Lions, and Tigers, and Bears...

I'm guessing that each one of us, at some point in our lives, has to learn to face and overcome fears of our youth. I had one such encounter with my fears when I was about 11 years old.

My older brothers, Kevin and Kory, and I decided one fine summer day that we wanted to go camping up the river from our house. There weren't many houses along the river at this time. There were more on the north side than on the south side, which was where our house sat. That was due partly because we owned between 1/4 and 1/2 mile of frontage property along that side of the river. There was an area maybe 1/4 mile up river that was vacant land, and had a nice flat spot up the bank to camp on. It was definitely a different day and age, when you didn't need to seek out who owned the property and obtain permission to just camp. We never defaced the property, and always took (or burned) any trash we had.

Well, since we were going by boat on this campout, we figured we had better determine all the supplies we needed for one night. I don't believe we bothered to take a tent, because we loved sleeping out under the stars. That brings me to my one fear that plagued me all during my growing years - fear of the dark.

I don't know if it's because the darkness can hide all sorts of things that makes one fearful of it or what. In my belief system, I believe that Satan has power over the darkness. As evidence look at all the evil things that take place at night. People tend to become more decadent in the darkness. I mean, there's a whole different world that lurks in the darkness. So I think that is part of where my fear came from. To this day, I'm still not the most comfortable in the deep woods at night, but have at least arrived at the point where I can stand to be there and not tremble in fear. For me, I always conjured up images of bears, or badgers, or other mean animals seeking me out in the night. Any noise would get me wondering what was out there watching us, or waiting to tromp on us.

So, I knew that if I was with my brothers, and was sleeping between them it would be more like safety in numbers for me. I gathered up my things - which probably consisted of maybe a sweatshirt and a sleeping bag - and lit out with Kevin and Kory on our trek. We arrived at the campsite before dark, and set up what we needed to set up. Then we got a fire going. By this time it was getting dusk. I grabbed the hatchet and began chopping on a log - mostly to keep myself occupied. Suddenly, Kory decided he needed the hatchet to chop down a larger branch or something. I was kneeling near the log I was chopping on, and he just reached out to grab the hatchet as I was swinging it down. It veered from the log and hit me in the left knee with the sharpened edge. Needless to say I was devastated, not to mention that I also had a sizeable gash in my knee.

Kevin took pity on me, and helped me down to the boat and ran me home. We didn't have much to do with doctors in those days, so Mom was the doctor/nurse. She cleaned up the wound with water and peroxide (much to my displeasure and pain), then put two or three butterfly bandages on the wound and I was good as new. I was a bit sore and limping, but decided to go back out and finish the campout.

Things settled down between Kory and I, and after having marshmallows or hot dogs or something, we were just sitting on our logs around the fire enjoying the night. By this time it was plenty dark.

Suddenly, I began to hear rustling in the ferns and woods around us. I'm sure that Kevin and Kory knew I was afraid of the dark, so they began conjuring up stories about bears being around and watching us. Well, the hairs began standing up on the back of my neck, to be sure. Then I hear more rustling, and I was sure there was a bear or wolf just waiting to attack us. Heck, I may have even thought it could have been a werewolf. Then, I start hearing some growling sounds. Well, it just about did me in at that point, and I think I just froze where I was and couldn't even breathe!

Whoosh, "Roar", and out pops this figure in the dark from the bushes, and runs up upon us! I about nearly wet my pants, until in the light of the fire I could see it was Dad who had snuck his way up the river in a canoe . He had come to check up on us. I said, "Thanks, Dad!" facetiously. That pretty much did my nerves in for the night, and I had to go back home with him to sleep safe and soundly in my own bed.

I've often reflected back on that experience, and wondered if anyone really even knew the extent of my fear of the dark. I guess that's why I'm more self-reliant than most, because I just learned to overcome things like that on my own. It does make one stronger to go through such experiences.

Toadstools, or What to do with Fungi

Extreme and excitement were the key words when we were looking for something to do around our homestead. A few of us had ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), including Mom, so we got bored easily.

Now, our property ran along the Wisconsin River approximately a quarter of a mile or so. Most of the property had a high hill you had to descend before reaching the river. It made for some fantastic views - especially in the winter when all the leaves were off the trees.

The property consisted of a large open field surrounded by wooded areas which met up with the road running along the property to the West and South. There were pockets of pine trees where nothing would grow on the ground but mushrooms. We had an especially fun grove of pine trees that lined the driveway leading up to the house. On the South side of the driveway it was almost like walking into another world blanketed by tree canopies. We spent a lot of time playing in and amongst those trees. On hot summer days, it was always so much cooler in there that we tried to linger and play as long as possible.

In our quest for something fun and exciting to do, one day Kory, Angé, and I (I don't remember if anyone else was involved) decided it would be a great time to gather up some of the rather large mushrooms that grew in and amongst the pine trees. The idea, then, was to ride our bikes around and throw them at each other to see who could last the longest. Far be it for us to ever check to see if the mushrooms were edible. We were pretty much certain they weren't. We didn't like eating mushrooms anyway.

We gathered our ammo and were soon riding willy-nilly around the property attempting to land a good one on each other. Well, as it usually goes with children, things got a bit heated. Then suddenly, Kory landed one big mushroom right in Angé's face and mouth! She likely would have died! I mean, it plastered her from one side of the face to the other, and a big chunk of it was in her mouth. It was a sight to behold.

I'm not sure if her biggest fear was that she thought she was poisoned, because of getting that non-edible mushroom in the mouth, or that her ego was just damaged for getting hit (and in the face) in the first place. We were a bit scared for her, although I believe Kory and I had a pretty good laugh over it. Nevertheless, it calmed us down, and Mom didn't have to worry about us rough-housing for the rest of that day. Funny how a good scare would do that to a person.

I haven't checked with any of my brothers and sisters lately, so I don't know if Angé ever lived that one down. It made for a great memory, though.

Slingshots

UPDATE:
I just found a great video that goes right along with this post. Check it out:

Slings and slingshots have been around since Adam. Remember David slew Goliath with a sling? Slingshots are also pretty much a first weapon for a young boy growing up. The advent of the low-cost wrist-rocket with surgical tubing has pretty much meant the demise of the homemade slingshot, but fond memories do abound.

We were masters at making slingshots. We always had one to carry around with us. You would find the best fork from an oak, maple, or birch sapling, cut it out, peel off the bark, and make the notches for the sling to mount onto. Everything was hurridly, but carefully carved so as to have the perfect weapon when it was done.

In those days, bicycle tires had real rubber inner tubes. Those worked best for a sling. They were very elastic. We had to be careful not to make the sling too wide, because it would then be too hard to pull back. Too thin and it broke easily. You had to find that just right balance - usually 3/4 to 1 inch was about right. We would then seek out the best pebbles to use for our ammunition. Of course, if someone came across some ball bearings or small marbles, well that was absolutely the most perfect ammunition!

One day, my older brothers and I were sizing up a couple of birch trees that were growing in a nice "V" pattern out in our field overlooking the river. We got to wondering, "What if we got ahold of some car inner tubes and made a giant slingshot?" So, we scrounged around for a tube large enough to make a decent sling. I think we made it about 4 inches in width. With the sling mounted, all we needed to do was test it. We set out to find some nice size rocks for our test. We probably had 20 3" - 4" sized rocks. Then, one by one we began launching them towards the river.

Now, the Wisconsin River that ran along our property was slow moving. It was probably anywhere from 5' to 10' deep in most places. There was a fair amount of tree stumps and grasses along parts of it, indicating that it must have been narrower in an earlier time. You always had to be careful navigating down the channel, because you did not want to hit a stump with your propeller. They did, however, provide great spots for anglers to toss their lines.

The spot we picked for this giant slingshot had a pretty open view of the river, and was probably 20 - 30 feet above the river on an incline. There was a very large boulder next to the trees, which gave us a spot to sit down, and to gather our ammunition. When we launched one of these rocks, it would fly almost like a golf ball way out into the river. We had constructed an awesome giant weapon!

We also had an old wooden rowboat we liked to use for fishing, and just rowing up and down the river. I don't remember where it came from, but it was the heaviest thing to pull out of the water in the fall. We always disliked bailing it out of water whenever it rained. So, sometimes it would sit half sunk tied to the shore.

On one particular nice summer day, Kory and Greg Krogel (I believe) were out goofing around in the rowboat. They may have been firing off their BB guns or something. Kevin and I decided we would surprise them. So, we found some nice ammunition and met at our giant slingshot. We loaded up one of the 3" rocks, and waited until the rowboat came into range. We had the sling pulled back as far as it could go without pulling us with it. When the time was right, we let loose of the sling with it's solid ammunition. It sailed almost all the way to the rowboat, then "Kersploosh!" It landed so close to the boat that the occupants got sprayed by the splash. We didn't wait for a response, and loaded up another rock and let it fly. Again, "Kersploosh!" It nearly hit the boat again. We were rolling on the ground with laughter as Kory and Greg rowed with frenzy to get out of range of our "cannon"!

Needless to say, after that incident we decided to rethink our idea of the "Ultimate Slingshot". Fortunately no one was injured, and the boat was not sunk! Thank goodness for small miracles!

Humble Beginnings

In this modern day of technology, fast-paced lifestyles, and never-ending schedules, many people long for the laidback life of the country along a lazy river. It just so happens that more than 50 years ago, my parents were able to provide just that for their soon to be brood of 10 children.

Somewhere around 1955 or 1956 my parents moved into a large house along the Wisconsin River just a few miles west of Eagle River, WI. It had once been a sort of bunk house for the workers of Wisconsin Public Service Corporation, because it was built right across the road from a power dam that had served as the main power source for the entire area in the early 1900's. My mother affectionally named it "Branham's Damsite". The house was of adequate size for a growing family, but what made the place a goldmine was that it had nearly 21 acres of land running along the river on the high side of the dam. What that meant was that you could start by boat from our place and be linked to a chain of 28 lakes which dotted the landscape all around the area. The land also bordered on hundreds of acres of County land that we had free access to. It would have been a virtual Eden for most people. There was ample fishing, hunting, trapping, tree climbing, trail riding, and so much more just from our place.

Our neighbors across the street, the Gough's, were friendly. My oldest brothers were friends with their boys. Somewhere in the mid '60's the Public Service Corporation bought them out of their land. They decided to move their house just about 1/2 mile up the road along State Highway 70. However, the dam was in the way of moving the house the short way, so they had to go about 3 miles around the other way to get the house onto the property where it now stands. With our nearest neighbors, the Glembin's, about 1/4 mile away we had loads of room to roam.

This blog is going to serve as the catalyst to recount the exploits of my brothers, sisters and I as we grew up in that little slice of heaven. Since we were so isolated from town and everywhere else we had to use our imaginations to wile away our time when we weren't going to school, studying, playing sports, etc. We found numerous ways to be creative - sometimes funny, sometimes dangerous, but almost always fun (to us, anyway).

Here is a brief introduction to the cast of characters:
Arnold H. Branham - Dad, a product of the Northwoods of Wisconsin as well. 6' tall, slender build, a mostly serious and religious man with a dry sense of humor.
LaRae M. Branham - Mom, born and raised in Park City, UT. A petite woman - about 5' 2" and 98 lbs soaking wet. She had a zest for life and health, was sometimes on the neurotic side, but was always the ultimate hostess.
Kevin R. Branham - Eldest brother, always full of ideas, somewhat eccentric, but way intelligent. He would always come up with ideas that challenged us to think.
Korin (Kory) A. Branham - Second oldest, an adventurer and all-around jock. He was one of the most popular people in school. He is also highly intelligent, having been selected Salutatorian behind younger sister, Angé.
Angé (pronounced Angie) Branham Workman - Oldest sister. Since she was the only girl amongst 6 brothers she had to fend for herself. She held her own in the roughest of circumstances. She is highly athletic, and loves the outdoors. She is also highly intelligent, graduating from High School a year early, and being selected Valedictorian at that!
Kerry I. Branham - Me, myself, and I. I was always the tag-along. My older brothers and sister were always doing things that I was too little for, but I always wanted to tag along. They were my heros, and I truly looked up to them. I sort of had a chip on my shoulder for much of my early life, which caused me to feel more of a black sheep in the family. I have always been adventuresome - mainly because my older siblings were.
Kurt C. Branham - Fifth sibling - a middle child. Kurt was always into hunting, fishing, trapping, and the outdoor arena. He didn't focus as much on academics. He could tell you anything about guns. He also loved motorcycles.
Kirby L. Branham - The other middle child. He had deep red, curly hair, and hated it all while growing up. He's the tallest of the clan, and was always into guns, hunting, fishing, trapping, motorcycles along with Kurt. Kirby is another intelligent, but humble soul - he's a thinker. He always tries to do what was just and right.
Karson M. Branham - Youngest boy. I think that sometimes comes as a curse, because you are oftentimes too young to do things with your older brothers. Karson is a mechanical minded person. He learned to fix cars, motorcycles, guns, airplanes, etc. He loved shooting with his two older brothers.
Amber Branham Anderson - The tallest of the sisters. Amber is a sweet, sensitive soul. She took things very personal, and thus was not necessarily always happy with her childhood. Her three next older brothers (and sometimes myself) would tease her and her younger sisters to no end. She always loved babies, and never wanted to disappoint our Heavenly Father. She is also very musically inclined.
Apryll Branham Walker - The redhead sister - well more redhead than the others. Apryll was always very happy and popular while growing up. I hate to admit it, but she seemed to be the favorite of my younger sisters. I always cut her more slack than the others. She used to make me laugh a lot. She has a lot of musical talent.
Aurora Branham Brandaris - The blond sister. What can I say about the baby of the family. We spoiled Aurora (at least I think we did), because she was always a cute child. She has a bubbly personality, and loves children. She is also very musically talented. She was only about 16 or 17 when Mom passed away. I'm sure that was difficult on her.

Through it all, my siblings and I have all grown to have a deep love for the Savior, and for following God's plan for us on this earth. We will be ever so grateful that our parents raised us in the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.