Special To McDonald County Press
Just before venturing to the ponds to go frog gigging, nearly 20 youth were enthusiastically voicing their excitement and almost sounded like a pond full of croaking amphibians. The hosts of the event, Young Outdoorsmen United, were equally energetic and excited to see the kids thrilled to participate.
All this excitement was preceded by a meal of green beans, fresh boiled corn on the cob, and, of course, fried frog legs. Several of the youngsters never had eaten frog legs.
"These are good. I like them a lot," declared Andrew Watkins, 14.
With a great deal of delight, many of the dining guests echoed the same statement. The late, warm July meal, served in the community building at the beautiful Ponderosa Trails Campground in Pineville, was topped off with homemade ice cream.
After dinner, volunteers demonstrated for the kids the positioning of lights, how to aim the gig pole, and how to safely capture their desired game. Everyone took turns practicing on a disposed corn cob until they became comfortable hitting their target.
The young giggers were then divided into groups and headed out into the clear night to designated farm ponds. Volunteers took one youth at a time to the edge of a pond as the others waited patiently for their turn. When each youth returned to the group after successfully capturing a frog on the gig pole, they were greeted by high-fives and congratulations from the others. The process was repeated until all of them had a chance to experience gigging a frog.
The adventure was summed up by first-time frogger Nevaeh Widner, 11, when she displayed her triumphant accomplishment and proclaimed "I did it! I got one!"
Just like Widner, we all like to "croak" about our gratifying accomplishments.
Community on 08/04/2016