My younger brother Peter and I enjoyed many of the same activities. In Middlebury, we played baseball and football on the adjoining vacant lot in Chipman Park. In summer, we both fished, camped, hiked and sailed on Lake Dunmore. We became proficient with outboard motors and, before long, learned to water ski. In winter, our entire family enjoyed skiing together at the Middlebury College Snow Bowl. Over time, my skiing improved and by the time I was in 7th and 8th grade I managed to win a 1st place ribbon in a local ski-jumping event and a 2nd place ribbon in downhill. In season I continued to hunt and fish with my father and Hilton Bicknell and I continued to target shoot with the Middlebury Rifle and Pistol Club under the auspices of the National Rifle Association - which at that time focused much of its attention on hunter and firearms safety. Between age 12 and 14, I progressed rapidly through the several levels of Junior marksmanship and by the time I was 14 I was awarded the Expert Rifleman Medal, the second highest award in American Junior Shooting. It was at this time that my dad let me own my first gun, a 22 caliber rifle, followed shortly thereafter by a 28 gauge Mossberg shotgun. In addition, I was allowed to use larger caliber rifles and shotguns under the supervision of my dad or Hilton Bicknell. Many of my early excursions out of Middlebury were to hunt partridge in the woods around Ripton, deer in the Cornwall swamp and ducks along Otter Creek and the shores of Lake Champlain.
As I continued with Boy Scouts, I spent several happy summers at Camp Sunrise in Orwell, Vermont where I worked hard to earn merit badges in everything from camping, canoeing, cooking, fire building and fire safety, to swimming, first aid and life saving. I eventually earned my Star Scout rank. |
