It Should Be A Holiday, Too

Bill Cooper It should be a holiday, too. Monday, May 30, is Memorial Day, a day set aside to honor those who gave their lives in defense of our country. I consider it one of the most important holidays on our calendar, out-shined only by Christmas and Easter. Combined the three holidays carry great significance for our beloved United States of America. The weekend before Memorial Day is the opening day of the Missouri squirrel season and catch and keep black bass season in most streams south of the Missouri River. Tens of thousands of anglers and hunters anticipate this opening each year. Many consider it the official arrival of summer, though a bit early. Although squirrel hunting is not the popular event it was a few decades ago, many still enjoy pursuing the wily critters. Squirrels are however, heavily engrained in our national history. Many historians contend the British were essentially defeated by a bunch of muzzleloading squirrel hunters. The new Americans were, obviously, expert woodsmen and darn good shots, skills they acquired through endless hours stalking and hunting game in the fields and forests near their villages. More often than not, jittery squirrels were the most plentiful game available and made their way to almost every families stew pot. And every settler family that had access to rivers, streams and lakes pursued fish as a source of high protein and fertilizer for their gardens. Hunting and fishing have always been a part of the American lifestyle. Interest in the sports grew exponentially following WWII, when hundreds of thousands of troops returned from theaters around the world. Filled with adventures and hardships from their experiences in far off lands, man still longed for the rigors and challenges of outdoor living. Hunting and fishing filled the bill. Much good came from the interests and efforts of these thrill seeking outdoorsmen. Modern conservation movements began in force. Outdoorsmen needed large tracts of land, rivers and lakes to pursue their hearts desires. Conservation efforts grew steadily across the country. Outdoorsmen also insisted on taxing themselves when they bought hunting and fishing equipment. Billions of dollars have been generated in the mean time to support sound conservation efforts both at the state and national levels. No place in the world can match the United States for its conservation efforts in establishing national forests, national parks, a national wildlife refuge system, state park systems and conservation areas in individual states. Outdoorsmen have carried their dreams further in the last few decades with the establishment of single species conservation groups like the National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever,Tout Unlimited, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Quality Deer Management Association. Again, millions of dollars have been generated to purchase lands help improve habitat for a variety of species. In the process, man other species of animals bird and fish have benefitted as well. Two dozen cities take credit for having created the first Decoration Day, later changed to Memorial Day. President Lydnon Johnson, in May, 1966, declared Waterloo, New York as the birth place of Memorial Day. General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic during the Civil War, established the esteemed holiday, then called Decoration Day. His General Order No. 14 stated that the 30th of May, 1868 is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country in the recent revolution. On the first Decoration Day in 1868, 5,000 participants decorated the graves of 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. Without a doubt, the vast majority of the soldiers who fought in the Civil War were also squirrel hunters and fishermen before, during and after the great conflict. And those soldiers who returned from WWII developed the beloved sport of squirrel hunting into a past time as popular as baseball and apple pie. By the 1950’s squirrel hunting had become the most popular hunting sport in Missouri. Much of Missouri’s population remained rural. Most school age boys could hurry home after school, grab the .22 rifle and walk out the back door to a woodlot or small patch of woods to squirrel hunt. Many country boys grew into manhood both enjoying their squirrel hunting adventures and providing high quality meat for their families. As deer herds returned to the Ozark hills, through massive conservation efforts, deer hunting gained popularity quickly and interest in squirrel hunting began to wane. Another outdoor interest that developed quickly in Missouri and across the nation was trophy bass fishing. Conservation departments began to manage for various bass species, setting seasons and regulations. Catch and release began to be highly encouraged as well. Once again Missouri stayed in the forefront of conservation efforts and established trophy bass management areas on many of Ozark rivers. Today several of our streams are recognized nationally for being top quality smallmouth bass fishing streams. Memorial Day is indeed a holiday of pride and remembrance as we honor those who made great sacrifices to keep us free. Likewise, the weekend of opening day for squirrel season and black bass season in our streams has great historical significance in or country as well. Largely because of squirrels, we defeated the British. The tasty critters provided not only lots of target practice, but food for the bellies of freedom loving Americans. So, I believe the opening weekend of squirrel season and black bass season should be holidays as well. Then we could celebrate for three days. Most of us will anyway. www.Facebook.com/Outsidealways www.aoutdoorstv.com.