When a Gates Hunter Hit the Papers

It so happened that I located Uncle Jim's newspaper clipping just this week which coincidentally is just prior to his 84th birthday on January 28th. Undoubtedly, a multitude of "Gates" hunting stories are floating around out there. This is just one.

The Cat That Uncle Jim Caught

                I was hesitant to write this blog post since I have never fired a gun. Of course, I’ve been told that needs to change. Perhaps if DNA is all that is necessary for accurate and safe shooting, based on the following accounts, I might have a shot at it.

My father’s family tales reveal my grandmother, Mamie Irene Tripp Gates, as an accomplished markswoman. If need be, she could locate and shoot the squirrel. Then Dad’s resourceful mother would fry it up in the pan. According to my mother, my maternal grandmother, Gladys Vivian Rainey Smith, could bring down a squirrel deftly, too.

With my own eyes, I observed my father, in his mid-80s, drop a skunk with one shot while he trotted toward it north of my parents’ farmhouse! The acquisition of his shooting prowess is discussed in the passage from his memoirs, Okie Over Europe.

Six enlisted men of Edmund’s crew transferred to Wendover, Utah, on June 1, 1942, for gunnery school.  They practiced shooting skeet and fired on burst into a mound of dirt with a 30-caliber weapon.  Upon completing these two activities, they were told, “You are gunners.”  Ironically, he would only fire two 50-caliber guns in combat.  He always said he had very little training to become a gunner.  Fortunately, he had honed his marksman skills while on the farm.  Often he and his brothers had provided his family with wild game as a result of their hunting as boys.

The Gates’ boys owned hounds and guns from young ages. When Jess was quite young, he received  a rifle off the community Christmas tree . The blog post entitled The Christmas Tree and the Stolen Watch published on December 15, 2013, told of this Christmas gift. Ironically, their father told Jess to let my father carry the gun when they went hunting. What a testament to the faith Grandpa had in their obedience to follow his instruction and share even when they weren’t in his presence!

My father, Edmund Gates, Jr., said, “Herb and Jim always had hounds.” Dad intimated that Jim and Herb perfected the training regimen of their hounds. Those determined boys were committed to their hunting and their dogs. 

One of the prized hounds of Herb and Jim

Herb and Jim in adulthood continued their evening hunting excursions. Sometimes Dad went hunting with them. One evening when Herb’s older sons, Steve and Mark, were quite young, the two of them stayed a few hours at our house while their father and his brothers hunted. Of course, my maternal grandparents lived with us. Grandma made things like popcorn and cookies for us. Grandpa insisted the boys have a little “pop.” Back then, carbonated beverages were only for special occasions. As we sat at the dining room table enjoying our treats, my grandparents were entertained with Steve and Mark’s stories of “snapper snakes.” After the treats, we were encouraged to nap on pallets in the living room when Mark and Steve discovered a throw pillow they dubbed the dog bone because of its shape and enjoyed taking turns relaxing on it. Grandma’s eyes twinkled later as she chuckled at the boys’ snapper snake stories when she recalled their visit.

Evidently, Grandma Gladys admired a great marksman since I found a timeworn newspaper clipping, dating back to the 1960s, affixed in one of her scrap books. She wasn’t related to Uncle Jim but always loved and was interested in him, Uncle Herb, and Uncle Jess. She usually shared of her faith in Jesus when she visited with “the boys.” Ironically, in one of my last conversations with Uncle Jess, he mentioned her. One of the last people to whom Grandma Gladys spoke following her debilitating stroke was Herb when he visited her just a few months before her death.

What a boon to discover the photo of Uncle Jim Gates in his carpenter overalls displaying the first bobcat he bagged! The caption of this clipping gives interesting details surrounding the successful hunt. The photograph had appeared in the Ponca City News. Aunt Lou’s willingness to allow this sport exemplifies her commitment to her marriage. She knew hunting was important to him and was an exciting outlet for him. 

Recently, I have spoken with different individuals about the importance of all family members’ unity in support of the young children in the home. My four grandparents’ genuine friendship with one another provided stability and security for a little girl like me. My maternal grandparents’ embrace of my uncles, aunts, and cousins from the paternal side of my family created an enormous circle of love and caring that exists to this day. My uncles, aunts, and cousins on my paternal side showed respect for Grandpa and Grandma Smith that only enlarged the circumference of affection drawing together a massive number of people that continues to thrive even today. The power of a family’s love and respect is inestimable in its value in lives of the old and the young.