Continuity With the Past

I may be the only guy who ever grew up in South Dakota without once firing a gun at a bird. But if you are a hunter or fisherman, or even if, like me, you aren’t, you probably will enjoy these vintage photographs, taken in the Upper Midwest between 1900 and 1940. My overriding reaction is that game was really plentiful in those days. Also, the hunters seem pretty formidable. These guys and their black lab would look right at home in today’s South Dakota:

The linked site has deer hunting photos, too. I like this one: the hunters encountered a bear, but were not discomfited. They shot him along with the deer:

There are also fishing photos; like the hunting ones, they mainly document exceptionally good catches. This guy caught an amazing number of walleyes in what appears to be a rowboat intended for duck hunting. Did people really wear hats, coats and–I think–ties to go fishing in those days?

The game might not be quite as plentiful these days as it was 70 to 110 years ago, but there are still lots of ducks, geese, deer, northerns and walleyes in the Upper Midwest–with respect to some species, more now than there were then. I suspect that most outdoorsmen who check out the linked site, Oxley’s Vintage Photos, will note differences in clothing, equipment and so on, but mostly will appreciate the continuity with the past that activities like hunting and fishing afford.
Via the Minneapolis Star Tribune.