1ST PLACE … First place for the St Mary’s Youth Buck Pole went to Oakley Cargill.
2ND PLACE … Second place for the St Mary’s Youth Buck Pole went to Cole Condon.
3RD PLACE … Third place for the St Mary’s Youth Buck Pole went to Kyson Powers. Kyson was not able to make it back in time, so his brother gladly posed for him.
PREP … Preparations for the St Mary’s Youth Buck pole were underway. This was the first year for youth members of the community to participate, with plans to keep the event going for years to come.
By: Jacob Kessler
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jacob@thevillagereporter.com
St Mary’s Meats held its first ever Youth Buck Pole this past week. The event took place on Monday, November 18th at the St Mary’s Meats store in Assumption.
During the event, youth members of the community, up to age 17, were able to bring their buck kills to be showcased.
The deer were hung up on a permanent 30-foot rail that was installed out in front of the store for both the youth and adult event.
A representative from Blue Spruce Whitetails in Williams County then judged each of the kills, with the judging criteria being based on the antler’s length, width, and mass.
This was the first time members of the youth community have been able to participate in this event, with adults seeing their first opportunity last year.
AJ Schroeder explained that, back in the day, people used to have to go check in their deer at a select location. There, a DNR official would give you a band for your deer to put around the antler.
People would stay and hang out with each other to tell stories. Now that everything is online, this no longer happens.
Schroeder also explained that an employee at the store, from up in Michigan, explained that these events were quite big around where he was from, and suggested that St Mary’s should host one. From there it grew into what it is today and only looks to expand from there.
Though there was a large turnout this year, there were only so many titles to go around.
Kyson Powers took home third place with his deer and won standard processing and caping. Cole Condon took home second prize, which gave him a $300 cash prize, standard processing and caping. Oakley Cargill took home first place, which earned a free shoulder mount, standard processing and caping.
Schroeder explained that the goal is to keep the event going each year, while continuing to make it bigger. As for the adult event, that will be held on Tuesday, December 3rd and Wednesday, December 4th.