The fall of 1960 found me thinking of going deer hunting somewhere. I was working in the Bookkeeping Department at the bank at the time. A young guy working with me, by the name of Wendell Graham, wanted to go hunting. Therefore, we started planning a trip to go out for just one day.
He had been told there were a lot of deer on Clear Creek, near Cascade, and that we should think of going up there. Neither of us had a reliable vehicle at the time. Wendell mentioned that a nephew of his, John Broxon, had a car that should run up there, alright. He also said he had good tires and all that, which turned out to be nothing but worn out skins. John was a hunter also, it should work out okay. The three of us loaded into John’s old chevy early on a Saturday morning for the trip to Clear Creek. This was in late October, there was no snow yet but the ground was frozen hard and water in the creeks. The day was nice and clear with no chance of snow or rain in sight.
We turned off the main highway at the Clear Creek Store South of Cascade and headed up the creek to find a place to hunt. About five miles up the creek, we found what looked like a side creek that looked promising for deer. There was a lot of old tracks in the road made before the ground froze. I went up ∴ the right side and came into a large clearing with aspen trees in little groves around it. Some large pine and fir trees provided a background, a very picturesque place to find. I just stopped for a while admiring such a beautiful spot to find. I must have stood there in awe for a half an hour, wishing I had my camera to record this for always.
As I took a few steps up the hill, a nice two-point buck walked out into the open at about forty yards. Suddenly, I was jarred back into the real world, I was hunting deer and here was a fat buck in front of me, unaware that I was anywhere around. L was carrying my .30-30 Model 94 Winchester at the time, and this was an ideal range for it I kneeled for a solid rest, then shot him through the heart the first try. He dropped right there without hardly a wiggle. He was a nice sized deer with an even set of two point antlers. Wendell and John were not too far away. By the time they found me, I had the buck dressed out ready to take him to the car. We tied a rope to his antlers and by taking turns pulling, We were down to the car very shortly. We put him in the trunk, then checked out the time. It was getting close to lunch time.
We decided to take a break and have lunch. A good cold drink from the water jug was welcomed also. After resting for a while we drove on up the road looking for another deer. We could not find anything else by driving and walking the rest of the day, so we decided to head for home. We had a long ways to go to get home.
We were almost to the highway when we took a side road that logging trucks had been using down the creek. The trucks had made some deep ruts in the muddy road then the ground froze causing The sides of the ruts to be sharp. One tire hit the edge and blew out. We had a spare, which was quickly put on. I started looking at all the tires and they were a sorry sight at the best including the spare. Very carefully we crept on down the rutty road to the main highway. We should be able to get home by driving at a slow pace and praying a lot. We were doing pretty good until just above Banks when the spare blew out.
Now this left us with two flat tires, and night was upon us. What should we do to get home? My brother Harold, was living in Horseshoe Bend, and owned a service station. Maybe I could hitch-hike a ride into Horseshoe Bend with the best of the blown out tires and get it fixed or get a tire to get home on. This was Saturday night and I hoped they would not go to Boise to visit the family, before I could get there. I took the spare back off the car to see which tire was best. I picked the one with the smallest hole and stood beside the car with my thumb out hoping somehow could pick me up. The first truck to come by stopped to see what the problem was. I explained the situation to the guys and they loaded the tire and me in their truck. We headed for Horseshoe Bend, which was about a half hour away. They dropped the tire and me at Harold’s station and they went on for home. As fate would have it, Harold had closed the station early that night and had already left for Boise. No way of getting in touch of him now. As normal the station was locked up tight for the weekend. Now what to do?
There was another station not far away that had a light on yet. Maybe he could help me? I could not afford to buy a new tire, as money was in short supply. We looked over the tire I had brought with me to see how bad it really was. By putting a boot in it we might be able to get home as it was all highway the rest of the way. We fixed it, aired it up, paid his price and went out to the highway to hitch hike back to the car. I did not have to wait long when a truck stopped to see where I was headed. After telling them the problem they put the tire in the back of the truck and away we went. They were going to Cascade anyway so it was not out of the way for them. We were back at the car in no time at all. Wendell and John were starting to get a little worried about me since I had been gone a couple Of hours or more. The guys in the truck helped me put the fixed tire on the car and waited to see if it was going to hold air and that we were headed down, the highway for home. They were real great and I thanked them kindly for the help. I hoped someday l could return the favor to them.
We had a long ways to go to get home and it was getting late in the evening by now. We drove slowly and carefully all the way home even though it would take a lot longer. It was nearly midnight by the time we reached town. Wendell dropped me off at home first, then went on for his home. He would hang the deer in his garage overnight. I would go over and help Skin out the next day.
The buck was hung for most of the week, then I picked up my half, to be cut into steaks. The deer was in g○○d shape, fat and healthy in spite of all the trouble we had getting him home. This was one trip which taught me a lesson for a life time. I would never go anywhere without first checking the tires and I would always have new tires on all my cars from now on.