They have held children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren from birth. They have dried tears, applied multitudes of band-aids, taught unsteady lightweights to shoot a rifle and shotgun, how to cast a fly rod and how to place a crankbait inches from the edge of a weedline. Such an honor.
One of those longtime friends still with us, John Cooper, retired federal game warden and former South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Secretary, among many other accomplishments, remains a good friend. I remember calling John one day several years ago, needing his insight regarding a particular story, the topic of which escapes me. What doesn’ t escape me was our conversation when he answered his phone.
“ John...” I said.“ How you doin’?”
“ Well, I’ ll tell ya, Bill” he replied instantly,“ if they ever make this place a state I’’ m leaving.”
That response emphasized our Dakota heritage, today the best it’ s ever been by most standards. With that statement John adequately summarized our pride in living where we do, but more important, the massive opportunities we enjoy today connecting with almost endless outdoor resources.
There wasn’ t much for natural resources in the 1950s and 1960s. John Cooper and Tony Dean and Dan Nelson have attested to that. But what we didn’ t know was the grand future we had before us. We were a long way from today’ s copious amounts of pheasants, ducks, geese and deer and fish.
Today, we shudder when we hear that pheasant, duck or deer numbers are“ down.” Heck, I never saw a deer until I was 30. But long before that, we had bullheads. And creeks. And there was no one more grateful than those of us who learned the joys of digging in dirt for our bait and waiting
Could any of these people, Gavin, Jon and Bobbi from three generations, be any happier?
like a hungry dog for a bobber to disappear. We had no reports telling us where bullheads were biting, heh, heh. No forward-facing sonar. No Facebook. No Google.
701-662-8321
1605 ND-20 Devils Lake
Bobbi, right, and daughter Jodi, after a chilly, soaking-wet, but extraordinary fun day of hunting pheasants in southwestern North Dakota that resulted in memories that hundreds of years couldn’ t erase.
Devils Lake’ s 1 Stop Shop!
Large Bait & Tackle Shop!
• Convenience Items • Propane
• Lake Maps & fishing reports
• Gas / Diesel • ATM Machine
• Guide Service and Lodging Packages available
• Gaming • Bar serving food
• On / Off Sale Drive-thru Public Fish Cleaning Station
www. dakotacountrymagazine. com Dakota Country, September 2025, Page 81