“No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child”
That’s the motto of Operation Orphans’ Camp Gene Ashby, where on Oct. 25, 32 girls ages 6-17 and six nonhunters from six child residential and foster homes gathered to enjoy a few days of fun, and especially a deer hunt.
The girls, counselors, volunteers and guides stayed in the newly renovated bunk rooms with, among other things, a new cooling and heating system and windows that were donated by the Sportsmen’s Club of Fort Worth. The SCFW has been supporting Operation Orphans since the camp’s inception in 1960. When a few of their directors visited the camp, they learned that the 64-year-old facility had never had air conditioning in the bunk as well as many other buildings on the premises.
The participants were from homes located in Hockley, Stephenville, Houston, Lubbock, and Baytown.
Many of the youngsters had never hunted or been in the outdoors. The girls and their counselors began with an orientation meeting where they learned about gun safety and were shown how to properly use a firearm and the expectations for the following day. They then were assigned sleeping bunks, visited the clothing room where each kid was supplied a new pair of boots and warm clothing for them to keep.
After dinner was served, the young ladies were treated to a haunted hayride through the camp’s game pasture where besides getting to observe wild animals in their habitat, they saw ghouls, ghosts and a haunted cemetery. After the hayride, they enjoyed S’mores by the campfire and then it was off to bed.
It was time for the hunt. The girls were awakened at 3:30 a.m., and after breakfast they left with counselors and guides for their hunts on several ranches in the surrounding area. These area ranchers allow the hunters to take whitetail does, bucks and a few exotics to let the children harvest meat that they take back with them, as well as teaching them about managing wildlife populations on their ranches.
Many of the young girls have never had the advantage of spending time with and experiencing nature. They learned that with a little patience, they could harvest an animal, help process the meat and take it back with them to feed others at home, thus giving them a feeling of pride and accomplishment.
At the end of the day, the young ladies had harvested 23 does, three bucks, one spike, two aoudad sheep, and three axis deer. Thirty-two girls harvested 32 animals, spent a day with people that cared about them, and learned a lesson in how satisfying it is to provide food for themselves and others.
After returning to Camp Gene Ashby, the girls helped the volunteers process their meat and prepare for the trip back on Sunday morning. The young ladies gathered for dinner and shared their stories with each other and the volunteers. It was a great experience for all involved, and new friendships were made that will hopefully last well into the future.
