Hunting Camp 52: Tales from a North Woods Deer Camp

By: John Marvin Hanson

Narrated by: 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.

what a great story!

the stories In this book sound so much like the stories I hear at the hunting camp I go to
it goes to show just how much more there is to hunting other than just harvesting an animal

Great hunting stories!!!!!!

Loved the fact that these are real stories, with real people. the Author wrote thus book from real-life experieces gained hunting. He uses the REAL names of the other hunters in the stories which makes it even more real. It's written great and Narrated just as well!!!!!!!

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.

Very enjoyable

This was a very enjoyable listen. It brought out a lot of memories of my family’s many trips to the woods.