Kay Hively: Thoughts on the Conservationist and the joy of the great outdoors

Every month, right on time, a copy of the latest issue of "The Missouri Conservationist" arrives in our mailbox.

This magazine if a very nice, brightly colored and interesting publication. It covers conservation, education, hunting, fishing and outdoor regulations news in Missouri. It is also delivered free-of-charge to any resident of the state.

We have gotten this magazine for years, and I would encourage everyone to get on the mailing list.

I don’t read every article each month, but there are plenty of things for me. There are always some great pictures of animals and plants.

A recent issue really got my attention. One article was titled “Sharing Hunting’s Adventures.” This article highlighted three hunting families. One family focused on hunting deer, one on bobwhite quail and one on waterfowl.

I went immediately to the bobwhite hunting section as I saw that the people featured were the Loncarich family from the Goodman. The people covered were James Loncarich, his son Frank, and his 14-year-old grandson, Caleb.

Russell and I have known Frank for years. He went to school in Neosho and was a student in Russell’s English class. After that, we knew Frank (Russell has a hard time not calling him Frankie.) when he became a wildlife management biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. For years, he was a prairie chicken specialist. I remember doing at least one newspaper article about Frank.

The Loncarich family especially enjoys working their dogs and just being outdoors together. Young Caleb enjoys hunting but is equally excited about finding an empty bird nest. Granddad Loncarich told how when he was a young man, if there was any light left after school, he would take the dogs hunting.

Frank focuses on hunting safety. His training with the Missouri Department of Conservation has made him a great safety instructor and he makes sure everyone on the hunt is as safe as possible.

One of the other families in this article was from St. Joseph, in the northwest corner of the state. This included a father, mother and two kids, Tucker and Austin. They hunt deer and always try to fill their freezer each fall. They buy very little red meat.

The third family were waterfowl hunters from the Bootheel of Missouri. This group included four adults and one young boy. When waterfowl hunting, duck calls are a necessary part of the arsenal, so everyone learns to call ducks. The family even fashions their own calls

Occasionally, no one gets a duck, but they all enjoy the camaraderie and being with family. I’m always happy to see families being together especially if they are enjoying the outdoors. I love seeing kids looking at a beautiful tree or a glorious sunset or a flight of ducks instead of a computer screen.

Just between you and me, I think the kids like it better as well.

(Kay Hively is a historian, author and former editor, reporter and columnist for the Neosho Daily News and Neosho Post.)