Beacon Sept 2023

September 2023 THE BEACON Page 3A
This month’s item
What Is It?
Last month’s items was identified correctly by one
member of the community.
“It is a Setright machine
for issuing bus tickets,”
shared Kevin Cornett, West
Harrison.
This month’s item was
submitted by David Ulrich
of Sunman. Share your
story as well as your guess! Last month’s item: Ticket
Please e-mail your answer machine for a bus conductor.
This one was used
and where you live to
editor@goBEACONnews. on the double decker bus
com by Wednesday, Aug. in Mariemont, OH.
23, 2023.
sponsored by Cornerstone Realty and Lutz Auctions
Members of the Dearborn County GOP won Emily Stenger’s
entry at the 4-H Fair. Shown are Anna Bergman, Megan
Ryan, Dennis Kraus, Jr., Tim Doll, Emily Stenger, Mark
Dole, Liam Patterson, Dennis Kraus, Sr. Glenn Wright, Allen
Goodman, and Ella Lostutter.
4-H Benefits Community in Many Ways
By Emily Stenger
My name is Emily Stenger.
I have been in 4-H for seven
years. I belong to the Happy
Hooves 4-H Club in Dearborn
County. I have learned
many important life skills
from 4-H such as leadership,
responsibility, teamwork,
goal-setting, record-keeping,
and communication. None
of those opportunities would
have been possible without
the help and support of our
amazing sponsors and volunteers
who make our 4-H
program and fair possible.
Sponsors can help supply
awards for all of the shows
and for Agner Hall projects.
They also make fun things
like our rodeo and many other
forms of entertainment possible.
Then, at the end of fair
week, many supporters and
businesses come to the fair
and continue to show us their
generosity and support at the
Kiwanis livestock auction. We
also have so many amazing
volunteers that work so hard
behind the scenes to make our
program and fair what it is. I
would like to thank anyone
who has ever supported the
Dearborn County 4-H program
and fair in any way. It
truly shows what a great community
we live in.
Editor’s Note: Ms. Stenger’s
entry was purchased by the
Dearborn County Republican
Party. It was processed and
donated to the YES Home.
National Muzzle Loaders Share History
Continued from page 1A
hard, take turns and play fair,
have fun, and take care of
themselves and others by practicing
safety at all times. The
location, with some wooded
areas nestled in a valley near
Caesar Creek and Laughery
Creek, becomes a teacher in
itself on how to relax and appreciate
your own company.
The NMLRA leadership takes
good care of the property not
just to maintain high standards
on the various ranges, but to
preserve the land for future
generations. Since a lead ball is
the ammunition used in muzzle
loaders, unlike many other
shooting ranges, a lead abatement
team comes regularly to
filter the dirt berms behind the
targets. The lead that is recovered
by the abatement teams is
recycled. There are also catchment
systems in place to filter
for lead before it can get into
the waterways.
Among those who attend
are same-day spectators as
well as competitors who bring
their RVs to the facility. Some
shooters stay in the Primitive
Area, wearing period clothing
and living in period housing.
Besides watching the competitions
in long rifle, pistols, bow
and arrow, shotguns, skeet,
and more, there are numerous
booths displaying natural and
handmade items. The finest
of knives, handcrafted silver,
and stone jewelry, fine wood
gun stocks, carved accessories,
custom leather moccasins and
clothing, raw pelts, antique
and vintage items, and soaps
and lotions. Talking to the
people who make each item
is a history lesson in itself as
they eagerly explain the timehonored
methods that they still
use. Even the shooting ranges
demonstrate history by showing
how the guns are loaded,
handled, fired, and put back in
a safe position. There are wind
flags on the range in place of
scopes on the rifles to help the
shooter gauge their shot. In the
olden days, shooters would
have had to rely on how leaves
or branches were moving to
guess if the wind would affect
their shot. Seeing and hearing
these weapons in action brings
to life what our ancestors used
to defend their families and our
country. There are hands-on
classes for NMLRA members
in gunsmithing and more educational
activities as part of the
ten-day event.
Even though many aspects
of the Shoot are involved in the
past, the real world can intrude
as it did in 2001. During the
Fall Shoot in Friendship, IN, on
the morning of September 11,
news filtered in that planes had
crashed into the World Trade
Centers. Cell phone coverage
was spotty in the valley but as
NMLRA president, Mike Yazel,
and the staff learned more,
they realized they were going
to have to help almost 4,000
attendees get home safely.
Word came that gas was being
rationed and flights were being
canceled, so Mike, who is a
Fire Chief in Mentone, Indiana,
and his team worked to get
those who lived within a short
distance on their way home.
They located other attendees
who lived near airports in Indianapolis
and Cincinnati and
who were willing to take the
international visitors home with
them until flights resumed. And
then over the next five days, the
remaining group stayed calm,
supported one another, and
demonstrated the control and
patience that they had developed
from their sport.
That was over twenty years
ago. The National Muzzle
Loader Rifle Association is now
celebrating its 90th anniversary
and the 2023 Fall Shoot
continues from September 9-17,
8:00 A.M.-5:00 P.M., and Mike
Yazel is once again president of
NMLRA. Another saying about
remembering is, “If history was
taught in the form of stories
it would never be forgotten.”
Make this the year that you hear
the stories told at the Shoot from
the shooters and the vendors.
Learn the history of our soldiers
and settlers and how they
survived and what tools they
had available to use. Bring your
kids or grandkids (or neighbor’s
kids), too and I guarantee that
you will make new friends and
have some great stories of your
own to take home.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
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