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Home Ec the Outdoor Way
BY LIZ PENSONEAU We've all heard the old adage, "where there's a will, there's a way," and Cindy Wade is living proof that a fresh approach can be taken to educating students about deer hunting and the by-products that can be derived from harvesting the animal. When Gibson City High School students step into Wade's home economics classroom on "Deer Day," they become enlightened on the topic of deer hunting through hands-on demonstrations of equipment and discussions about the basics of hunting. They inspect deerskin clothing and products, learn important facts about the Illinois deer herd and are treated to delicious home-cooked dishes such as barbeque and Salisbury steak prepared with venison as the main ingredient. But, as her students will tell you, Wade gives them more to digest than just the food. "Do any of you know the size of the deer herd in Illinois?" she asked her 5th hour class. "I think it's about 30,000" a student replied.
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Deer Day at Gibson City High School offers students a rare opportunity to learn about deer hunting and related by-products.
Wade then astonished her pupils by telling them the herd is estimated at 770,000 and that 90,000 deer were harvested during the two firearm seasons, which lasted a total of seven days. In Ford County alone, home of Gibson City, 103 deer were taken. "Any idea what would happen if we quit hunting?" she continued. Correct answers included starvation among the herd, more vehicle/deer collisions and an increase in crop damage and disease due to overpopulation. Among other things, Wade wants students to learn why hunting is important to the control of the deer population. "Students do not realize how many deer are in the Illinois herd," Wade revealed. "The most deer they will guess as being killed during a shotgun season in Illinois will be 2,000.... When I start out by telling them it was 90,099 and that doesn't include archery, pistol and muzzleloading seasons, they want to listen." Wade, herself an avid hunter, is an advocate of enlightening youths about a topic that receives little or no attention during their schooling-hunting. She makes it clear that she advocates hunter safety and strives to convince them that, whether or not they ever choose to hunt, they need to understand the basics of the sport. "For some of the students. Deer Day is the closest thing they will ever have to a hunting experience, so it needs to be positive," Wade said. "I want them to walk away from this class saying 'it's ok to hunt this way.'" Wade says one of her goals is to see that safety education is available for everyone so each student can have knowledge of what hunting is all about. "A couple of years ago, two of our coaches started teaching hunter safety. Right now, it's for boys only, and I'd like to see that expanded. We just need to keep making inroads," Wade said. A two-wheeled cart on display in the classroom was designed and constructed by Wade and her husband Ron to transport harvested deer from the field. She explained why it was needed. "The area where Ron and I have permission to hunt is more than a mile back into the timber," Wade said, "I told my husband, 'I'm too old to drag those deer out. I want a cart,' but the one that I saw cost more than $300, and there was no way I was going to pay that. So we designed our own. The wheels were $40, and the rest of the cart less than $10. It's still a lot of work to get a deer out, but it is easier than dragging it. If you're wondering why not just take a four-wheeler to the area? Well, you can't do that everywhere. In some areas, it is not allowed." Moving on, she picked up a deer call. "Have you ever heard a deer call?" she asked. "It will do the grunts, the doe bleats and the fawn bleats. You just have to change the reeds around. The deer tend to get more vocal during mating season. A lot of times if you have a running deer and you whistle, it will stop. Then you'll get your shot." Next were antlers—more than one pair. "There's something different about these antlers than the others sitting here," Wade said as she singled out one set. "This is a shed rack. That means these antlers fell off a deer's head. Every year, bucks get a new set of antlers, and in January and February their racks start to fall off. You'll find them March 2000 15
near creeks and alongside fences where deer jump and land with a lot of force. Usually if you find one antler, you'll find another near-by. About March you won't find any of them"
"Where do they go?" asked an inquisitive student. "Squirrels and mice eat shed antlers. So if you don't find them early in the season, odds are you won't find them later on. If you're out in the timber, you might want to look for them." Wade then held up a mounted rack for the class to examine. "This is a non-typical rack," she said.
Providing land for outdoor activities is among the goals of Illinois' Open Land Trust grant program. 16 OutdoorIllinois
"The difference between typical racks and non-typical racks is that on a typical rack, both sides have to match. It takes one inch of antler to be counted as a point. This particular deer may not have had a big rack, but it did have good body weight at 179 pounds. It is the largest shotgun deer I've ever taken, so I'm proud of it." Wade explained that she and her husband believe no useable part of the animal should go to waste. They use the deer hide for such things as rugs, coats, jackets, vests, gun cases and other useful items. For the Wades, hunting is a family event, and economizing a family tradition. "We save the hides from the deer, salt them down and send them to Wisconsin to have them processed," Wade said. "There are lots of options, including color. I had the first deer I took made into a rug. Although I like it a lot, we don't use it that much (as a rug) because it sheds. I think it would be a lot better to hang it on a wall and use it for decoration." Holding up a coat, Wade said, "Back when you could send in your hides and get your exact hides back, my husband and I sent them in until we had enough for this coat. It took 13 or 14 hides-all of which were ours. The total cost was $350 to have all the hides dyed and sewed up. The same coat would sell for around $750 if I went out and bought it." "Do most of the people use their hides like this?" asked a student. "No, because a lot of people are not knowledgeable about the process," Wade replied. Wade said that prior to learning about it at Deer Day, a lot of students never thought about using the deer hide for clothing. "They just thought that a deer got shot and sent to the locker and that a head got hung on a wall. That was the end of it," she said. Raised as a farm girl north of Merna, Wade learned at an early age that milk didn't come from the grocery store."We butchered at home each year with the help of my grandparents and my father's brother," she said. "It was not common at that time. In fact, I knew of no one else who did this. It was also not common for girls to drive tractors and help with the farm work, but its what our family did." She also did some hunting prior to her marriage into a family of hunters. Her husband Ron is the youngest of four brothers, Frank, Bob, Don and Ron, whose desire to outshine the other is well-known when it comes to hunting. Their competition extends to the professional level. All four have competed in Illinois Sportsman of the Year competition and Frank, Bob and Bob's wife, who is also named Cindy, compete in 3-D archery competitions. Cindy Wade—of home-economics fame—is
March 2000 17 the only Wade wife who hunts. She also competed with the brothers in the Sportsman of the Year event, and shares their competitive spirit-at least to the extent of a burning desire to bring home the game. In fact, in 1993, Wade traveled alone to Colorado to go on a wild game hunt for elk and bagged a 700-pound cow. Wade said she practiced beforehand using a 30.06. "You have to shoot a 180-grain bullet to bring down an elk," she told her class. "That makes it rough because it's really loud and shoots fire out of the end of the barrel. I can only shoot five shots when practicing (because of the noise), even though I'm wearing earplugs. But I did practice. I got everything down pat, and I brought back an elk. It was very exciting for me." Wade harvested her first deer with a bow and arrow in 1993. A safety advocate, she told her class to be extremely cautious when engaging in this activity.
Wade said her most memorable hunting experience in Illinois occurred in 1993. She and her husband were trying to field dress and carry out two bucks, crossing a creek in the process.
"The water was deep and cold," she recalled. "My husband had already fallen in up to his neck. We floated the deer across the creek and were trying to carry them up a bank. You cannot believe how heavy a wet deer is! Anyway, I saw someone who looked like a friend of ours stepping behind a tree. I yelled at him in a rather rude manner to come help. As he drew closer, I told my husband, 'that's not our friend.' It was a game warden. He said, 'ok boys, let's see your licenses and permits.' Then it was his turn to be surprised. When he looked at mine, he said, 'Oh, ma'am, I am so sorry. You can see how I thought it was two men.' We had a good laugh. And then he said, 'looks like you have your work cut out for you today,' and he left." Following each successful deer hunt, the Wade brothers, their families, and neighbors gather in the garage to process deer. "We do all of the processing of our deer meat at home," Wade said. "It's very social time between the family and the neighbors who love to come over and share stories. Then there is the wall of shame. When you have the smallest deer, your name goes on the wall and everyone razzes you for a whole year. "Butchering starts as soon as the first person gets there. We have done this so many years that most people either have a specialty or know where to pitch in," she said. "For example, I usually skin hanging deer or work at wrapping meat. I also make deer butterfly chops. If you are old enough to use a knife, but not skilled, you are a burger maker. If you are experienced, you usually make roasts and chops. If you are young, you stamp packager with the date and content and put the meat in the cooler." Wade sees hunting as a continuing challenge. The challenge of staying warm enough to remain in the timber or in a tree stand for an entire day; the challenge of utilizing her own skills to make hunting easier; the challenge of avoiding waste; and the challenge of educating others about the sport. She meets her challenges well.
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Easy Deer BBQ