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Lost our camp in December fire.

10K views 61 replies 35 participants last post by  RonM 
#1 · (Edited)
The camp was a total loss. Source of fire could not be determined, either the wood stove or electrical.
A member and guest were hunting and when they came back discovered the fire in progress. Thankfully no injuries. Another reason to have smoke detectors (we didn't). It was an 80+ year old camp and it burnt fast.

Thanks to all for your good wishes, helpful suggestions and support.
 
#32 ·
This reminds me of an incident years ago. I was approached to buy some 50/50 raffle tickets. I asked what it was for, and the guy said that he and a few other guys are going out west on a hunting trip and they are trying to raise money to pay for the trip.

The forum rules won’t allow me to post my reply to him.
 
#33 ·
This reminds me of an incident years ago. I was approached to buy some 50/50 raffle tickets. I asked what it was for, and the guy said that he and a few other guys are going out west on a hunting trip and they are trying to raise money to pay for the trip.

The forum rules won’t allow me to post my reply to him.


I'd buy a 50/50 to fund something. I don't care what its for, its a game a chance. I love games of chance.
 
#40 ·
After doing tons of electrical side jobs on weekends and nights and packing lunches for years my wife and i were able to buy our fixer upper camp in Potter county 12 yrs ago (still in the fixing up mode ) . So I know how much it would stink to loss my camp so I'm willing to help you out and donate 1- 2"x4"x8' slightly bowed and twisted can be picked up in either Potter or York county. Can I assume you voted for Bernie ?
 
#44 ·
I tried to add some Humor, never meant to be Crude.
But really just can't Buy this post.
We have had some Hardships at our camp thru the years, took a beating when our Roof caved
in the one winter when the Snow and Ice hit record levels.
#### happens, but never would have even thought of asking for any outside help Financialy.
That 's just me though.
 
#46 ·
I see these type of posts all the time on facebook flea market sites. Strangers asking for money to do all sorts of stuff. Trips, company startups, funerals, new cars.... the sad part is they actually get donations. You post something like this on 50 sites it doesnt take long to generate money. Often they have 10-20 different fund sites to hide how much they have made.
The worst abuse is by pet/animal sites. I had a relative who would run adds on all sorts of horse sites asking money to provide medical care for sick rescue animals. She cleared thousands each time.
 
#48 ·
I think this is exactly why this post was received the way that it was by the collective masses of this site. I would bet that 10 years ago, the response would have been far different. Internet scamming has risen to heights that none of us probably could have ever imagined and that fact alone has everyone very guarded to strangers and sad stories. I would bet that we have all been approached by at least one (many more, in my case) person who wanted money for this or that or the other thing. If ya think about it like that, you can see why there were so many blunt "no's" to this request.


I truly believe that the OP was telling the truth. I also truly believe that there were mistakes made that led to the members being able to take the money and run. The bi-laws of our camp are basically set up to protect the camp from any kind of activity that would lead to the camp failing to exist anymore. So we basically protected the camp from everything, including ourselves.


I don't blame the OP for making the post, I'm sure they were blindsided by what happened and that led to them searching for answers. I also don't blame anyone (myself included in this) who said heck no. Both the OP and the response are a sign of the times that we live in.


I dunno, maybe I cant find the words for the point I am trying to make, maybe it doesn't really matter anyway.
 
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#49 ·
Gobblebuck;

You are spot on. I am new here and was literally typing to this as you posted. If given the go ahead by a certain Punky Hollow, whom I have known personaly for over 15 years, I will fill in some needed additional details I've already written.

All in all a great site with great people and it appears discerning moderators! Must be that police training and experience!
 
#50 ·
O.K. Here is what I wrote, and got reluctant approval from Punky to post:

I happen to know this guy, as well as several members of that camp. I've even been there a few times. Most of the guys who decided to move on were older, retired and on fixed incomes.

Being neutral, I can see both sides of the coin. Most of you couldn't have been more wrong about who he is or what his motivation was, though if I were you I would have jumped to the exact same conclusions!

With regards to who he is, he supported Trump and as long as I've known him he has been conservative in all his views. He admitted to me that he would not have been inclined to give to his own cause had he read it here either, when I reversed the scenario.

All that aside, I have known him to be the perfect example of compassionate conservativism. He would be the first person to come to the aid of another in need, as I have seen this in him over the past 15 years plus that I have known him. As for what motivated him to do this? I can't say, other than I know he wasn't doing it for himself as he has always paid his own way and often said no thanks to help from others. If I had to guess, I would say he was trying to help his brother and did a poor job perhaps of communicating the situation in the process.

Now this message is not meant to chide anyone for their comments, nor to justify what was done, but knowing him as I do, I felt it was proper to give you all the rest of the story. Again I would have been inclined to respond in much the same way as many of you did! As to his character? A good and godly man, a passionate outdoorsman, conservationist, and steady solid friend who any of us would be honored to know. So this request would appear to be very much out of character for him.

Yet if any of us were closer to the situation we all, certainly him, would be quick to help. And darned if he hasn't gotten some money at go fund me! Yet those who are closer to the situation, and know him and his character have given. Others, including former camp members are offering to help as well.

Again, not to justify or elicit sympathy, but like Paul Harvey used to say, i wanted to share, "the rest of the story." For me, who, given the circumstances, would have responded exactly as most of you did. Yet knowing more, I learned a valuable lesson from this. I saw that many of you were quick to judge, but also quick to offer helpful advice as well. Those who didn't, I believe would have also offered sound advice, had we not read his follow up messages as "ballzy" (a word I too thought had I not known the man).

My take away is, take the time to try and better understand where the person is coming from. This is a process that I have been learning as I ask folks I know little about to share their story. I am amazed at what folks are actually going through.

His take away perhaps is to consider a bit longer the advice of a friend who cautions that it won't come across well. And for you guys? Maybe there is no take away from this...or perhaps maybe there is!

Our nation is badly divided and both sides are sure they understand and know the motivations of the other. I couldn't vote for Hillary, for example, and didn't vote for Trump, but did vote for Pence and with reservation his running mate (Trump). Now if they can do half of what they promised, great. But it is going to take all we have to help them by stopping the burning of bridges and starting to re-build them by both better understanding the other side of the story and better explaining our position as well.

All in all this is a great site, with great folks, and I look forward to spending some quality time here. Hopefully my first post is well taken and both Punky and I are still welcome here? Thanks for the time and consideration you have given me, and please take the opportunity to get to know Punky Hollow as his outdoors history is long and rich, going back generations and it covers states, nations and continents! Alaska and South America are but two of them.
 
#51 ·
I don't think it has anything to do with the OP's politics, religion, spirit of hunting, his character.

It had more to do with people questioning why anyone should donate money for someone else's luxury.

He can exist without a hunting camp. He can buy an expensive tent with the insurance money that was left and still have an area to camp at that is his. I bet most here don't even have that.

Perhaps a better approach would have been asking if people were interested in resuming the hunting camp, with new by-laws to ensure the camp would continue if something like this happened again. At least people financially supporting it would get something in return.
 
#52 ·
Yeah, I would probably be willing to come up and help on a couple work parties if I could get it into the schedule. That I would have no problem doing, but my finances left over for a camp are going to my camp. See where we are coming from?
 
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#55 ·
Must be legitimate OP has a total of 8 posts and being vouched for by a guy who joined the site yesterday.

Contributing to organizations, events and people down on their luck has always had a soft spot in my heart but Im having a hard time wrapping myself around this one.
I am not saying the facts are untrue, just its not a very compelling story that will spark people to dig and contribute to.
Many have offered low cost suggestions till something more permanent can be found and if the two remaining members of the camp own the ground and have 2200 as their share you are off to a good start

Unfortunately the way things are anymore there are so many scams going around you view anything you read anymore with a degree of skepticism.
Hope it works out for you and do post pictures of whatever you replace your camp with.
 
#58 ·
Your points are not lost on me. Hopefully mine are not lost on you either!

Let me address Politics, which I introduced here in this string. How does it relate?

In my lifetime and in my state, hunting licenses and the value of the revenue have gone down dramatically. Those who are no longer there to purchase are also no longer there to help us build the bridge to those who don't understand our passion and right to enjoy the outdoors and own firearms. We are a minority in the state, one of the most hunter/firearm friendly in the nation. Yet the city of Philadelphia and its bedroom communities have far more voters who are neutral and or against us. Heck, many of our own children don't even hunt any more! We are losing the battle and can not afford to divide ourselves over non critical issues. We can agree to disagree with why one would look for help to rebuild a non necessity. I neither agreed nor did I donate myself!

Do we realize that the majority of the Pa. State Game Land's were once family farms forfeited to the State due to the inability to pay the taxes during the last time our nation's economy went south about 90 years ago? The State, not the hunter owns them and already the State allows non hunters to utilize them free of fees. Fees we pay as sportsmen... Then there is the timber and other mineral rights that law makers salivate over. We being a minority, yet paying for these things, could be the second generation to lose our rights to the land, just on a Philadelphia lawyers grab and backed by those who disagree with us.

My point is let us not divide over what we see as urgent, and lose control over what is important. If we burned every bridge with everyone we disagreed with we would be, well, certainly un-married, childless, and alone. People do things which make no sense to us, and we probably do to, right? I for one am glad there is a thing called live and let live, or to each their own. Let's get worked up about the real issues.

Sportsmen and gun owners are dinosaurs heading toward extinction and we alone must work to build our numbers. This board for example could be a great tool in that process, but not if posts we don't agree with, nor make sense to us are turned in to 6 pages of rant and evisceration. If we will turn that emotional capital toward winning the hunting/trapping/shooting debate perhaps the neutrals would lean more our way and the anti's would become the dinosaurs! We do need to invest into the lives of others. Maybe not to re-build their camp, but the statistics show we as sportsmen are not doing our job in perpetuating the sport either...

Thanks again for the opportunity!
 
#61 ·
Your points are not lost on me. Hopefully mine are not lost on you either!

Let me address Politics, which I introduced here in this string. How does it relate?

In my lifetime and in my state, hunting licenses and the value of the revenue have gone down dramatically. Those who are no longer there to purchase are also no longer there to help us build the bridge to those who don't understand our passion and right to enjoy the outdoors and own firearms. We are a minority in the state, one of the most hunter/firearm friendly in the nation. Yet the city of Philadelphia and its bedroom communities have far more voters who are neutral and or against us. Heck, many of our own children don't even hunt any more! We are losing the battle and can not afford to divide ourselves over non critical issues. We can agree to disagree with why one would look for help to rebuild a non necessity. I neither agreed nor did I donate myself!

Do we realize that the majority of the Pa. State Game Land's were once family farms forfeited to the State due to the inability to pay the taxes during the last time our nation's economy went south about 90 years ago? The State, not the hunter owns them and already the State allows non hunters to utilize them free of fees. Fees we pay as sportsmen... Then there is the timber and other mineral rights that law makers salivate over. We being a minority, yet paying for these things, could be the second generation to lose our rights to the land, just on a Philadelphia lawyers grab and backed by those who disagree with us.

My point is let us not divide over what we see as urgent, and lose control over what is important. If we burned every bridge with everyone we disagreed with we would be, well, certainly un-married, childless, and alone. People do things which make no sense to us, and we probably do to, right? I for one am glad there is a thing called live and let live, or to each their own. Let's get worked up about the real issues.

Sportsmen and gun owners are dinosaurs heading toward extinction and we alone must work to build our numbers. This board for example could be a great tool in that process, but not if posts we don't agree with, nor make sense to us are turned in to 6 pages of rant and evisceration. If we will turn that emotional capital toward winning the hunting/trapping/shooting debate perhaps the neutrals would lean more our way and the anti's would become the dinosaurs! We do need to invest into the lives of others. Maybe not to re-build their camp, but the statistics show we as sportsmen are not doing our job in perpetuating the sport either...

Thanks again for the opportunity![/QUOTE

THANK YOU
 
#60 ·
Thanks Joe and Birch. I get that I am new here. I get that I have almost no earned credibility also. But I have clearly stated my disagreement with my friend's decision without the vitriol. Perhaps our treatment of new sportsmen is similar to our treatment of new members here?

If time here is all that is required for me to become an old boy who is accepted then I am guilty.

However, if actual success and accomplishment merit any shortening of my time to becoming credible, I am a past vice-president of Hunt of a Lifetime hoal.org--&nbspThis website is for sale!--&nbsphoal Resources and Information. I have worked with Ducks Unlimited, the Boy Scouts, and Rockey Mountain Elk foundation. I've hunted and fished several states as well as Canada.

As to my outdoor results, attached are my deer from this past season and a walleye I caught ice fishing.

Hopefully you can see I'm no troll and am one of you!

Thanks again and hope we are still wanted here, or are we not looking to add to our ranks?
 

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