By Mike Roche

The Mahar Fish’N Game Club Game Supper filled the Mahar Cafeteria Saturday night as both young and old enjoyed a great evening of wild fish and game, cooked to perfection, and awards and great raffles. You cannot help by but be impressed with this event as you watch the middle school and high school members the Mahar Fish’N Game Club execute all the details needed to have a successful evening.

The food part of the evening included both appetizers and entrees of fish and game prepared by a crew that is spearheaded by Mark Kovalsick of the Orange Gun Club and is all-volunteer, many of whom have been cooking wild game and fish for decades. The work of serving that food is also done expertly by members of the Mahar Key Club, under the outstanding supervision of Penny Smith. No one left hungry!

This June, a contingent of club members will be traveling to visit Alaska. The tradition of taking trips was instituted during my tenure as advisor of the Mahar Fish’N Game Club in 1999, when a group of club members approached me about a trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. It seemed to me like an overly ambitious task at first, but the students were insistent.

The key was a connection with Steve Piragis, who had attended Athol High School and was a contemporary of this writer. He ended up in Ely, Minnesota, and had built an outdoor recreation business which, among other things, outfitted groups to canoe the vast Boundary Waters Wilderness Area out of Ely. The staff at Piragis Outdoors made the trip “one-stop shopping” and was a life-changing experience that was repeated and enjoyed by Mahar students seven times during my time at Mahar.

There were also two trips to Alaska as well. The Alaska trips were inspiring as the natural beauty of the “Last Frontier” cannot be understood until you experience it yourself. Seeing wildlife and catching the many species of trout and salmon Alaska offers is something outdoors lovers must put on their life list.

The Game Supper raffles helped raise money to cover the costs of the Alaska trip. The previous week, the Athol-Orange chapter of the Fraternal Order of Eagles hosted a fund-raising Bingo Night which I attended. It was a really fun evening, and the club raised $1,400, which went to the Mahar Fish’N Game Club to defray the costs of the Alaksa trip. Hats off to the Eagles for their generous support!

The Fish’N Game Club’s program for the evening has long included awards. They include the recognition of club members and also both a State and Local Conservation Award. Those awards date back to 1964. My father, John E. Roche Jr., co-founded the Mahar Fish’N Game Club in 1957 when Mahar opened, and he was a teacher. The administration required every teacher to be involved in a club and my father and fellow teacher George Darey were both hunters and fishermen and founded the Fish’N Game Club to share this with high school boys.

Article continues after...

Yesterday's Most Read Articles

New Athol sign designs unveiled

Baseball: Frontier’s Joey Hutkoski gives up just one hit as Redhawks knock off Greenfield, 6-0 (PHOTOS)

Gough seeks full term on Phillipston Selectboard

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern announces death of daughter, Molly McGovern, who battled cancer

LifePath halts Healthy Living Program amid anticipated federal cuts

Royalston workshop to explain process of solar energy

Your Daily Puzzles

Cross|Word

Flipart

Typeshift

SpellTower

Really Bad Chess

Darey returned to his roots in Lenox and founded a club there while my father watched the Mahar Club grow to over 100 members. The first two club presidents were Bill Bergquist and Francis Driscoll. Both were instrumental in the club becoming the success it is today. A Founder’s Award is given in their memory each year to the club’s outstanding member. Girls were admitted to the club in 1969 and a middle school club was added in the 1990s. The Driscoll family established a scholarship fund after Fran’s passing, which has sponsored students who attend the Massachusetts Junior Conservation Camp.

The Founder’s Award Saturday night was presented to sophomore Maddie Moore. The Button Buck Award, for the outstanding middle school club member, was presented to Joel Wilkey. Mike Donnelly, a leader in Ducks Unlimited Massachusetts, presented the Ducks Unlimited Service Award to seventh-grader TJ King. The Local Conservation Award was given this year to Astro Minty in recognition of his years of dedicated service to local clubs – particularly the Fish’N Game Club.

Susan Langlois, the Massachusetts Hunter Education Coordinator, was awarded the State Conservation Award and her leadership in hunter education, both in Massachusetts and nationally, was noted. High school advisor Evelyn Cunha, in her introduction, asked those in attendance who had taken hunter education at Mahar to raise their hands and it was obvious that the program at Mahar has produced many graduates. Sue later noted that probably no place has been responsible for more hunter education graduates than Mahar Regional over the years.

This former club advisor, who served in that position for over 25 years, has to state that it was more than impressive to observe the club members in action, as I know how much work conducting a successful event requires. The two advisors, Evelyn Cunha in the high school and William Devin in the middle school, are to be commended for their leadership.

Most impressive, however, is the “hands-on” leadership of the officers. President Audrey Elwood eloquently defined the impact that the club has had on her and other members as well as anyone ever could, while doing a superb job serving as the Master of Ceremonies. Vice President Mackenzie Mathews, Treasurer Mike LaPlante and Secretary Stella Moore also performed at a high level in the planning, setup and executing the details of the evening. Making all that more special is that all four are just high school sophomores! Do not believe it when you hear someone talk disparagingly about today’s young people. Tell them you are aware of young people who make their parents, school and community proud!

Mike Roche is a retired teacher who has been involved in conservation and wildlife issues his entire life. He has written the Sportsman’s Corner since 1984 and has served as advisor to the Mahar Fish’N Game Club, counselor and director of the Massachusetts Conservation Camp, former Connecticut Valley District representative on the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board, a Massachusetts Hunter Education Instructor and is a licensed New York hunting guide. He can be reached at mikeroche3@msn.com.