Story by Ricky Albus
Garland and Matt Moore Farms of Kelton hosted their third annual deer hunt intended to provide therapeutic outdoor opportunities for veterans and first responders in December. This year featured an all female cast of veterans and first responders; four of the women arrived in camp with no prior hunting experience.
“It seems almost commonplace in our society these days to take our military and first responder communities for granted. It’s easy to walk through life fat and happy while forgetting that there are men and women all over the world keeping us safe and protecting the freedoms that far too many Americans are so quick to forget,” Ricky Albus noted.
The ladies hunted hard and participated hands on from the very beginning until the very end when they placed their meat cut orders at the processor. They participated in shooting events and each field dressed their own deer. Each participant was able to harvest at least one deer.
Hailey Williams explained, “ I’ve always been curious about hunting and had a desire to hunt for my own food to put on my table. Learning new skills gave me the chance to focus my mind on something other than whatever negatives crept in. I felt myself burning out for a while before the trip and knew I needed to take a break soon.”
One of the campers, Rosa, had never hunted before and had family members from New York that was really giving her a hard time about hunting.
“ I was afraid to be sad, scared, or hesitant, and I found that these emotions were normal. Emotion was absolutely expected. I was guided in such a way to help me process my thoughts, my guilt, and pressure from outside family. I don’t think I would feel as confident and secure in my decision had I not had the guidance and support provided to me,” Rosa said.
Shelby Lollar made the trip to Kelton from Nashville, TN.
“I’m so used to helping and/or just doing it myself. Never in my life have I experienced it being about me,” Lollar said.
Jennifer Johnston said, “People wanted to share their knowledge of hunting and give us something to learn and participate in that was away from work and all the stresses of work. A lot of times we are working so much that you forget to take the time to learn something new, challenge yourself and just be away from it all.”
“This is the least we can do” was a common theme over the course of the weekend as the women were thanking the guides and hosts. The guides and hosts for the yearly event are a group of family and friends of the Moore’s that hunt on the Moore family properties. The group refers to themselves as the “Ranch Hands” and the event has been deemed the annual Ranch Hands Vet Camp.
The Ranch Hands have developed a model, complete with a mission statement, they are hoping others will someday participate in. Quite simply; to inspire others to honor veterans and first responders to provide outdoor opportunities and to enlighten others of the adversities they endure. The group is confident that there are hunting camps everywhere full of patriots that are/would be willing to give up one weekend per season to provide therapeutic opportunities to our veteran/first responder communities.
Our military and first responders deal with and see things that most of us civilians never experience. As a result, they need opportunities to decompress and have support outlets where they can process and deal with the stresses and demands of their occupations.
When asked about the weekend from a therapeutic standpoint, one of the ladies responded, “I brought liquor with me, but didn’t drink to numbness. I had minimal head noise and just wanted to be as present as possible and soak it all up. I didn’t realize just how tense I was, until I wasn’t.” Another camper noted, “As a first responder and mother, someone always needs something from me or needs me to solve a problem for them. Our lives revolve around other people 100% of the time. This retreat gave us the opportunity to let all of that go and focus on something for ourselves.”
