In honor of Bob Smith (deceased) Oskaloosa iowa

When I was around 7 years old we were leaving Osky and Dad needed to stop and talk to a friend of his.

We pulled into the yard a two lines of wet dead animals were drying in the yard. The men had a hard time talking because I needed to know everything about how Mr Smith ended up with these animals. He was running a trap line via boat on the river.

Then I needed to know everything about what a trapline was.

As we were getting ready to leave Bob Smith walked into his garage and came out and handed me 2 number one longsprings.

That started it all. I became immersed in trapping.

I've only talked with Bob Smith a few times, he's now deceased. The day he gave me the traps, our paths crossed a time or two after that but only briefly, and once when I was in my late 20s I went and found him to thank him for the gift of trapping. We had a long talk then and I made it clear to him the impact 2 traps and his patience with a kid had on my life.

Be someone's Bobby Smith.

It's the greatest gift you can give.

GREAT advice!

A lot harder today to be a Bobby Smith, sadly. I have a ton of nieces and nephews, no interest at all from them. I came into being the only trapper in my family and it looks like I'll go out that way. Kudos to Bobby!

thanks

great advice

a little bump can really get someone going.

Awesome post!

it is great if it is trapping , and there were probably 99% of kids even back then when the OP was 7 that wouldn't have had the same reaction he did.

for me it was guns an some help from my scout master.

my dad had 1 gun when I was young his deer gun , he hunted 1 week a year really one weekend gun deer opener , he had wanted to go hunting when he was a kid and his mom talked with her brother and when he was 14 he got to go to family deer camp to hunt with uncle Bill.
My grandpa was a city kid only time he used a gun was in the Navy and eventually he came to deer camp a few times borrowing a gun.


My scout master John saw my interest in shooting and encouraged it , Rifle merit badge was one of my first.
by that time dad had his deer gun when I was 11 he bought a 10/22 for me to learn on , and a 20ga for me to deer and bird hunt with he would borrow my other grandpas 12ga for bird hunting for that first year or two.

John had a number of guns all flavors

I ended up working for his construction business

John had about 100 acres that backed up to a huge swamp with a good range and nothing behind it for a few miles.
we could go out and shoot there as we lived in a village.

I got to try all sorts of things shoot all sorts of things rifles , pistols a variety of things
once I could drive I could shoot almost any time I wanted , I could bring guns to work and shoot when I was done for the day.
used the shop at work to build the first kit gun.
I got the old issues of shotgun news when John was done reading them.

dad ended up getting a few more guns and bought me a revolver to fix , I got a numrich catalog sent for from the ad in the shotgun new the mail ordered the parts to fix that revolver.
spend so many hours taking that apart and fitting the springs and testing it.


so it may not be trapping , but maybe you can find something you can pass on , when you see a kid interested.

Excellent, thanks for sharing.

I've known a couple Bobby Smiths in my life, but none that trapped! lol. Great post Bruce! It tickled me how Sal, Steve's boy, was treated at the NTA. We all need to roll out the welcome mat for our future trappers!

I'm always trying to convince my friends to try trapping out and so far convinced one to start helping me with my line and I would go help him with his. I'm really going to try to pull him into it this year. I started out with a 4H group that was teaching a group of 10 people how to trap and I got into it, I've stayed connected with the teacher from that class and he's invited me to come to his shop to learn how to skin rats this fall with him and learn more about this hobby, sadly everyone else is that class has given up trapping.

Excellent eulogy to a good guy Bruce. I'm happy you had the opportunity to share with him the impact his patience and understanding had on your life.

I was very fortunate to have a Bob Smith in my life as well.

Great story, thanks for sharing.

One positive note here: The rest of that class might not be trapping, but they have been exposed to it, and because of that they know the truth and won't fall for the anti nonsense,

Awesome post RIP Bob

WS

Yes it is

Good post

Mac

R.I.P.Bob!

Very true but I don't think they would anyways since the other 9 were kids of farmers and they all hunt, But that is still very true.

Excellent post Sharing something that is important to you with some one: a kid or adult can impact the rest of their life

Thanks for that great story Bruce! Ive been at both end of Bob. Theres no better feeling to receive and give back!

My Bobby Smith is two men.

Red Wansley has passed away ( bullcrap..... he fought it as long as he was able).. I can no longhr thank him.

Dean Mitchell I can still thank but not enough. Thanks Mean Dean.

Ludy Sheda was my Bob Smith, big time.

That is very true Catch, but there are still a few out there, ya just have to find them. When I moved up here to Wheaton, I had visions of all tese farm kids that would come, wanting me to show them the ropes. I had one, and school kept him so busy with sports, he only went along a few times. Still a good friend, and has become a fine man, but works in an implement dealer as a parts man, and has no time to trap.

I have a new candidate for this year, though! Have not met him yet, but his dad looked me up at the Fur Takers convention, and we made some initial plans. According to dad, the kid is ate up with the bug, and just all he thinks about. I told his dad that was a bad sign, as that was the way I was from about six years old till now! lol. I hope he has the incurable bug, cause that is the true beginning of a lifelong illness that we all love!

Well said

Good to know that I'm not the only person who has had the bug from when I heard about trapping. I wish there were more people around me to learn from but so far have only found 2 trappers and one sadly can't trap any longer.