MEEKER I The Rio Blanco County Historical Society believes that Rio Blanco County thrives by celebrating its heritage roots. At 1 p.m. on Oct. 4, the society will honor the county’s hunting heritage, and the public is invited.
The celebration will be held at the Old West Heritage Culture Center, 517 Park Ave. in Meeker.
The special speaker, Susan Reneau, is the author of the only big game hunting book about Colorado, titled “Colorado’s Biggest Bucks and Bulls.”
An avid hunter herself, Reneau interviewed hunters and collected all the photos for the book, including dozens of never-before-seen historical photos dating from the mid-1800s.
Recorded trophies need to be officially scored by an official measurer for Boone and Crockett Club (B&C), Pope and Young Club (P&Y) or Longhunter Society: The National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association Big Game Records Program and large enough to make B&C minimum awards scores even if they are not entered in B&C.
There are 2,136 trophies included in the book’s listing, of which many are from Moffat and Rio Blanco counties.
One of the delights of this historic presentation will be seeing big game and hunters from our own county and area.
A few prominent mentions that Susan Reneau has listed include in the Cougar/Mountain Lion category with a score of 5-12/16 in Meeker made in 1901 by hunter Theodore Roosevelt, with the trophy owner now being the Smithsonian Institution.
In 1956, Claude E. Shults set an all time record in the Non-Typical Mule Deer category with a 248-1/8 score in Rio Blanco County. Other all-time record scores set in Rio Blanco County in this category include: James A. Cook in 1960 with a score of 246-6/8; Anthony L. Weiss scored 220-5/8 in 1974; William J. deVergie scored a 238-3/8 in 2008.
In 1987, Jason Steiner set a record in the Black Bear category with 21-5/16 in Rio Blanco County.
The presentation will also include seeing charts and maps showing where the “big boys are from—many from our own area!
Everyone is invited to this celebration, including the traditional potluck luncheon at 1 p.m.
Guests are welcome to bring a salad or dessert to share. At 1:45 p.m. there will be a brief business meeting and exciting committee reports.
Our special presentation will take place from 2-3 p.m., after which all are invited to tour the trophy exhibits in the White River Museum.
Also, copies of Reneau’s book, “Colorado’s Biggest Bucks and Bulls” will be on sale at the event. For every book sold, the publisher will donate a portion of the sale to the White River Museum.
