Hunting Camp 52

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Tales from a North Woods Deer Camp

John Marvin Hanson

Experience the humorous antics, the memorable hunts, and the profound camaraderie developed over almost sixty seasons in this engaging hunting buddy memoir.

280 pages, 5.5 x 8.5, 44 b&w photos
Paperback: $26.95 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-773-0
Ebook: $15.99 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-774-7
Publication Date: 10/14/2016

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Description

The outhouse is always cold, the porcupines are always a problem, and the vehicles are always getting stuck in the mud, but there’s nowhere else these men would rather be. Meet the Jolly Boys—five men from northern Wisconsin who built a deer hunting shack on county forest lands in 1955 and established a tradition that lasted more than six decades. Hunting Camp 52, affectionately known as Blue Heaven, is a place where every trail, rock, and ravine has its own nickname; every kill is recorded by hand on a window shade; every hunter happily croons along during evening songfests; and the poker games last late into the night.

In this hunting buddy memoir, author John Marvin Hanson—the son of one of the original Jolly Boys—recounts the humorous antics, the memorable hunts, and the profound camaraderie that has developed over almost sixty seasons at Blue Heaven. Hanson also includes more than twenty recipes for gourmet comfort foods prepared each year at camp, from pickled venison hearts and Kathy’s pâté to Norwegian meatballs and the treasured recipe for Reali Spaghetti.

Author Bio

John Marvin Hanson was born and raised in Hayward, Wisconsin. After a career in the insurance industry, he retired with his wife, Kathryn, to a lake home near Hayward.

In 'Hunting Camp 52,' John Hanson reveals the hopes and dreams of a small band of men who took to the postwar Wisconsin woods in pursuit of much more than deer. Blue Heaven became a place for family, tradition, and camaraderie, as well as great fun and frivolity. Each chapter of Hanson’s book is a slice of Wisconsin deer hunting history. One of the best deer camp accounts I’ve read.

Robert C. Willging

Author of “On the Hunt: The History of Deer Hunting in Wisconsin”

"Unlike some hunting-camp books, [Hunting Camp 52] is not ostentatious or laced with questionable humor. It is a clear description of a consummate example of how a small group of hunters in Sawyer County, Wisconsin, perfected a classic of its kind. The book is loaded with advice and ideas, the emotions of hunting and camp life, plus several appealing recipes, not only for dinner, but companionship."

—Donn Larson, Lake Superior Magazine