Elissa's
Notebook
March 6, 2009
Elissa's Notebook
Archives:
|
|
|
|
Archives: |
|
Promoting our sport and inviting non-shooters to try it is important, and we all need to look for opportunities to do this when we can. Editor Terry took advantage of such an opportunity recently. She had taken her vehicle to the dealership for some maintenance work, when the service manager noticed a Trap & Field that she had in her car. He asked her about it, and she gave him a copy of the magazine and told him all about the sport. He said that he likes to hunt and expressed interest in giving trapshooting a try. She told him some places nearby where he could shoot and encouraged him to try it. Hopefully he’ll be an ATA shooter soon. We all need to do what we can to recruit new people to our sport. Shooting season will be upon us before we know it. I hope you’re making plans to attend lots of ATA shoots, and I’m really looking forward to the Grand this year. Also, don’t forget that because the 2008 target year ended two months later, the Average Book is being sent out later too. It’s at the printer now and should be in your mailboxes before long. |
|
I’m back from the Spring Grand, and what a great shoot it was! Congratulations to the champions: Gerald Reid, singles; Harlan Campbell, doubles and all-around; and Rick Marshall, handicap and HOA. Rick won the handicap title after a six-way tie of 99s and a five-round shootoff with Jim Foster. It was a lot of fun to watch! In addition, I heard that Harlan not only displayed shooting skills during the tournament but was spotted on the dance floor one evening. Unfortunately I missed that photo op, but I did catch Jerrie Finfrock cutting a rug with one of the Beaudry RV reps. Jerrie does a great job passing out the trophies at the Tucson shoots, and she always helps me a lot with whatever I need while I’m there. * * * I heard from ATA Delegate Joe Sissano, who shared with me some information about North Jersey CTC in Fairfield, N.J. This club is where Joe registered his first targets in 1967. The club held its first registered shoot in 1934, drawing shooters from New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In 1936 the state shoot and Eastern Zone Shoot both took place there. In the early 1940s the club was relocated to its present location on Horseneck Road. A clubhouse was built but was unfortunately destroyed by fire in 1980, and the club lost its many pictures, trophies and mementos that were on display. Today a double-wide trailer is utilized, and it includes a porch, wood stove and kitchen. The club has five fields with all new walkways, Pat-Traps and voice calls. North Jersey enjoys much success because of the time and dedication of its many members. For more information on North Jersey CTC, call 973-227-1139 or check out their website www.northjerseyclaytargetclub.com. Look for more information about North Jersey CTC in the April issue. Thanks, Joe, for letting us know about this great club!
|
|
|
|
|
Hello from Tucson! Things are great here at the Spring Grand. Congratulations to Harlan Campbell, who won the doubles championship last night in a four-way shootoff of 100s, which included Mike Grady, Charlie Long and Robert Youngblood. Great shooting to everyone! Also, congratulations to Hayden Oertli, sub-junior runnerup in Friday’s handicap, for winning her first trophy in ATA competition. The weather is great here, and we’re all having lots of fun. Keep checking back for more updates from the Spring Grand.
|
|
|
I’m getting ready to head to Tucson for the Spring Grand, and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s been a long winter, and I’m itching to see my old friends. If you’re at the Spring Grand, stop by to say hi and let me know how you’re shooting. If you can’t make the trip, keep watching Elissa’s Notebook for updates on what’s happening.
|
|
In my last blog, I had some fun with names. And thanks to Trapshooting Hall of Fame Director Kenny Ray Estes, I have learned that my own name may have some roots in trapshooting as well. Kenny sent me an article from the July 20, 1912 issue of Sporting Life, which shows B. B. Cronk (who shares my last name) as the winner of the duPont Trophy at the National Gun Club in Riverside, Ill. He broke 47x50 to win the prize.
My daughter Avery is doing a genealogy project for 4-H this year. Maybe we’ll find a connection to B. B. Thanks, Kenny, for sharing this with me. It was fun to see. Speaking of the Hall of Fame, inductees for this year are Jimmy Heller and B. E. Morrissey plus former Hall of Fame Director Dick Baldwin, who will be enshrined posthumously. Watch for an article detailing these fine shooters’ careers in an upcoming issue of Trap & Field.
|
|
Okay, I admit it. Cabin fever is starting to set in. The weather kept me locked indoors most of last week, so I took the opportunity to follow through on an idea I had during the Grand last year. While I was in Sparta, I met new ATA member Rob Stock and wrote about him in Elissa’s Notebook. Also, I noticed on the trophy list that Harvey Shell broke 200 in the Clay Target Championship and ended up with the AA third-place trophy after shootoff. Taking note of both of their names, it got me to thinking about how many ATA members there may be who have trapshooting-related names. However, that time of year is our busiest here in the office, and I just didn’t have the time to research it. But last week, while I was working from home and starting to get a little stir crazy, it seemed like a good time to revisit the idea. From looking on the ATA website, I found that there are 15 other ATA members joining Rob with the last name of Stock. In addition, beware if you end up in a shootoff with one of the shooters whose names include Stockman, Stockmaster and Stockwell. Of course, we’re all familiar with Trapshooting Hall of Fame member Merle Stockdale and his son Dale Stockdale. (Be sure to check out Dale’s column “Finding help in an unexpected place” in the February issue, which is in the mail now.) Including Harvey, there are 15 ATA members with the last name Shell in addition to Jack Shellhouse of Ohio. It seems that the 12 ATA shooters with the last name of Gunn took up an appropriate hobby as did the four shooters whose last name is Trapp and the three shooters who share the name Shott. As a fan of corny jokes, I can only guess what I would say if I had the opportunity to ask Beth Shotwell how she did in an event. When choosing their ammunition, might name play a part in the decision for the shooters whose names are Remington (there are seven of them) or Winchester (count 11)? And while his name may not fit as well as the ones above, I’m glad to see Gary Skeeters of Kentucky as part of our ranks. Well, thanks for taking this little break from the usual with me. It’s just two weeks until the Spring Grand in Tucson, and every time I look at the piles of snow that are everywhere here in Indiana, I get a little more anxious for it to get here. If you make the trip to Tucson, be sure to stop by and see me. Keep me posted on your trapshooting accomplishments at elissa@trapandfield.com. |
|
It’s currently -12°
in Indianapolis, and I’m wishing I could fast-forward a month to when I get
to jump on an airplane and head to Tucson for the Spring Grand. Let me know how you’re shooting this winter at elissa@trapandfield.com. If you want to tease me a little about the warm weather you’re enjoying, I won’t mind too much.
|
|
Happy New Year!! It’s been awhile since I’ve written. I hope everyone had a great holiday season. There’s been a lot of talk about the economy, but I’m happy to report that we’ve received some word here at T&F that trapshooting is still alive and well. First of all, look in the January issue for coverage of the Autumn Grand, which had record attendance in many events. That’s great to hear! Also, Dave Price wrote in his Around the ATA column for the February issue that attendance has been good at local shoots around Michigan. I hope other states are seeing the same thing. The Dayton Daily News published an article about Middletown SC and trapshooting in the area. Middletown has seen steady growth in its membership during the last five years and gained 300 new members just last year. Wow! Look for your February issue for more on this story. I think 2009 is off to a great start. I look forward to hearing from everyone about your accomplishments. Let me know how you’re doing at elissa@trapandfield. |
|
**Click here to view previous entries to Elissa's Notebook** |
|
TRAP & FIELD Magazine, 1000 Waterway Blvd., Indianapolis IN 46202 (C) Copyright 04/02/2009, Trap & Field Magazine/Division of Servaas, Inc.
F
Departments
|
