it would be closer to her birthday, April 19, rather than Christmas. So she found something else to replace the puppy on her Christmas list and moved the puppy to her birthday "want" list.
So shortly after her birthday, we traveled to a kennel and picked out a puppy. She named her dog "Snickers". Snickers was quite easy to house break - I think that Repo was very helpful in this process. Snickers had a lot of energy. Repo was very tolerant of Snickers.
As she got bigger, Snickers exhibited all the signs of an alpha dog from hell. She teased and tormented Repo and pretty much did whatever she wanted.
About that time, The Dog Whisperer was a popular television show. The host and star, Cesar Millan,, would go into a home with a dog problem and train the master how to train the dog (rather than vice versa!). My wife bought his book and we both read it but it didn't take long to see that Snickers just needed someone to show her who the master was.
So I would take Snickers down and hold her on her back and hold her feet while laying on/next to her. I spoke softly to her trying to sooth her because she did not like the position or having her feet held. I did this as often as I could for about a week or so and soon Snickers behavior came around - especially when I was around. She had come to understand who was boss (if only that would have worked for the rest of the family!).
Repo and Snickers
Snickers became a great family pet and a buddy to Repo. When Repo died a few years back, Snickers was really lost. Though she came around, it was almost as though she went through a mourning process - just like the rest of the family.
Repo was a good hunter and he had a very strong hunting instinct. He knew when the gun came out that the fun was about to begin. I have a dummy launcher that is powered by a blank .22 shell. When you release the handle, the shell is fired and the dummy is launched up to 100 yards out. Repo would tear up chunks of asphalt trying to get after the dummy as fast as possible.
Snickers, on the other hand, when I shot the dummy launcher would look at me with an expression that said "What is all the noise? - I'm getting the hell outta here!". I had no hope for her to be a hunter. I decided she had been bred for the tri-color (which is more rare for English springer spaniels) rather than for her hunting instincts. I was fine with that because we had gotten Snickers for Sarah and I still had Repo to serve as my hunting partner.
When Opening Day of the pheasant season came around, I had no plans to take Snickers to the field with us. One of my hunting buddies owns champion field trial dogs and he had a pretty new pup as well. When I asked him if he was bringing his pup, he told me he would not bring his pup unless I brought Snickers. I knew he was anxious to get his dog in the field so I relented and agreed to bring Snickers but vowed to leave her in the kennel.
As we prepared to walk the first field that day, my friend convinced me that I needed to give Snickers a chance. So I put the training collar on her and let her out of the kennel.
To my amazement, Snickers was hunting the moment she hit the ground. Her cropped tail was wagging at full speed and her nose was to the ground following the scent of the "wiley ringneck". She needed a little reminder on occasion not to get too far ahead, but she was a hunting fool.
Repo and Snickers pose after a successful
day in the field. Sarah with her brother,
Alex, and his friend Joe.
Shortly after entering the field, one of us knocked a pheasant down near the creek that divides the land we
hunt. All four dogs, Repo, Snickers and my friends two pointers, were on the scent but could not find the bird. We continued on along one side of the creek. All four dogs worked well and together.
We hunted all the way up one side of the creek, a couple of small food plots, and a few fence lines. We had a great day in the field. We were wrapping up the hunt walking along the other side of the creek, back toward the pickups. Snickers and I were right up against the creek about 100 yards from the trucks. A couple of guys were already back at the truck and were in the cooler retrieving that eminently refeshing, end-of-the-hunt beer.
It look pretty damn good and so I called Snickers to join me in the walk to the truck. She was predisposed, still hunting along the creek. I wanted her to learn to follow my commands and was getting frustrated because she would not come. I stomped back over to the creek where she was wrestling with something in a patch of heavy cover. As I got closer to her, I realized that she had a rooster pheasant in her mouth. She had found the bird we knocked down four hours earlier when we walked the other side of the creek. That was enough to make a believer out of me - I now had two hunting companions!
We have spent many hours in the field together since then. My measure of a successful pheasant hunt is more directly tied to Snickers' satisfaction than it is to the number of birds in the bag.
She now accompanies me on most of my goose hunts (in my yard) as well. Though the geese are too big for her to retrieve, she has, on more than one occasion, chased a wounded goose down and helped me finish the kill!
I am often asked if she is a hunting dog. I guess she is but she's really more of a companion that hunts. She does a pretty good job but I would not compare her to those dogs who are used exclusively for hunting.
I have a dealer friend who, upon meeting our family pet Snickers, asked me if she goes to the dealership with me every day. I told him no that she didn't. He told me that he thought that was a mistake because she had the right temperament to go to the store and hang out there.
I thought about that for a couple of weeks and finally decided to give it a try. So I brought a bed and Snickers to the dealership with me. I knew that I would have to train her to stay in my office so I brought her training collar too. I put her bed in my office and put the training collar on her. I hit the "vibrate" mode when she tried to leave the office. It didn't take her long to understand that she was supposed to stay in the office.
It has been amazing how many people want to pet the dog. People will see her in my office and will bend down to call her over. I release her to those who call her. We have found so many of our customers love dogs.
Snickers travels with me to my Ford store each Wednesday. She does not come into the store there. It would be difficult for her because there is not a consistent place for her to stay there. Instead, she waits in the front seat of my vehicle for me. She usually get a good nap while waiting. When it is too cold, she stays home. Her short hair doesn't keep her warm for long periods of time in the cold South Dakota winter.
She has learned to watch me pretty closely in the mornings at home. Any deviance for my normal routine signals to her that I might have a meeting in Sioux Falls or Pierre and that she will not be able to join me on that day.
Snickers with her stuffed pheasant
Scott the sales manager bought Snickers a stuffed pheasant. She loves to strut around the showroom with the stuffed pheasant in her mouth. Tourists especially love this - I think it fits their image of a South Dakota dog!!
At the GM store, Snickers finds her way to the customer lounge regularly for some affection. She makes it to the conference room during lunch hour for more affection. She wanders from office to office seeking the attention of employees and customers. She is very good at plopping her chin on people's lap. Occasionally, she meets with some resistance but usually she gets a warm welcome, some baby talk and a good ear scratching!
Among the many pleasures dog owners derive from their pets, there are some very valuable lessons. Dogs teach us how to mourn. I have lost three dogs in my lifetime and each time one died, I went through a mourning process. It is like losing a member of the family and, in some ways, prepares us for that.
Dogs also teach us about persistence. They will either persistently enforce their will and train us, or we will be persistent in our obedience training and teach them. I have been on both sides of that equation.
In her bed behind my desk
Dogs show us how to be loyal. They know who feeds them, who provides them shelter and who cares for them - and they don't forget. A dog knows its masters voice, name and distinguishing characteristics.
Perhaps most importantly though, dogs teach us the true meaning of unconditional love better than anything else I know. It matters not what kind of a day we had, who we offended, how poorly we performed, or how we treat them, the dog is there with a wagging tail and a wet tongue looking only for a scratch on the ear or a stroke on the head in return. We can all benefit from that lesson.
I invite you to stop in and meet our loyal, loving dealership dog, Snickers. She can entertain you while we change your oil! Update 5/29/2020: We put Snickers down on May 23, 2020. We are grateful for our 14+ years with her. She was a great dog and friend!
One Manhattan is alright, two is too many, three is not enough.
The Manhattan is the king of cocktails. My golfing buddies, the Cahoonas, turned me on to the drink a long time ago but my appreciation for the cocktail and its complexity has grown as I have gotten older and wiser. The Manhattan can be stirred or shaken with ice and strained into a cocktail glass, where it is garnished with a Maraschino cherry with a stem. But Cahoona Pat taught me how to make the drink served on the rocks in a Old Fashioned glass and so that has always been my preferred method. He also taught me a little secret that I will reveal a bit later in this post.
So I have been a sucker for any tavern that fancies itself as making a good Manhattan. If they feature it, I'll try it - as long as there is a cocktail shaker involved. If the bar tender isn't using a shaker, he/she is a beer tender serving cocktails.
In February 2010, my wife and I were in Orlando for the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention. We were there over Valentine's Day and so I took her to dinner to commemorate the occasion (and our very first date which was on Valentine's Day 1977!). We decided to eat at one of the restaurants in the J.W. Marroitt Hotel in which we were staying.
We commenced our evening's festivities with a pre-dinner cocktail. As luck would have it, the bar featured a Manhattan on their bar menu so I ordered one. I noticed the bar tender "shaking" drinks proving to me that he knew what he was doing.
My Manhattan was good (an 8 on a 1-10 scale). When the drink was gone, however, I tasted nirvana as I popped the dark cherry into my mouth. It complimented the complex tastes of the Manhattan so much better than the regular maraschino that normally accompanies the drink.
I asked our server about the cherry and she informed me that it was a very special cherry that was "contraband" in the U.S. I inquired about that and she told me you could not buy these cherries here. She told me they were Amarena cherries. You could only buy them in Italy. That sounded like a challenge to me - and the cherries in the cocktail were worth the challenge.
As luck would have it, our son Alex was studying in Florence, Italy that semester. Our daughter, Rachel, and her then boyfriend, now husband, Andrew, were going to Europe to visit Alex over Easter. I thought that would be the perfect opportunity to score some contraband cherries!
So I told them to forgo the Italian leather gifts, the fine Italian ties or other traditional gifts from Italy and bring me some Amarena cherries. That's all I wanted - some cherries for my Manhattans.
As the three of them traversed Italy, they looked everywhere for Amarena cherries. They had absolutely no luck in finding the cherries. Even Alex's mentor, Fr. Bruno, could not help them find the rare fruit. They did find a variety of maraschino cherries which Rachel and Andrew brought back for me (in lieu of leather or ties!).
But I was not going to take no for an answer so my quest for the scarce cherry took me where I should have started - a Google search. The second result - right after the Wikipedia entry - was Amazon. On Amazon, I found several different brands and sizes. Paydirt!
I ordered the cherries (in the gallon size) and they showed up two days later. I wanted to go straight home (at noon) and park behind my bar and experiment with my new swag. I exhibited an incredible amount of self control and waited until mid afternoon.
Now a gallon of cherries is a lot of cherries. They came in heavy syrup and so I had to separate the cherries from the syrup. I needed some containers suitable for the task. While I stumbled through the whole process the first time, I now have a system complete with the perfect containers.
As I mentioned above, Cahoona Pat had a "secret" ingredient to make his Manhattans special. That secret was a bit of cherry juice mixed in with the whiskey, vermouth and bitters. The syrup that the Amerena cherries came in would take that secret to another level.
As I mixed my first Manhattan with Cahoona Pat's recipe and my cherries, I found that I had a magnificent new twist on a great recipe for a classic cocktail. I could not wait to share it with the Cahoonas on our annual week-long golfing trek to Minnesota.
That year we left a day early and played a round of golf in Sioux Falls and had dinner at Cahoona Mark's house. After dinner, the requests for one of these new Manhattans mounted as cigars came out. The bar was set up, all it needed was cherries - the cherries that were sitting at home on my bar, where I had placed them so I wouldn't forget them. There would be no special cocktails that evening.
As I took a relentless razzing for my absentmindedness, I was furious contemplating how I might salvage the the bar setup at the "Tiger Woods" cabin at the golf resort in Minnesota. I struck on an idea - Amazon had rescued me before, perhaps it could do it again.
I whipped out my trusty iPhone and brought up the Amazon app. I bucked up for the overnight delivery and placed and order for a $90 gallon of Amarena cherries. I was able to drown my concerns about the cherries in some fine whiskey that evening. There is always fine whiskey when you're with the Cahoonas!
The next day when we checked into the resort north of Brainerd, MN, there was a package for me already waiting. The cherries had beaten us there! I've been an Amazon fan ever since. Amazon.com - the remote bar tender's best friend!!
The relentless abuse stopped later that evening when the pre-dinner cocktails came out. The Cahoonas agreed that the cocktails were better than advertised and showed their appreciation by swilling them down non-stop for five straight days.
The Amarena cherry Manhattan has become a staple of the Cahoona trip, a signature drink at Rachel and Andrew's wedding and a trademark drink at the Knust family bar - even when it's on the road.
Here are a couple of tips for making this delectable blend. The syrup that the cherries come in is very heavy. I have learned to cut in by mixing one part water with one part syrup. I have also discovered that taking about one quarter of the cherries and soaking them in some good whiskey for a couple weeks makes a luscious bar treat.
But the most important tip I can offer is to use good whiskey or rye - whatever your preference. Life is to short to drink bad whiskey!
World Famous Knust Amarena Manhattan
1 1/2 oz sweet vermouth 4 oz bourbon or rye whiskey (my favorite for Manhattan is Maker's Mark) 1 dash Angostura® bitters 1/2 - 1 oz Amarena cherry syrup (I like 1/2 oz; wife likes 1 oz, depends how sweet you prefer) 2 Amarena cherries (unless it's an after dinner drink, then add three)
Combine the vermouth, whiskey, bitters and cherry syrup with a cocktail shaker full of ice. Shake gently. Place the cherries in a chilled Old Fashioned glass and pour ice and cocktail over the cherry or, even better, strain the drink into the Old Fashioned glass with a "bourbon ball" ice cube. The cherry juice will give the cocktail a deep maroon tint.
I have found that a good cut of beef (like a Cowboy ribeye) or a herb-crusted rack of lamb go well with the Manhattan. But nothing pairs with the "King of Cocktails" like an after dinner cigar and some stories from the day's golf game!!!
"Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale of all." —Hans Christian Andersen
Do you know someone who is a good storyteller? Someone who can paint a picture with words or punctuate the point with that perfect metaphor; someone who embellishes the story just enough - but not too much; someone who uses attention getting introductions; someone who includes details to develop the plot, characters and setting so you feel like you know just who or what he/she is talking about? Let me introduce you to such a storyteller.
I read the column and enjoyed the story very much. I inquired about how long he'd been writing these and where I could read past columns. I learned that he had written a dozen of these stories on a wide-ranging variety of topics. They appear in the paper on a bi-weekly basis and some of these were available on the Advocate's website, but that not all were.
I asked Kirk for copies of his other stories. As I read them, I found they reminded me of events and characters from my youth. I really enjoyed reading them.
I encouraged Kirk to share them on a blog - to start his own. So he has created "Story Time with Kirk" which is simply a collection of the stories he has written for the Winner Advocate.
Kirk is somewhat of a character. I think his stories illustrate that quite well. But if you want quick, concrete evidence of that, this video proclaims that very loudly.
He has granted me permission to post one of his stores here.
She Screamed for Ice Cream
by Kirk Bainter
One bad decision can lead to another and amplify it's impact exponentially when done with my kind of precision. This can make certain situations more memorable than others. Take for instance my recent trip to the convenience store to pick up my fresh made pizza order. I arrived long before the pizza was done, as this is my normal mode of operation. I was patiently standing by for any sign of the delicious bacon-cheeseburger pizza that would begin to peek out of the 503-degree conveyor oven. I believe I was the only customer in the store at the time. Fate changes with every heartbeat, blink or decision we make like the wind changes speed and direction for reasons most of us don't understand. I wasn't thinking about fate or repercussions or anything but pizza when the young father and his two children came into the store that night. I noticed the father of the two precious youngsters head directly to the men's room, leaving the two kids somewhat unattended. The boy was about seven or eight years old. He went directly to the gum/baseball card area and was quickly entranced within it's power. The little girl was five. She had to be five. There is a certain look all five-year-olds have. It is unmistakable, undeniable and inarguable. She was five. Probably bored from riding in a car for some time, the little girl was peering upward and focusing on nothing in particular when she turned to walk up the same aisle as me. I was facing the goodie machines. You know, the soda fountain, freezy machine, coffee pots and oh yes, the ice cream machine. She strolled along the aisle carefree and humming an unpublished concerto. But, all that changed as she neared me. She looked to her right and instantly radar locked on the ice-cream machine. I wondered for a moment what the attraction was. As I looked closer at the machine, the answer became quite clear. A smile came to me as I noticed there was a two to three inch ice cream stalactite hanging from the dispenser nozzle. With little hesitation she reached out to obtain the small hanging treat. At the precise moment her index finger made contact with the ice cream, the compressor that runs the cooling system of the machine kicked on with a violent roar. She reacted with a quick tensing and small jump back. Thinking she may be responsible for breaking something or setting off some type of ice-cream machine theft alarm, she snapped her head to the left, looked directly at me with eyes wide and jaw dropped. I could have looked away and left well enough alone, but no....not me. I looked at her, then at the machine, then back at her and said in an authoritative and accusing tone, "What did you do?" See, I think I'm a really funny guy. That was supposed to be a really funny thing. I simply failed to consider my audience. The next few seconds were those kind where you wish you had a rewind button to hit. First, there was a small inward breath, then a large lung filling gasp followed by a second of silence. A moment like that can seem to last a long time when you know the next thing that happens will be very, very bad. At first I thought the sound I heard was an ambulance siren at full screech. Unfortunately, it was not. During mid-scream, I became aware that I was alone in an aisle with a young girl screaming her head off within five feet of me. I also knew it probably wouldn't look good to any amateur child protection advocates that may have just stumbled into the store. Not knowing what to do, I simply ran. Not perhaps the best quick decision I've made in my life. As it turns out, there just isn't any law against being stupid or being a jerk to a little kid. I'd like to see it stay that way for the next "funny thing" I decide to do.
Kirk's stories appear bi-weekly in the newspaper. If you need a bit of this light-hearted commentary occasionally, you can subscribe to the Advocate or you can visit "Story Time with Kirk Bainter" .
I am writing this on my return from the NADA Convention in New Orleans. My un-scientific survey of cabbies, bartenders, shoe shiners and bell men would suggest the retail automobile business is strong. My informal canvas proclaims that dealers left some cash in the French Quarter over the past week.
Six days in New Orleans is enough for me. I am ready to get home. I've had more than enough shrimp, andouille, bourbon and Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. I hope you're not as tired of reading about the CFPB as I am writing about it but it is a looming threat to our business model and we must be vigilant.
I attended the AFSA meeting in New Orleans and listened to Patrice Ficklin, CFPB Fair Lending Director (I'll let you decide what that means), address a room full of automotive lenders. She told them that current dealer reserve system causes unfair lending issues. She did not tell them the methodology in deciding that.
She suggested that flat fees were only one example of an alternative she believes "there may be a variety of alternatives to discretionary markup". She offered no other example other than flat fees.
This lady is smart, has an agenda (one that is not favorable to dealers) and answers to no one (other than, perhaps, CFPB Director Richard Cordray). Citing bureau policy, Ficklin declined to answer media questions after her presentation.
It was none other than the Christopher Dodd, co-sponsor of the Dodd-Frank (which established the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau), who said "When the public's right to know is threatened, and when the rights of free speech and free press are at risk, all of the other liberties we hold dear are endangered."
While NADA continues to fight for the dealer reserve system, they have issued guidelines recommending each dealer set a standard interest-rate charge to borrowers, which could only be modified for specific reasons like a competing offer from another lender or dealer.
NADA will be offering this step-by-step program for dealerships of all sizes. While the program does not offer "Safe Harbor", it addresses the fair-lending concerns the CFPB has raised.
It strongly recommend that you look at it and consider whether or not it will work for you.
McConnell Takes Helm at NADA
Forrest McConnell, a Honda and Acura from Montgomery, AL, assumed the position of NADA Chairman in New Orleans. Forrest came on to the board the same time I did. He is smart, has agree at sense of humor and is an attorney. He will do a great job.
NADA Releases Additional ‘Dealer Data’ Guidance
NADA’s Legal and Regulatory Affairs department has issued a sample Service Provider Dealer Data Access Addendum (“Addendum”) and cover memo for dealers to use with their third party service provider vendors. This follows a memo sent last August from NADA Legal and Regulatory Affairs to all NADA members that contained an overview of the primary regulatory issues surrounding Dealer Data, numerous practical tips for dealers to consider when protecting their data, as well as samples of the contract provisions required under federal law when a dealer wishes to allow access to Dealer Data with a third party service provider.
The Addendum was drafted for dealers in an effort to clarify and simplify dealers’ obligation to ensure that their applicable vendor contracts contain certain provisions required under federal law. It’s only a sample, and should be used by dealers only after consultation with their legal counsel. Adoption of the Addendum is not the only way dealers can meet their legal obligations and it may not be right for every situation. However, dealers can choose to use the Addendum to amend their service provider legal agreements to satisfy the applicable contractual requirements. NADA is encouraging dealers to review the Addendum and cover memo with legal counsel, and if applicable, to present the Addendum to service provider vendors for signature.
I have mentored a group of 6th-8th grade boys, the Explorers, since 2001. Several years ago I began teaching them how to tie a necktie. They are old enough that they need to wear a tie for vocal or band concerts and contests, athletic events and other special occasions. I believe that if you're going to wear a tie, you should tie it correctly, make it the right length and pair it with appropriate clothes.
So it has become an annual tradition now that we spend the first two meetings after they come back from holiday break learning to tie a necktie. We recently finished our tie tying lessons and I can report that they did a fine job.
I first tell them that you cannot just "hang" a tie on yourself to be a "well dressed man". You must combine shined, hard-soled shoes, dress slacks (not cargo pants) and a nice dress shirt (preferably white or blue) with the tie to complete the package. This brings some vocal skepticism that sneakers or basketball shoes don't go with every article of clothing that they own!
I teach them the four in hand knot the first week and the double windsor knot the second week. I emphasize the details - length of the tie, shape of know, dimple, etc. While not every knot is perfectly shaped and dimpled, I know that they can do much better if they get a chance in front of a mirror. They seem to embrace and enjoy the sessions.
I also tell them that the girls love it when the guys dress up. It makes them look older and more handsome. While the smiles sheepishly creep across their faces at this report, it is easy to detect the wheels turning in their minds. Research also tells us that young men are more confident and behave better when they are well dressed. I don't tell them this part. This is my secret!
I believe part of the reason that these guys don't like wearing a tie is because they know that wearing a "clip-on" tie is somehow inherently wrong and that asking your dad or mom to tie your tie for you isn't something a teenage boy wants to do. Once they know how to tie their own neck tie, it "liberates" them to wear a tie when they are asked to or when they see fit..
When our sessions are done, I think most leave self-assured and satisfied that they are ready for a great new wardrobe frontier beyond t-shirts and sneakers! (Though I know it won't take them long to revert!)
When I go to a high school concert or see any of the former Explorers dressed in a tie for some other event, I often get a comment from them or a question about how their tie looks. My answer is always the same - YOU LOOK GREAT!!!
My Dad, Harold William Knust, died today and we wrote an obituary that was a fine tribute to a truly great man. But in many respects, it was incomplete. I'm not sure you can tell the story of any person in 500-600 words, but I know you cannot tell my Dad's story.
Dad grew up in a very stoic, German family. He was the fourth of sixth children growing up on a farm outside Howells, NE. Dad was a typical "middle child", fighting for attention growing up. In some ways, his fight lasted throughout his life. He used that as a strength in his professional life.
His childhood, with five siblings, taught him to be competitive. Whether he was golfing, playing cards, playing boards games with the family, watching his grandchildren compete or selling soft drinks, beer or cars, Dad wanted to, no, he had to win. We heard many stories of competition as he grew up.
Dad used that competitive spirit to make the Howells high school varsity basketball team as a freshman. That was certainly an achievement but even more so considering that he was the shortest guy on the team. By all accounts, he was no superstar, but he was competitive and gritty and did what he had to do to help his team win. It instilled in him a love for the game of basketball which he later passed on to and shared with me and my son.
He picked up his nickname while in high school as trumpet player. Though he wasn't a great trumpet player, he drew the first name of the great trumpet player at the time, Harry James, as a nickname. Harold became "Harry" while at Howells High. It is worthwhile to note, however, I never heard Grandma call Dad "Harry". That was not the name she had given him!
Dad went to the University of Nebraska. He earned his bachelor's degree in Business Administration. He worked his way through college selling furniture. I always felt like he really appreciated his education because there were no scholarships nor help. He bought his education with his own hard earned money.
Dad liked to party. He did his share of drinking at school. My Mom thinks he ruined his health in school. Between his eating and drinking habits, Mom thinks he set the table for the disease, diabetes, that caused him so many problems later in life.
Dad and Mom met at the Rose Bowl, a bowling facility that was on Saddle Creek Road in Omaha. Mom was attending Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart in midtown Omaha. Now a high school, Duchesne
was a college in the 1950's.
I've not heard that many stories of my parents' courtship but I know they were married in October of 1959, shortly after Dad's graduation from UNL. Dad took a job with Pillsbury in Mason City, IA, where I was born and then they moved on to Grand Island, NE, where my sister, Christy, was born.
Dad did well with Pillsbury but my Mom's father, Frank Wurning, a beer distributor in Winner, SD, saw the "salesman" in Dad. He offered to help Dad get into business and so, in 1963, Dad and Mom moved to Chamberlain where they had my other sister, Lisa, and Dad and Granpa Frank started Chamberlain Bottling Company. They started bottling Nesbitt products but eventually bottled Pepsi-Cola.
Long before Pepsi was a household name, entrepreneurs like Harry Knust, were bottling and selling it. It was Dad and guys like him that made Pepsi the great brand that it is today. Dad was affiliated with Pepsi in some way until 1994, when the reality of how the distribution network had changed caused him to sell.
I think one of the reasons he loved the soft drink business was because his best customers were kids. Dad was always a big kid and the soft drink business allowed him to function in his element. He was a great supporter of all youth activities. He thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of that business.
He had a run as a beer wholesaler when my Grandpa passed away. Dad bought the Schlitz distributorship from my Grandma in 1971 and held that business until 1978. Dad saw that the Schlitz brand had peaked and sold that business while there was still value. The Schlitz brand died shortly thereafter.
In 1980, Dad bought Cle-Kal Chevrolet-Oldsmobile in Chamberlain and named it Harry K Chevrolet. From then on he became known as "Harry K". He later added the Buick and Pontiac franchises. He bought the Ford, Mercury and Lincoln store and NAPA store in Winner in 1987.
He was born to be a car dealer. He had vision, was creative, he always thought big and he loved people. He soon became "Harry K" which was almost like a stage name for him. He loved being "Harry K". It is ironic that name came up when he was visiting me at college. One of my friends suggested it. It was perfect because the "K" rhymed with Chevrolet and no one could pronounce our last name anyway.
The ads below tell the story of Harry K better than I can. He had fun being a car dealer.
Dad looked at all of his customers as friends and treated them as such. There was nothing he wouldn't do for someone who had bought a car from him. He was a customer service genius.
He was my business partner and my mentor. There were many times I was frustrated with that that but now, looking back, I realize how fortunate I was. Dad was a great businessman and though sometimes not the best teacher, he was ALWAYS the best cheerleader.
Dad was civic minded. He started the Chamberlain Chamber of Commerce in 1963. Dad realized the importance of the community working together. He served on the city commission for nine years. He organized the school's athletic banquet for many years. He showed me how to serve others long before the Jesuits ever got a hold of me.
Cartoon by Sheree Hickey - 1990
Dad did not have many hobbies but he loved to golf. He started dragging me to the course when I was 6 years old. He had a standing game every Saturday morning. He had a terrible swing (legs too far apart and back swung too far) but his competitive spirit inspired him to excel at the short game so he could win his share of bets on Saturday mornings. Later in life when his body started to fail him, he lost his ability to play the game and found himself with only cards to fill that competitive drive.
Though Dad was a proud South Dakotan, he always loved the Nebraska Cornhuskers. We always kidded that he was the inspiration for "Husker Harry", the mascot before the current "Herbie Husker". As far back as I can remember, Saturday afternoons in the fall were about Husker football.
Dad and Mom took me to my first Husker football game in 1969. On Friday night, we stayed on the ag campus with the team and we were the guests of Husker coach Bob Devaney. Nebraska beat Oklahoma 28-21 that Saturday afternoon. The game, the pageantry and the excitement won me, a 9 year-old boy, over for good. I've been a Husker fan ever since.
But Dad won my wife, Judy (who can't watch if the Huskers aren't winning by at least a touchdown), my daughter, Rachel (who married a Husker), my son, Alex (who wanted to skip school after the Huskers once lost a big game - Grandpa thought that was perfectly reasonable) and my daughter, Sarah (who always knew enough to root for Nebraska because everyone will be crabby if they don't win) over with Husker Fever.
We had many fun trips to Husker games over the years. The highlight of those Husker trips was the 1996 Fiesta Bowl when Dad and Mom hosted a group of Husker fans at their home in Arizona. The Huskers took the Florida Gators to the woodshed in the national championship game. Dad had a smile on his face for six months after that one!
Another experience Dad and I shared over the years was the Final Four. I have told the story of how we made it to our first Final Four in 1982. But we shared at least a dozen others. My friends love to tell "Harry stories". In the early days, Dad would keep up with us drink for drink. After he could no longer do that, he just tried to keep up with us physically. That became too difficult as well. But I am grateful for those trips we had together - those were some great memories.
He was the PA announcer for Chamberlain Cubs basketball games from 1963-1992. My best guess is that he called over 300 games. I took over for him in 1993 and still announce to this day. This is our 51st year at the microphone at the Chamberlain Armory. He taught me how to get the best seat in the house for every game!
In his later years, Dad enjoyed just being Grandpa Harry. He loved attending his grandchildren's events. And like a good Grandpa, he was very proficient at bragging about them. Even if his grandson or granddaughter struck out, Grandpa Harry would brag about how graceful they were while doing so. God help the official who would rule against Grandpa Harry's grandchild.
As we prepare to put Dad in his final resting place, the saddest aspect for me is that he will not be alive to see all his friends at his funeral. Dad loved people and loved to visit. It will be the great missed opportunity for him.
I miss you Dad.
Rachel Millard's eulogy for her Grandpa Harry can be found here.
One of a trade association’s (i.e South Dakota Automobile Dealers Association or National Automobile Dealers Association) main functions is as a representative body. A trade association advances the collective view and position of its members to government departments, agencies, regulators and legislators. It also communicates the collective view and position to the media and other opinion-makers.
It is in this capacity that the SDADA will work to work to repeal South Dakota's Damage Disclosure law in the upcoming legislative session. I know each of you recognize the many deficiencies of this law so I will not discuss that in this space.
But I will offer this experience. I opened a body shop at my Ford store in February of 2013. It has been truly amazing how many consumers have asked us to work with them to keep the damage under the $5,000 threshold for a damage disclosure. This law does not work for consumers, dealers, body shops or insurance companies. No one is well served by the law. IT IS A BAD LAW!
In order to repeal the law, however, it will take a concerted effort by our entire organization - I mean dealers and their staffs, our association staff and our vendor/partners. It is a battle worthy of fighting but we must work together to be successful. We will need support from ALL SDADA members. That means coming to our annual legislative reception, being willing to testify, making phone calls to legislators among other efforts.
We don't yet know what we will have for opposition but I know we can win this issue regardless of opposition because it is an outdated law, our organization commands great respect among legislators and we have the political capital necessary to win. But it will take a broad, grassroots effort.
I am committed to do what I can to repeal this law. I urge you to consider how you might help with this effort!
Bill to Reduce Paperwork at Auto Dealerships Advances in House
The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday approved by voice vote a bipartisan bill, H.R. 724, which would eliminate some red tape required by the Environmental Protection Agency when buying a new car or truck. The bill would repeal a 1977 mandate, which requires dealers to certify that a vehicle complies with the Clean Air Act. (This form is required to be presented by the dealer to the purchaser of a new vehicle even though all vehicles must comply with the Clean Air Act before being sold in the United States. Additionally, a Clean Air Act certification sticker can be found under the hood of most vehicles, or in the owner's manual, making an additional certification by the dealer redundant.) The legislation now goes to the floor of the House for consideration.
NADA Convention Mobile App for 2014 Now Available
The mobile app for the 2014 NADA Convention & Expo is now available for download for smart phones and tablets. The free app, which syncs with myNADAplanner, allows attendees to maximize their convention experience by providing: up-to-the-minute updates on workshop sessions and events; workshop handouts and presentations that can be downloaded; a customized schedule builder; walking maps to navigate the convention center and expo floor with exhibitor descriptions and booth locations; and tools to stay organized.
The app is available for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android devices. To download, visit the App Store or Google Play Store and search for NADA2014.
"Preconceived
notions are the locks on the door to wisdom"- Merry Browne
I think that quote best describes the Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau's desire to eradicate the indirect lending model auto lenders
use with automobile dealers. They do not care about how this change would
affect consumers. The bureau simply wants a flat-fee model.
In March, the CFPB issued a bulletin that holds lenders
responsible for unintentional discrimination at the partnering dealership —
known as disparate impact. They offered no methodology for how they came to the
determination that this was an industry-wide problem.
Interestingly, because an application for an auto loan is
not legally allowed to contain information about a borrower's gender or race,
regulators must use "proxies" to assume the customer's profile based
on trends in surnames and census information. So how do you even determine that
discrimination has taken place? It seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy!
NADA continues to fight this fight on behalf of dealers and
now the American Financial Services Association (AFSA), a trade association
that includes many auto lenders, is launching an independent study into the
effects of the indirect lending model on consumers and the auto industry. Their
study will include an analysis of the costs and benefits of the status quo vs.
changes, such as flat fees, advocated by the bureau.
I think most dealers would welcome a fair, balanced study of
whether there is inequity in the system. I don't know any dealers who advocate
discrimination based on race, religion, sex or any other type of profiling.
The study also needs to look at whether costs to the
consumer may, as many have suggested, be raised elsewhere in the business model.
NADA has cautioned that the Bureau’s efforts will harm consumers by reducing
the competitive benefits of dealer-assisted financing.
Consumers, lenders, dealers and regulators would all be best
served by getting ALL the information before making decisions!
How's Your 401K?
I was elected to the NADART board two years ago. Last week I
attended a NADART board meeting. There are a lot of great things happening with
NADART.
NADART gives auto dealers access to retirement services not
available to other businesses. By combining the buying power of thousands of
auto dealers across the nation, NADART gives NADA members access to superior
fiduciary and leading administrative support, regardless of the size of their
business. This “strength-in-numbers” approach is a powerful example of the
difference between NADART and other 401(k) providers.
If you are using your local broker because he buys a vehicle
from you every 5 years or you are using a large brokerage house that does not
afford you the personal care and tailoring of your plan that you need and
deserve, you owe it to yourself — and your employees — to discover how NADART
can make a difference for you. Go to https://www.nadart.org/WhyWeAreDifferent.aspx
for more information.
NADA Convention: 33
Hotels Sold Out; Limited Number of Rooms Available in New Orleans
I hope you are planning to attend the 2014 NADA Convention
& Expo in New Orleans. If so, you should register as soon as possible and
book one of the few remaining hotel rooms. Thirty-three out of 36 hotels in the
NADA convention block are sold out. Only three hotels have rooms available,
which are Embassy Suites, Hyatt Regency and Omni Royal Crescent. There are
numerous conferences and events scheduled in New Orleans over the same dates as
the NADA convention and so hotel rooms are filling up quickly and there’s
limited space. The NADA convention runs Jan. 24-27. Dealers and their managers
who register by Jan. 16 will receive at $75 discount from the on-site rate. For
more information or to register, visit www.nadaconvention.org.
Bob Mercer has written a story about the South Dakota Activities Association's new ticket pricing policy which steals a dollar per ticket from member school and places it under the "care" of the SDHSAA Foundation.
The net result of the new ticket pricing policy is a 40% increase in ticket prices for all sub-state tournaments. Despite this increase in prices, it is not uncommon for schools to lose money hosting these sub-state events. The SDHSAA gets their take from the gross proceeds while members schools are left to pay expenses out of what is left. In some cases, that is not enough to cover the overhead and so schools end up dipping into their own funds to make up the shortfall.
School officials aren’t happy with the $2 increase, according to Sen. Larry Lucas, D-Mission. “So that message is being heard,” Lucas said.
The groundswell against the $2 increase prompted a response from Carney earlier this month. He sent a letter to school districts statewide on Nov. 8. He promised that money from the foundation will eventually flow back to schools.
The Aug. 29 vote called for a foundation committee to be established. Until those people are appointed, the association board will oversee the foundation.
The foundation committee is supposed to make recommendations to the association board and the board will make recommendations to the SDHSAA member schools for the April annual meeting, according to Carney.
Carney said in his letter that he’s working with Stephanie Judson, president of the South Dakota Community Foundation. Carney and SDCF’s then-president Bob Sutton signed the agreement in 2007 creating the activities foundation.
Records from the board’s meetings in 2012 and 2013 show Carney and his staff presented options for raising money for the foundation on several occasions.
The meeting minutes however don’t show any discussions or explanations about why the foundation needed the money or why the foundation should be used rather than the association’s treasury.
If the money from the foundation will eventually flow back to schools anyway, why does Mr. Carney feel the need to take it from the schools in the first place?
Does Mr. Carney believe the SDHSAA knows how to distribute that money better than the member schools do?
So none of the foundation funds will be used for SDHSAA “pet projects”?
Do you think fans would rather give the dollar to the SDHSAA or to their own member school?
After more than fifteen years of applying for a South Dakota elk tag, on May 29, 2013, I received an email from the SD Department of Game, Fish & Parks notifying me that I had drawn a Black Hills elk tag. Wow! I was excited! I had started applying in the early 1990's and at some point, I got busy chasing kids and missed applying for a couple years and lost all my preference points. I started again in the early 2000's and had 8 or 9 preference points when I drew this tag.
I was fortunate to draw in the unit in which we had recently bought a cabin so that made it very convenient (and much cheaper). I immediately reserved the cabin for the last week of September and the entire month of October.
The Preparation
Next I busted out the resources. I read two books immediately and once September rolled around, I scoured the internet for tips and tactics.
The plan was to head out to the cabin after my daughter, Sarah's, volleyball tournament in Miller on 9/28. That would give me two full days to scout and then the season opened on Tuesday, October 1. I made a list and started packing. My list was extensive and grew with every article I read.
Then about a week before I was due to go, Sarah got news that she was in the homecoming court. That meant I had to be in Chamberlain for coronation on Monday, September 30 - the night before the season started. That would not be real convenient - a 4-hour drive after coronation to the Hills. But it's what had to be done.
The Scouting
Sunday, September 30, 2013
Two days before the season opened a friend, Scott, and his dad took me out to scout for elk. They are avid elk hunters who often scout for elk even when they don't have tags. They had several favorite places to share with me.
We started at the end of Limestone Road area. We went for a short walk where he showed me a great vantage point from which you could see a huge draw and meadow. He bugled a couple times to see if we could get a response, but no luck.
From there, we went to another area a bit further south toward the Dry Lake area. Here there were several ridges that divided and overlooked these long, wide meadows.
After that we went to the Dead Ox area where they showed me where they had killed an elk. They gave me several ideas how to work that area as well. Then we went to the Little Spearfish area. We discussed several different strategies for how to hunt this area as well. There were hunters who had moved their campers in and were setting up camp in different parts of the little Spearfish area.
Finally, we went to the Rifle Pit Road area in the far southwest corner of the unit. I was somewhat familiar with this area. This is where I had done my limited scouting on a couple of earlier trips to the cabin.
All morning, they had stories of their elk hunts and different places they've seen elk. It was fun to listen to them. It was so obvious that they had a passion for elk hunting.
Monday, September 30, 2013
The alarm went off at 5 AM. I got dressed, grabbed my stuff and took off in the middle of the night. I got there little before 6 AM. After throwing on my coat and grabbing my binoculars, I set off for an area that I thought would be a good place to watch early in the morning.
I got about 20 steps from the truck, and I heard elk bugling. That got the adrenaline going. I was no longer sleepy! I followed my ears. I was somewhat familiar with the area from which the bugling was coming. I had walked that area evening before.
The sky behind me was starting to get light. I walked about a quarter-mile into a huge open meadow between two wooded plateaus. It sounded like I was close the bugling. Sure enough, when I looked through my binoculars, I saw a group of about a dozen elk in front of me about 200-250 yards. I made my way to a tree stump where I could sit and watch them through the binoculars.
I watched them for 15-20 minutes as they slowly made their way toward me. Eventually they got to 150-160 yards.
I took some pictures and decided to try to shoot some video. That was a mistake. When I turned the video on, the flash came on. I did not realize the light was on, but I knew I had been busted when all of the cows and calves were looking at me. A dozen pairs of eyes were focused right on me!
Meanwhile the herd bull was preoccupied with a satellite bull. The herd bull was a 6x5. He was awesome. The satellite bull, a rag horn, was quite aggressive.
Finally, the cows and calves scampered into the woods behind them. The herd bull followed the cows into the woods and the satellite bull scampered to the edge of the woods
I let them settle down a bit and then decided to approach them directly into the wind. I had to move to the right (north) approximately 100 yards. The herd bull continue to bugle alerting me to their location.
I followed them from about 300 yards behind for a quarter mile. Eventually I wound up on top of one of the plateaus with some shorter trees and good visibility. I was able to listen to the satellite bull, the herd bull and a third bull bugle back and forth at each other for 15-20 minutes
I took pictures, shot video (more carefully this time!) and recorded the sound of the bulls bugling back and forth. It was a majestic sight and sound - Mother Nature at her finest.
I watched this huge lone 6x6 bull walk into the same area as the herd. They were behind trees so I did not see the interaction between these two majestic bulls. I heard tree scraping and foot stomping. Eventually the lone bull walked back, crossing in front of me. (See video below - turn the volume up!)
I followed the herd for another 45-60 minutes. It was interesting just watching the interaction among the herd. I did not want to get busted again and perhaps scare them out of the area so I would not be able to see them again tomorrow.
Finally I made my way back to the vehicle and headed back to the cabin. I grabbed some lunch, organized my hunting supplies, and left for Chamberlain. Coronation was scheduled for 8 PM.
I left the cabin at 12:30 PM and arrived back at the cabin at 11:40 PM. I changed into my hunting clothes, packed my lunch, packed my supplies and took off for the hunting site. I arrived at my chosen hunting site at approximately 1 AM.
The Hunt
Day 1 - Tuesday, October 1, 2013
I parked my Tahoe and trailer alongside the road and reclined the driver seat and tried to sleep. Needless to say. that didn't work as well as I'd have liked. About the time I got to sleep, I got cold and woke up.
Finally about 4:30 AM, I bagged the idea of sleep and got ready to hunt. After I got ready, I sat in the Tahoe and listened for elk bugling. I didn't hear any so I decided to set off to the area where I had seen the herd and the bulls the day before. It was ominously quiet as I walked the mile to that area.
Once there, I decided to just walk into the wind. Shortly thereafter I came across a cow about 60 yards straight ahead. She was looking directly at me. I froze and waited her out. Finally she went ahead of me into the wind and down the trail.
I decided to follow her. Soon after that, I heard a grunt and then a partial bugle. I slowly approached the area where I had heard the bugling.
There I saw a nice bull. It appeared to be that herd and the bull that I had seen the day before in this very same area. I saw 8 to 10 cows with the bull. Over the next 10 minutes, I slowly approached the group. At times I had to stop and freeze as I had cows looking my way.
Finally the bull sensed something was up and started to move from my left to right about 115 yards out. I prepared to shoot as he would come out of a group of aspen trees to the right. Once he came out, he hesitated just long enough for me to pull the trigger.
He hunched his back and lowered his head in cowering. I knew that I had hit him. He froze. Meanwhile the cows took off away from him. I chambered another shell preparing to take a second shot. But he was facing directly away from me. I watched and waited for him to topple. But he didn't he took several steps away from me and behind a tree.
I decided not to disclose my position to him and instead moved to my left for better vantage point. He took a couple slow steps to the right behind a tree so that I could not see him. At this point I decided to move in to get a better view. I never saw him again.
I went down to the trees where he was standing when I hit him and surveyed the area. There was nothing to be found. No blood, no hair and no sign of any type. I looked everywhere. I literally spent the next two hours looking everywhere I could. I got down on my hands and knees to look for blood. I could not find any.
After searching for two hours, I decided to walk back to the truck to get something to eat. I spent about a half hour there, then returned to search some more. No luck. I was frustrated, I was angry, I was tired and I was sad. It was a beautiful bull and the thought it going somewhere, lying down and dying made me sick.
About 2 PM, I've had enough. I decided to head back to the cabin. I had walked over 8 miles and was working on less than three hours sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day.
Day 2 - Wednesday, October 2, 2013
My scouting friend, Scott, called me on Tuesday night and asked if he could hunt with me on Wednesday. I was happy to have him join me and so we set a meeting time at the "Big Draws" hunting spot.
After a short night on Monday (with my sleeping in the Tahoe at my hunting spot), Tuesday night was an early night for me. I hit the sack about 8:30 PM. I was ready to go at 4:15 when the alarm went off.
The hunt started with a bang as shortly after getting out of our trucks we heard bugling up the draw. Though we were about an hour before legal shooting hour, we decided to go ahead and start walking up the draw
After walking very slowly for about half an hour, we were starting to get very close (within 150 yards) to the bull that was bugling. We decided to sit and wait for the sun so that we could see the elk.
As we sat waiting, I thought I heard some sticks breaking in the hills next to us. Suddenly it sounded like a stampede of Buffalo coming down the hill. They came down the hill about 200 yards from us, then stopped in our draw about 150 yards from us.
It was just starting to get light enough so we could make out the silhouette of the elk we had followed earlier on one side of us and the herd that can down the hill 150 yards on the other side of us. It was pretty exciting to have so many elk around
Looking back to the east at the elk that came down the hill, we could tell that the bull in that group was very nice. So as they made their way out of the draw and up the hill behind us, we decided to pursue them. We got another look at the bull as he was silhouetted at the top of the hill against the sky. He was awesome. Scott thought he could have been at 350-class bull.
We followed them up the hill and through the forest for about 3/4 mile, we lost contact with that group. Eventually a 5 x 5 satellite bull made its way in front of us. He was very shootable and we got to within 150 yards. He was walking from left to right and I was in the open with an opportunity to shoot. Scott blew a cow call and stopped him. But he stopped behind a tree.
Scott called again and he stepped out from behind the tree and I shot. I knocked him down. I could not see him but Scott, who was flanked to my right about 20 yards, could see them go down. He said the elk laid there for about 10 to 12 seconds then got up and slowly continued to walk. He got below the horizon for me so I could not take a second shot.
I did not like the shot I took because I was standing with nothing other than a monopod to shoot from. I am much more comfortable leaning against a tree or in a kneeling or prone position. I felt like I hit him high in the shoulder.
We went to the area at which I had hit him and looked for blood. We found no sign of any blood so we waited about 30 minutes to track him. We followed his trail. He had walked through a saddle which filtered down into a very narrow trail. There was little other place for him to go. We saw tracks that would indicate that this is the path he took.
Unbelievably, Scott saw him just to the left of the trail about 30 yards. He was sitting underneath pine and spruce trees. I could not make his whole body though his butt was facing us. Scott told me to shoot him but I couldn't make out the body parts of the bull. So Scott went down the hill about 20 yards and got a much better perspective of the body. The bull was lying with his nose tipped forward in the dirt and his antlers for tilted forward. He looked like he may be dead.
Scott told me to shoot him so I took a couple steps forward and released the safety. I looked a couple times through the scope to see if he was breathing. I could not tell. I was about 15 yards from the elk. Scott asked me if maybe he was already dead (since it had probably been almost an our since I originally shot him). I took the safe off and started to lower the gun to take another look, and the elk just jumped up – and ran away.
I couldn't believe my eyes. The second before I had the gun leveled at him with the safe off and ready to pull the trigger. In just that very instant moment in time, he broke away at the right time.
We followed his trail for as long as we could and then we could not determine where he went. We combed the woods for three hours looking back and forth. We found blood in the bed where he was laying. There was not a lot of blood but there was blood. The whole bed area smelled of bovine-elk scent.
I could not believe this happened again. I could not believe that I lost this elk when I was 15 yards away with a gun pointed at him and the finger on the trigger. I was just had to wonder why this was happening.
We walked back to the truck about 11:30 AM. He had to go back to town to go to work. I had some lunch and contemplated my options. I hunted all afternoon. I started in the spot where the elk had run away. I found more blood and more tracks but it did not help me find the elk.
I picked out a good vantage point overlooking a meadow and a wallow - the nearest water to where I shot the elk. I sat there all afternoon.
Day 3 - Thursday, October 3, 2013
I dreamed about that elk laying in the trees all night. Then I thought about it all day. I must have played that scenario over in my mind over 200 times. I cannot believe that I don't have an elk after being 15 yards from a downed elk. All I had to do was pull the trigger.
With bad weather approaching tomorrow, I felt pressured to bag an elk today. I went back to the area I decided to call "Big Draws". That is where I did most of my scouting, and where I had hunted the prior two days.
As I was getting ready, about 45 minutes before sunrise, I did hear one bugle from an elk. But that was it for the day. I covered over 10 miles there in the "Big Draws" area and on Limestone Road.
I took a couple hours off during lunch to go to Spearfish to pick up some supplies. But aside from that, I hunted hard all day with no elk in sight. But there was plenty of time to replay that scenario of the elk laying in front of me the day before many, many times in my mind.
About 3:00 PM it began to rain. Shortly thereafter, it turned to snow. By the time the sun went down, the ground was white with much more snow coming. When I got back to the cabin, I talked to my son, Alex. We decided that he should not drive out from Sioux Falls since there were winter storm and blizzard warnings for the area. He had planned to drive out and hunt with me over the weekend.
I lost electricity about 3 AM. When I woke up there were 10 inches of snow on the ground. The forecast was calling for up to 30 to 36 inches of snow.
Friday, October 4, 2013
There was no hunting on Friday, October 4, the fourth day of the elk season. There was, however, over 30 inches of snow that fell on Terry Peak. I have never seen snow like this. Especially considering that it's still early October.
The storm was called Atlas and it was far worse than anyone had forecast. In addition to 50+ inches of snow in many parts of western South Dakota, there were 70+ mph winds to go with the heavy, wet snow. The roofs on several buildings in Spearfish, Sturgis and Lead collapsed under the weight of the snow.
I shoveled snow today for about three hours. I did not make a whole lot of progress - it filled in after I shoveled each time. My win for the day, was that I was able to pull the truck forward about 12 feet closer to the road. The ATV and trailer are buried and won't be seen until spring.
I had no television. There were technical difficulties with the DISH service. Thank goodness for ESPN's internet radio coverage of major-league baseball playoffs or I would have gone nuts. Electricity went off intermittently as trees fall on electrical wires.
I did not know it at the time, but the elk hunt was effectively over. We got 55 inches of snow on Terry Peak over a 72-hour time frame.
The snow cat came through about 8:30 on Sunday evening. He left a very crude path to follow but I got up about 7 o'clock and spent an hour and a half digging the Tahoe out. Finally, Monday afternoon, the snowcat and a couple of skid loaders cleaned out my driveway.
I decided to return home for a couple days. Since I would not be able to hunt, it did not make sense for me to just lay around the cabin. My plan was to return the next weekend. I did have time to play through the scenario of shooting that elk last Wednesday several times!!
Day 4 - Sunday, October 13, 2013
I came armed with snowshoes and winter gear. The snowshoes were needed; the winter gear wasn't. Despite hunting for 13 1/2 hours and walking over six miles in snowshoes, I saw no fresh sign of any elk.
Day 5 - Monday, October 14, 2013
As I left the cabin, mist was falling from the sky. The closer I got to my destination, the harder it came down. I decided not to wear snowshoes since I was just going to walk half-mile to the top of the hill. By the time I got there, it was hard rain.
When I got to the top of the hill, I picked out a tree stand behind. My view overlooked the area in which I saw elk tracks the day before.
It rained for about an hour and a half before turning into snow. The forecast was for 8 to 12 inches of snow on the mountains. As the snow started to accumulate, I decided that I was not going to get stuck on the mountain. So after about 2 1/2 hours of sitting in the rain/snow, I decided to go back to the cabin, pack up, and head for home.
Needless to say, I played that scenario of the elk lying 15 yards in front of me over in my mind many, many times while sitting in the rain and snow. I had plenty of time to think about it on my drive home as well.
Day 6 - Sunday, October 20, 2013
By now, over 90 inches of snow had fallen on Terry Peak. That is more than their average annual snowfall. I don't know how much had fallen where I was hunting but it was plenty. I left home at 8 AM and got to the cabin around 11 AM. I took an hour to get ready and then I left for the Tinton Road area.
Despite walking over 7 miles in snowshoes, I saw no elk sign. I went back to the Tahoe. I then decided to road hunt for a while because the snow was coming down hard. I traveled north on Tinton Road all the way to Spearfish hoping that as I got to a lower elevation, there would be more grass showing through the snow. Then I went up Higgins Gulch Road toward Crow Peak. I saw several deer, but no elk.
I travel back south on Tinton Road. As sunset approached, I saw several sets of elk tracks along the road. When I stopped to look, I saw that they were at least a day old.
Day 7 - Monday, October 21, 2013
My morning got off to a rather poor start. I drove to the corrals on Tinton Road and was just going to pull into the approach to get my vehicle off the road. Instead, I got stuck in the appoach. It took a ton of patience and about 10 minute of gently rocking back and forth to get it out. I left the Tahoe on the road.
I loaded up, put on my snowshoes and took off up he hill above the corrals. This was the same area where I had hunted the previous Sunday. So I walked and walked and walked and walked - up and down. For seven hours and over 8 miles I trodden along in my snowshoes. I walked back into the "Big Draws" area down Timber Gulch Road. I stopped occasionally to let out a cow call or to glass the area.
I saw nothing. The very few tracks that I saw were at least 2 days old. I saw rabbit tracks, squirrel tracks, chipmunk tracks and deer tracks that were all fresh. But there had not been any elk in the area recently.
I got back to the vehicle about 2 pm and decided to return home to watch my volleyball player. I needed a new plan. I had 3-4 days let to hunt and I hadn't seen an elk since the snow storm.
Day 8 - Tuesday, October 29, 2013
The final three days of the hunt came after a football weekend in Minneapolis. Alex, Andrew and I watch the Gophers thump the Huskers on Saturday and the Packers drill the Vikings on Sunday Night Football. So I made the trip from Minneapolis to the cabin with a 90 minutes stop at the store in Oacoma. It was a 625 mile trip.
The hunt moved north looking for less snow. I learned of a SDGFP game production area just south of Spearfish. I decided to hunt there on Tuesday morning. I went up by way of Higgins gulch which meant a 400 foot climb straight up the side of the gulch. It was a killer.
Once there, I walked about 7 miles around the game production area. I met several other hunters who had not seen any elk since the storm either. They had not seen any recent signs of elk either.
I saw no recent sign of elk. I saw several deer (both mule and whitetail) and fresh turkey tracks, but not what I was looking for.
I was exhausted after the climb back down to the Tahoe. I decided to road hunt down Tinton Road. I took a 2-hour drive down the middle of the hunting unit and saw nothing. I also drove up Riflepit Road to no avail.
Day 9 - Wednesday, October 30, 2013
I started the day back at the game production area after finding a road to drive up there the night before. Once there, I parked the Tahoe and set off to the south.
I walked all the way down near Tinton Road (about 3.5 miles). I followed some tracks that were probably 2 days old as I walked. It was the most encouraging sign that I had seen since the storm.
I walked all afternoon. I called, walked, waited and looked for more sign. Late in the day, I found some very fresh droppings (soft and slippery) about two miles north of the "Big Hill" area.. That was very encouraging - something I could use after 3+ weeks of discouragement. I decided that I would come back there for the morning of my final day of the hunt.
I was encouraged for tomorrow's hunt. I left a few minutes before sunset so I could watch the World Series game. I packed as I watched the Red Sox clinch the World Series! That was certainly great. Now if I could just get a bull tomorrow!
Day 10 - Thursday, October 31, 2013
I woke up and prepared the cabin for my departure. I was very optimistic having seen all the fresh sign the night before. I got to my hunting spot about 45 minutes prior to sunrise. The GPS led me to the spot I had selected the night before.
It was a nice morning. The wind was blowing 15 to 20 out of the northwest. But the temperature was in the mid-30s. I used a few cow calls, and then moved 25 to 50 yards at a time. I used this strategy for a good 90 minutes.
After not getting elk calls in return, or seen any other fresh sign, I decided to pursue a different strategy. I found a trail and followed it for about three quarters of a mile.
My enthusiasm diminished after no response or fresh signs. I return to the Tahoe about noon. I traveled into Spearfish for some lunch. After lunch I made my way down spearfish Canyon to Savoy. I continued on Roughlock Falls Road to Tinton Road
The sun was shining brightly and the snow was melting. I made my way from Tinton Road back to the area I had hunted that morning. I found a logging trail to walk. I walked about a mile down that trail. No fresh sign.
So I decided to finish the day where I had started. I went back to the same area I have been in the morning. I met a deer archer. He suggested that the elk came through that area in the morning.
I parked the Tahoe and made my way up the tallest hill/mountain that I could find. I climbed about 350 feet vertical over about 3/10 of a mile. When I got up there, unfortunately, there was heavy timber so I did not have any kind of a view. So I came partially down the hill to where I had some view. I watched several vehicles go by below me on the roads.
As I sat there, I reflected on my elk hunt. I thought about the bicycling all summer to prepare. I thought about the many magazine articles books and internet articles that I had read. But mostly I thought about that elk lying there in the trees with his nose in the dirt and how that should've been the one that ended up in my bag.
I managed to have 10 days in the Black Hills. I had forgotten the solitude and peace that comes with that. I am grateful for that and the opportunity to see Mother Nature’s majesty. The elk will have to come another time.
Scary Halloween pic. This selfie is supposed to include a big bull elk. Unfortunately the elk did not cooperate. Pretty disappointed. I worked hard getting ready and I worked hard hunting. Mother Nature had other plans.
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