Verlyn Davis

The Best Uncle A Kid Could Have

 Terry Bitz of Outdoor Convergence

 

One of the first outdoor stories I ever wrote relayed my own path into the outdoors. The story introduced the figure who played the central role in introducing and developing my love for the outdoors. It was my uncle, Verlyn Davis.

 

Only July 12^th, my uncle passed away at the age of 71.

 

My Uncle Verlyn was an excellent outdoorsman who loved to go hunting, fishing and camping. He has three sons, Robert, Michael, and Barry, each of whom developed into fine outdoorsmen.

 

I grew up admiring my uncle. He was a tall, powerfully built man who was quick to laugh and who had a penchant for telling stories of adventures past. He was always doing something funny and showing me something new. I still simulate duck calls using just my hands the way my uncle showed me 35 years ago.

 

I recall many times riding with him down some country road in a 1970’s era car or truck. He would be singing along to a country song on the radio while tapping his hand on the steering wheel. He liked to sing. Occasionally, he would punch the gas pedal and run the vehicle up to a higher rate of speed while letting out a loud cackle of a laugh. I would laugh along with him.

 

About the age of 6 or 7, Uncle Verlyn took me fishing with him and my Uncle Bob on a cranberry bog in a jon boat. It was my introduction to casting reels and artificial lures. I recall catching a decent largemouth bass using a red and white Bass Oreno. I was an instant convert. I never wanted to go back to bobber fishing.

 

My Uncle Verlyn Davis and I enjoying a moment at a family gathering

Over the years, I would join him on many outings in his jon boat on those cranberry bogs and flowages. Most times we would catch fish, though sometimes we didn’t. However, just being with my uncle made the outings enjoyable.

 

When not fishing, I would follow around as he hunted pheasants in corn fields or checked fur traps on the side of a river bank. I am also fairly certain that the first time I ate squirrel was at his house. And, I always thought it tasted like chicken.

 

Years later when deer hunting sparked my interest, there was no doubt to whom I would look to take me hunting. Uncle Verlyn took me under his wing and introduced me into the world of the whitetail.

 

As I sat with him those first couple of years, I recall hearing the distant sounds of gunshots in the early dawn. He would tell me which shots were clean misses and the ones which had struck something. He would also routinely tell me to sit still. When you sat with Uncle Verlyn, you learned not to move and sleeping was not allowed. He could always tell when you were sleeping, even when you sat behind him.

 

As the years went by, my uncle and I were not able to fish and hunt as much together especially as his health declined. However, I spent much of my twenties deer hunting with his two oldest sons. I always felt a strong kinship with my cousins because of what their father meant to me.

 

Uncle Verlyn's passion for the outdoors did not diminish even though he was not able to go out into the field. He still loved to observe animals and birds. He also wanted to hear the stories from our hunting and fishing excursions. He was the first person I called whenever I shot a buck and I made sure to stop by his house to show him those deer on the way to the registration station.

 

As my oldest son and I were visiting him shortly before his passing, he was telling us about predatory birds that feed on pigeons around the Tomah area and about the birds that visit the large feeder on his picture window. The outdoors was still in his blood.

 

I will certainly miss my uncle. I am forever grateful that he spent all that time with me and he was willing to make the effort to take a young boy hunting and fishing. It's not always easy putting up with a youngster. They tend to hook things that shouldn’t get hooked and they can do dumb things like suddenly standing up and falling out of a small boat.

 

My Uncle Verlyn was the best uncle a kid could have. I can say for certain, he played a major role in making me the person I am today.