Upcoming Swap Meet and Dinners

Folks have been asking me lately about the next Grizzled Old Outdoorsman's swap meet which has taken place the last few years, sponsored by my magazine, The Lightnin' Ridge Outdoor Journal. It began six or seven years ago when we had a big fish fry with it at a country church gymnasium here near Bolivar. The church wasn't really large enough to take care of the crowd that showed up, and we almost didn't have enough fish.

So then we held another one in the Community building at Nixa, Mo, without the fish fry, but the building rental was a little more than we could afford, and other activities there made it hard to find a suitable date. Three years ago, we found a perfect place for our swap meet, and we have held it there ever since, due to the generosity and cooperation from a country church congregation with a big gymnasium at Brighton, Mo.

The Brighton Assembly of God church is something of a historical site, because it is built around a small rock church originally constructed way back there. A few years ago they added on a gymnasium to be used for such events as ours, and they ask nothing in return, other than that such an event be held for the glory of God and that money raised be put to good use to help others.

In the past couple of years, the vendors and visitors to our swap meet have donated quite an amount of money. Last year, it was 526 dollars, with nearly 400 dollars added from sales of my magazines and books. The year before, that total exceeded a thousand dollars. We used the money with a half dozen local schools to buy shoes and coats for needy children, and many other causes. Some of it was spent only recently to buy Christmas gifts, mostly clothing, for children whose folks were having a hard time just buying groceries. We avoid giving the money to situations where there are 'administrative costs' and try to see to it that it goes directly to needy children or families.

When you get right down to it, a few hundred dollars which we are able to raise isn't much, but it does some good for some kids who need the help the most. This year we will try to do the same thing again.

And best of all, there are no charges for anyone, all this is free to the public, and the tables are free for the vendors who come.

Tables at our swap meet are filled with fishing and hunting gear, some new, some used, some antiques. There will be wildlife art, carvings, turkey calls, furs, and all kinds of paraphernalia for camping, boating, etc. Last year we had a table full of homemade jams and relishes and another table filled with baked goods. The Lightnin’ Ridge table will be filled with old magazines to give away and I will be signing my books for anyone who might want one at a cheaper price than you can find them in any bookstore. We'll have caps and art and whatever else we can come up with between now and then.

Hopefully, there will be some boats and motors and canoes for sale outside and I'll bet there will be some antique guns and hand-made fishing lures and that kind of thing. Two years ago a fellow bought a fishing lure for five dollars that he learned later was worth ten times that amount. In the last couple of years we have had an authority on old fishing gear there, giving free appraisals to anyone bringing their own old lures, reels, rods, etc.

Best of all, there will be valuable items to be given away by drawings, lots of them, so you might go home with something valuable without spending a penny. I don't know what food will be available, but last year there was plenty of coffee and soft drinks. There were biscuits and gravy for breakfast and barbecued pork with trimmings for dinner. All this is prepared by the youth of the Brighton Assembly of God.

We are hoping that Canadian outfitter Tinker Helseth will be back again this year. Last year he gave away a week-long Canadian fishing trip at his lodge in Ontario, won by two Brighton, Missouri residents who had never been to Canada. When they returned they told me it was the greatest trip of their lives. There will be other activities scheduled which I will let you know about later. The whole thing will take place on Saturday, March 17, at the Brighton Assembly of God gymnasium just off highway 13, about seventeen miles north of Springfield. Vendors who want a table at this event need to contact me as soon as possible. We only have about 40 tables and I anticipate them being filled quickly.

I have a number of inquires each year about wild game dinners and events where I will be speaking, and there are three such occasions in the next month or so. I will be speaking at a big wild game feast at the Meramec Baptist Retreat Center on Highway AA, near Steelville Mo. This is a church-sponsored dinner for men and boys, beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Friday evening, January 27. There is no charge.

On Saturday evening, January 28th I will be speaking at the Community Building in Garden City, Mo. This dinner is hosted by the Freedom Point Church, also for men and boys, and seating is limited. There is a fee for the dinner, but there will be door prizes and gifts after the meal. For more information, contact Scott Smith via e-mail ...smith77@fairpoint.net, or call 816-738-0587.

On Sunday evening, February 19, I will be speaking at a wild game dinner at the Community Christian Church at Camdenton. There is a charge for the dinner, and it begins at five p.m. That event is a fundraiser for "Share the Harvest Food Pantry".

All that pretty much takes up the space for this week's column, but I hope some of our readers find an opportunity to attend one of the dinners I have mentioned. The swap meet date is something you need write down on your calendar. Even if the fishing is good, and it should be by then, find an hour or so to come by and see us. I like it because it gives me the best opportunity to meet and talk with readers of this column. Most of my family will be there helping, and the editor of the Lightnin' Ridge outdoor magazine, Sondra Gray and some of her family will be there as well.

I should have a good story or two for this column in the next few weeks, as I will spend some time this week hunting ducks and fishing in Louisiana. I have hunted and fished in about 15 different states and two provinces in Canada, but never before in Louisiana. Up to now, I have always been afraid of alligators! And I have been told Louisiana harbors wild-eyed creatures which lurk in the swamps and will eat darn near anything. I think they call them Cajuns. I will try to get a picture of one this week, as I have been told we have the same ancestry.

E-mail me at lightninridge@windstream.net. Write to me at Box 22, Bolivar, Mo. 65613. My website is www.larrydablemontoutdoors.blogspot.com