EP 171: Gone to the Dogs with Steve Fielder

Ernest Hemmingway said, “There is no friend as loyal as a book.” A longtime lover of books and especially those about hound hunting, Steve takes his listeners on a literary journey in this episode, an unusual “guest-free” trip in which he shares two old and dear book-friends from his personal library.  A chapter from Steve’s book, Gone to the Dogs – A Coon Hunter’s Journey provides the basis for the first conversation centered upon a historic coon hunt in southwestern Michigan in the year 1924. Fielder builds his story upon the original story, published in Hunter-Trader-Trapper magazine from coon hunter Guy Beeman in which he and a friend capture a giant ringtail that stretched the tape to 50 inches, tip to tip. Steve embellishes Beeman’s tale with an in depth look at the times including the vehicles driven, the equipment used and the startling realization that the hunt takes place as the nation finds itself in the throes of an influenza pandemic the likes of which we have now experienced some one-hundred years hence. A second story from the aged classic turns comedic as Steve shares contributor Orma Winter’s tale of a city slicker on his first coon hunt with hounds.Also, in this episode Steve reflects upon three years of podcasting in which 157 episodes have been produced. Give this one a listen and we’ll celebrate together from our vantage point aboard a coon hunting time machine. Enjoy.  We would like to thank those who support this podcast.  Special thanks to Double U Hunting Supply for sponsoring this episode.  www.dusupply.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@DoubleUHuntingSupply/podcasts