Im from the country~

and I like it that way...
I grew up in a small town of about 12,000 in central Missouri. I grew up on a small farm out in the middle of BFE..and if you dont know what BFE is.. well lets just say its in the middle of the sticks! We used to tease that our address was 4th and Plum.. {4 miles out, Plum in the woods}. hahaa

Anyway.. I grew up with my Dad as a hunter.. although he just gun hunted deer and such. He taught my brothers how to handle guns and hunt as well. He also took my oldest son Preston out to deer hunt his first couple of times. Prestons Dad always liked to bow hunt as well as my cousins and eventually Preston got into Archery as well. Now.. Im married to an avid bow hunter and 2 of my sons are into bow hunting as well. And my brother is super into it as well... so Ive come to really understand the thrill, the technique and the skill needed to be a bow hunter... and eventually someday when Hunter is older I will start bow hunting or at least try some sort of Archery sport. Hunter has his first bow as well, so there is no doubt that he will follow in his Daddys footsteps. He also has both sides of the family to fall back on {both Uncles are avid bow hunters} and of course his big brothers.

Anyway.. Im just saying, like any sport this teaches our children that there are things to do and that you can excel and go forward and be a good person and interact with adults in a respectful manner. Im so proud that I was raised country and was afforded this same passion and was especially happy when I read the following article in my hometown newspaper this morning.


Archery in Schools Program drawing support in NB
By ROGER MEISSEN
The Fulton Sun
NEW BLOOMFIELD - Archery might soon join the New Bloomfield physical education repertoire alongside longtime favorites like softball or basketball.

At its Nov. 20 meeting, board members here considered adding the National Archery in the Schools program in an effort to broaden that focus to outdoor sports.

Superintendent Mike Parnell sees this as an opportunity to engage students in something new that could help them focus in a positive way.

“It looks like it could be a really good program,” Parnell said. “This is a way to link kids in school to caring adults and can even be an incentive for them to do well in school.”

The course is designed to teach children - from fourth to 12 grades - about the joys of international style target archery. It uses Genesis constant draw bows that are similar to compound bows, but safer and easy to use for any type of child.

To aid schools in adopting this program several businesses and groups - including the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Missouri Conservation Federation and Bass Pro Shops - have banded together to provide grants for the start-up cost of the program.

“I played football and basketball and there gets to be a certain look to an athlete,” said David Smith, manager of the Columbia Bass Pro Shop. “What strikes me with this program is there are just as many girls and boys participating so gender wasn't an issue and neither was size and background.

“All those things were irrelevant and there were a lot of non-traditional athletes - including one student in a wheel chair - that were all able to participate very successfully and passionately,” he continued. “That's exciting when you see a whole group of students involved in an activity that wouldn't have connected otherwise.”

NASP began in 2002 and has been adopted by nearly 5,000 schools in 46 states since then. Parnell stated that the South Callaway School District started this program several years ago and has seen success, and Ashland is considering beginning a program in its school.

Board members agreed that there could be benefits to students.

“I think it's an incentive for some of these kids,” Frese said. “You would think that there would be discipline problems, but it seems like the kids are so excited to do it that there aren't many problems.”

Nationally, the program has seen no archery accidents through either its programs that are in conjunction with PE curriculum or those run as an extra-curricular activity.

While many states were quicker to embrace NASP, Missouri is now getting involved more. Just this year it has started a statewide competition sponsored through the Missouri Department of Conservation March 6-7 on the campus of Linn State Technical College.

“It's real exciting to see smaller school's like New Bloomfield jump on board and get real excited about it, because it's the students that benefit,” Smith said. “It also exposes kids - that many times do not have an outlet - to outdoor activities and teaches them life skills that can translate into a lifetime of being active.”

Now New Bloomfield has to find money for the program. It costs around $3,000 for 10 righthand bows, two lefthand bows, and a startup kit, but MDC, MCF and Bass Pro offer a combined $1,500 in grants for schools. Board members said the rest will need to be raised through fundraising efforts, but think it's worth the effort.

“Kids aren't all basketball or baseball players,” Backer said. “This is something that an individual can do that doesn't take a lot of physical prowess and most kids can do so I think it's great.”

I sure hope that we can move back home as Id love for Hunter to grow up in the same small town atmosphere as I did.. but that we shall see about.... who knows where this crazy world will take us.
In other news.. Here is a pic from Thanksgiving of the boys.. After about 25 shots they were getting darn tired of having to sit there.. poor things! ;) Hope your week is good!!!