By Lauren Cooper
The DeQuincy Masonic Lodge #279 hosted their 1st Annual Masonic Lodge and Community Squirrel Hunt on Saturday, Feb 1, at the DeQuincy Railroad Museum grounds.
The hunt kicked off early with a breakfast at the DeQuincy Masonic Lodge. The hunt began at 8 a.m. with over 20 three-man teams. There were both Adult and Youth divisions with hunters being due back before the 3 p.m. weigh-in time with a limit of 24.
In the meantime, families and friends gathered at the museum and enjoyed many various craft and food vendor booths. The children were entertained by space jumps, laser tag, and face painting.
A BB gun target shooting contest was held for kids of all ages, 5 years to adult. Afterwards, there was a drawing for the BB guns used in the competition.
At the 3 p.m. weigh-in, it was found that over 300 squirrels had been harvested. There were awards for best teams, largest squirrel and most unique squirrel.
The first place team consisted of Danny Clark, Todd Barks, Charles Montgomery and their dog, Camo. They had 24 squirrels with a total weight of 28.4 lbs. They also won the award for the Most Unique Squirrel. They were awarded a handmade crawfish table, trophies, and a free mount from K&K Taxidermy.
Proceeds from the event will be donated back to the community by the way of charitable donations such as The Angel Tree Project and local elderly projects.
Check next week’s DeQuincy News for all the official results for the contests. There is a photo page feature in this week’s issue on Page 7.
