Author: Ray McCune

A few years back, Boy Scout Troop #38, sponsored by Calvary United Methodist Church and Troop #349 from Aldersgate UMC made a trip to South Dakota to help restore a Native American graveyard. . . Read More

I’ve gone to Boy Scout summer camps, watched boys camp on weekend outings, and noticed them at other times trying to perform a simple task of peeling an orange. Now this isn’t a rocket science math problem; it’s just that, well, I’ve found . . . Read More

BAKED, STUFFED CARP (They are good to eat, no kiddin’ (if caught in fresh water)   1 (6 lb.) carp (head, guts, tail, fins, skin, scales, and mud vein removed)   STUFFING 1 qt. . . Read More

BE PREPARED (This is a partial list; your own personal needs may vary)   Before heading off into the woods you should have a pack with some essentials in it. You can make it a shoulder bag, a large purse, a fanny pack, a lightweight ruck sack (backpack) . . . Read More

NATURE’S PINK LEMONADE – HOW TO MAKE IT (Caution – try just a little at a time. Make sure you aren’t allergic to this plant.) It was in the month of July and Troop 44 was at summer camp at Camp Chief Little Turtle on the Anthony Wayne Area . . . Read More

Kwick Foods To Fix At The Kabin Or Kookin’ When You Don’t Wanna Waste A Lot Of Time Boy Scouts don’t have a lot of patience. I know some grown men who don’t have a lot of patience either, like taking the time to cook right or taking the time . . . Read More

SOMETHING I’VE LEARNED OVER MANY YEARS OF KAMPIN’(One of the things anyway.)When you do things enough times you learn where the short cuts are and how to incorporate them to make camp life easier and you’ll find that the way you are . . . Read More

3 – SOUP (Eat with a fork or add more water and eat with a spoon)   1 lb. deer burger, moose burger, elk burger, buffalo burger, groundhog burger, squirrel burger, raccoon burger, or plain hamburger but not ‘possum burger (brown and reserve). . . Read More

LET’S EASE INTO KAMPFIRE KOOKIN’ GRADUALLY The long winter is over and past; let’s get ready to hit the campgrounds a runnin’. What should we pack to eat? Roast pheasant? Haunch of buffalo? . . Read More

HAVE A WILD OMELET (Discovered/invented on campout when onions were accidentally left off grocery list) 3 eggs A teaspoon of water for each egg Butter, margarine, olive oil, canola oil, or bacon grease (I prefer olive oil) Small handful of chopped wild . . . Read More

I love to camp. I love to fish. I love to hunt. I love to canoe down a slow meandering stream. I love the out-of-doors. I was raised in a small town in West Virginia where half of our growing up was spent in the out of doors and on the river. . . Read More

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WILD TURKEY SEASON IS UPON US   (What do you do with it after you get one?)   Wild turkeys are just what their name implies; they are wild and a wild turkey isn’t like a domesticated turkey and they should be treated different and please don’t . . . Read More

THINGS YOU SHOULDN’T DO WHEN CAMPING WITH ME! (A short but not complete list.)   1. Never, never, never the longest day you live would you ever wash my cast iron (skillets, griddles, etc.) . . Read More

I would have to say that the most sought after fish is the common bluegill found in almost every body of water throughout the state of Indiana and other states for that matter. . . Read More

THE BOY SCOUT STAVE/STAFF   This is something that was once a part of every Boy Scout’s gear and as important as any other item he was expected to have with him when hiking or camping. . . Read More

Wild Stew For 25 Hunters or maybe 6 or 8 Hungry Boy Scouts   6 lbs. deer, moose, elk, buffalo, antelope, or beef cut in stew meat size pieces 4 lbs. . . Read More

TENTS   I’ve been asked what kind of tent I prefer and I always tell people that it depends on what season that I will be camping in, and do I have to carry the tent with me on my back or will I be tailgate camping? . . Read More

SASSAFRAS (Member of the Laurel family (Lauraceae)   Known as Tea Tree, Mitten Tree, Cinnamon wood, or Smelling Stick, Sassafras is one of the first things my mother sent me into the woods each spring to dig up. . . Read More

An Object By Any Other Name   I have a lecture that I give to Scouts and it’s about looking at things from a different angle or point of view. It’s a base way to broaden their minds and be able to create or to think differently about objects . . . Read More

You’ve killed your deer, had it processed, and now you had best start using some of it. It will be hunting season again before you know it so just go to the freezer, get out a few packages of deer burger (depending on how much you put in each package) . . . Read More

WAR BAGS   Back in the good ol’ days a man’s life might depend on the articles he carried in his ‘war bag’; some people call them ‘possible bags’. Whatever you want to call them, they’re handy to have around when you need something . . . Read More

DEEP FRIED SKUNK(No kiddin’!) I’ve often wondered about this and finally I got up enough nerve to start some research on cookin’ a Woods Pussy, Pole Cat, Stripe Kitty, or whatever you nickname the pungent little black and white critters. . . . Read More

What is handy to take on any camping trip and is FREE? You’re reading it. I don’t mean my column; I do mean THE WAYNEDALE NEWS, or, any newspaper for that matter. . . Read More