Step outside
Phil Taunton
Friday, August 3, 2007
Dare to step outside…
Camp Alexander’s “Home on the Range” Outdoor Challenge offers families and friends a unique adventure not seen around these parts.
The event is slated for Aug. 25 and will coincide with Emporia’s 150-year anniversary celebration. What a way to end the summer! This is your invitation to come on out and see what this camp has to offer.
Camp Alexander is a unique facility with an interesting Emporia history. The parcel of land known as camp was willed to the poor and indigent children of Lyon County in the 1920’s by E.J. Alexander.
Alexander was a freed slave who came to Kansas from North Carolina after the Civil War. Besides being a businessman, Alexander grew fruit and vegetables on his property just northeast of Emporia and carried his produce to town in a wagon pulled by two noble white horses. What he couldn’t sell, he gave to the poor.
Records show that Alexander’s most prized possessions were a gold clock and a shotgun he called “Old Tom.” Alexander just loved kids and they loved him. Often, he would stop working in his garden in order to accompany children on his farm when they asked permission to hunt his land. He delighted in showing the youthful adventurers the ways of the Wild and wildlife appreciation.
Today, he would be thought of as an outdoors mentor.
Through programs like “Home on the Range” and other youth-related activities, the Board of Camp Alexander hopes to keep Alexander’s legacy alive by continuing to offer youths and their families a variety of great outdoor experiences.
The Challenge, with its interesting format, has something for all outdoorsmen and sports enthusiasts.
Each team will consist of four members and at least one participant on each team needs to be a youth under the age of 16. Each team will participate in four required events, plus one optional challenge.
Points will be awarded according to the finishing position in each event. Scores then will be tallied after the completion of all events and the team with the highest total score will be declared the winner. Individual event winners also will be recognized and awarded a prize.
The four required events are riflery, archery, shooting clays or shotgunning and a lure-casting contest. Firearms and archery equipment will be furnished by the camp.
Optional events are disc golf and a golf chipping contest with the “closest to the pin” winner receiving a free golf lesson from the Emporia Country Club’s pro and instructor, Charlie Mahon.
The winner of the free throw shooting contest will receive a football autographed by Super Bowl hero, Adam Vinatieri. Other prizes include a “top of the line” Gamo Air Rifle and numerous gift certificates. Did I mention one lucky youth will win a lifetime hunting or fishing license in a random drawing?
Prizes galore! Plus, everyone who pre-registers will receive a commemorative T-shirt, hat and a bandana. Lunch also will be furnished.
Take the Challenge and step outside, no matter what your skill level is. Hurry and get your team together for Camp Alexander’s first annual “Home on the Range” Outdoor Challenge. Registration deadline is Aug. 12.
For more information on entering or sponsoring a team, call the Emporia Area Chapter of Quail Unlimited at (620) 443-5834 or Camp Alexander at (620) 342-1386.