Nearly 300 high school-aged students from nine area cities learned about gun safety, bass casting, wildlife, and much more during Youth Day on Friday, while Saturday offered lessons from a retired NASA astronaut, as well as a chance to put many of those skills they’d learned about on Friday to use.
The transition from a day of learning to a day of outdoor fun brought smiles to the faces of everyone, from the very young participants in the Stick Horse Rodeo, to the high school-aged winners of the Youth Shoot.
“We’ve had great participation, and the things that we can offer for the youth are really what drive Lonesome Dove Fest,” Rotary Club president Mark Witte said. “We had a great turnout to hear (retired moonwalker) Charlie Duke, and the Youth Day events were spectacular this year and a great opportunity for the kids. The generosity of our sponsors really makes this event able to be something special for not just kids, but families as well. It’s a celebration of the opening of the South Zone dove season, but really it’s a celebration of family and the outdoors.”
Students from Poth, Karnes City, Beeville, Falls City, Kenedy, Pettus, Runge, Yorktown and Skidmore high schools spent their Friday participating in a variety of activities led by local and regional leaders. Among those leading sessions were members of the San Antonio River Authority, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and the Karnes City Police Department, just to name a few. Duke visited with students during the lunch break and the Department of Public Safety was also in attendance to show off a helicopter to the students. Activities included gun safety, bass casting, alcohol and drug awareness, Texas horned toads, a hunting laws quiz, a dove laser shot simulator, archery, wildlife quiz, and watershed education. Participants were also able to fire a gun, with parental permission of course, many for the first time. The five-hour day provided students with educational opportunities some might not experience without having attended Lonesome Dove Fest.
“We focus on hunter safety, the environment, and we really partner heavily with Texas Parks and Wildlife to invite area schools to experience this unique educational opportunity,” Youth Day chair Jeannette Winn said. “Everyone talks about getting back to the basics, and it’s fortunate that students can get these opportunities for the hands-on learning that is involved in many of these activities.”
Friday evening concluded with a very special concert with local boys John Wayne Schulz and Gabe Garcia. Schulz is from Karnes County, and Garcia grew up about an hour away and has since moved to Nashville after success on the Nashville Star television show.
The light drizzle that pervaded throughout the weekend did little to dissuade revelers Saturday morning, as the parade went on in Karnes City and led into an afternoon full of activities enjoyed by everyone in attendance.
The Celebrity Shoot, where Willingham policed district attorney Rene Pena for shooting a huisache tree that had done nothing to him, produced about a laugh per shell and actually turned into a very close competition that went all the way down to the wire. John Goodspeed, a public relations man, radio personality, and chairman of the board of Texas Outdoor Writers, had to nail his final three pairs in the competition to edge out Duke and Lloyd Carroll for a one-point win. Goodspeed successfully defended his celebrity shoot title from last year, although he was a bit surprised to do so.
“I’m shocked that I won considering I shot so poorly,” he said. “I’ve been coming to Lonesome Dove for quite a while now because it’s such a fun event. The events focused on the youth are really without equal in what I’ve seen in my career. The safety and outdoor skills the kids are able to learn are skills with real applications. Plus, it seems to me like they have a lot of fun as well.”
Joker’s Wild was the top team in the Team Shoot event, with Old Boots & Bacon Grease coming in second and Comal County Claybusters in third. The top youth team was from Hillcorp, and the Kids Camo Contest produced some wildly imaginative get-ups, and may have inspired a new category for next year – Kids and their Dogs.
Ray Wylie Hubbard, one of the legends of Texas County Music, closed out the evening on Saturday and put a bow on another year of the premiere event in Texas celebrating the opening of the South Zone dove hunting season.
Those who stayed until the end learned how to spell the word “mother,” and the mothers, fathers, sons and daughters all learned what a wonderful weekend you can have in Karnes County, rain or shine.
“For everything we did this weekend we had a great response,” Witte said. “We’ve had a really great group of people this year and are just very thankful to everyone who comes out, and everyone who helps make this great event possible.”
“For everything we did this weekend we had a great response,” Witte said. “We’ve had a really great group of people this year and are just very thankful to everyone who comes out, and everyone who helps make this great event possible.”
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