Hunting Camp 52: Tales from a North Woods Deer Camp

De: John Marvin Hanson

Narrado por: Kevin Meyer

Meet the Jolly Boys - five men from northern Wisconsin who built a deer hunting shack in 1955 and established a tradition that has now lasted over 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 every rowdy poker game lasts late into the night. 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.

In Hunting Camp 52: Tales from a North Woods Deer Camp, John Marvin Hanson - the son of one of the original Jolly Boys - recounts the sidesplitting antics, the memorable hunts, and the profound camaraderie that has developed over almost 60 seasons at Blue Heaven. Hanson also includes more than 20 recipes for gourmet comfort foods prepared each year at camp, from pickled venison hearts to Norwegian meatballs to the treasured recipe for Reali Spaghetti. As the Jolly Boys age and younger generations take up the mantle of Blue Heaven, Hanson comes to appreciate that hunting camp is not about bagging a trophy buck as much as it is about spending time with the friends and family members who matter most.

©2016 John Marvin Hanson (P)2019 Wisconsin Historical Society Press

this one hit home

while I am from a different landscape in Texas, this story really hit home with me. we hunt on private land that has been in our family for well over a hundred years, from a shack so similar to Blue Heaven. I wish we had kept a camp log, as the Jolly Boys had. It was so familiar that I was lost within this story living the story told and reliving my own 39 years at our own camp. hunting and hunting camp is so amazing when it is passed down generation to generation.

good listen

I loves it, hearing tales of past lives and events is almost nostalgic in nature.

thoroughly enjoyed this book

I enjoyed the story and hearing about this group's amazing memories that centered around their hunting camp. Makes me wish I had a group of friends as tight as they were.

Absolutely worth the listen!

A wonderfully written book. I will be buying a copy for my home library.

Great story full of nostalgia

Loved this story. As a hunter this story is all the things one wishes to achieve with their own deer camp. Much of this story is a fantastic glimpse into life in the 1950s and 60s. This story can help many of us hang on to the memories of the greatest generation even though we may never have experienced them ourselves. Thank you for sharing this story with us, the American white-tail hunter should greatly appreciate this story, I know I did.

Amazing!!!!!

This was simply Amazing! great book and awesome narrator . Wish I could've gone there myself.

Great Story

The description of the cribbage game verbiage was absolutely spot on !!! Loved the book a lot.

Nostalgic

Reminds me of hunting camps in PA and everything that goes along with them. I'm glad someone took the initiative to tell a story about their camp journals and lived experiences.

Superb

Beings back what I thought were long lost memories of deer camp in northern Michigan. I do long for those days. Thank you John Marvin Hanson.

A History and Hope for the Future of Hunting Camp

This was a marvelous story with insight into the way that it used to be to modern times. I appreciate and thank the author for sharing the story of Blue Heaven with us. I established a private hunting camp in Michigan called The Stepping Stone, where we hunt the state and national land around us in 2016. These words are encouragement and have offered me hope to keep traditions alive. Thank you, John.