‘Dads and lads’

Boys & men come together for Christian camaraderie

By Rachel Barduson

A couple of the dad volunteers play guitars as some of the boys listen at a recent Dads and Lads event, held at Jerry McCrery’s woods near Henning.  Men have been planning and holding it for 33 years. Contributed photos

For 33 years, men in the area have been coming together to plan a unique event called “Dads and Lads,” designed to promote Christian camaraderie among men and boys of all ages. 

“Dads and Lads is an event which allows time for men and boys to band together,” said Bruce Bouwman of Lowry, one of the organizers of the annual event, held the first Friday and Saturday in May (May 1-2 this year). The men and boys gather at McCrery’s Woods, hunting land south of Henning, Minn., owned by Jerry McCrery of Alexandria, a church member of New Life Christian Church in Alexandria, the sponsor of the event.

“Dads and Lads has created a cohesive group of men at our church,” said McCrery. “We have a group of more than 30 men who join together to plan and execute this event. We’ve got boys and men from the age of two to 92 attending.” Jerry added that four generations of his family have participated.

“Many of the dads have even brought their young sons in diapers. Wow, that’s a challenge,” Bouwman added.

The group heads out to the woods on the first Friday of May and the big deal of that first night is, of course, a big meal, which head cook Mike Munson of Alexandria, and other dads prepare.

Jeff Klug, kneeling, designs and makes “the brand” every year for Dad’s and Lads. The branding tool is used to make wooden plaques each year as a wood working project at the camp. Also pictured are other leaders, Mike Larson, Jerry McCrery and Bruce Bouwman, all standing in front of the wall of plaques in Jerry’s shop. Contributed photo

Jeff Klug of Alexandria, who leads a group to design the year’s T-shirt logo with scripture, also built a cook trailer a few years ago, making it easier for the cooks to prepare and serve meals. A typical meal might consist of deep-fried fried turkey or barbecued chicken, pulled pork or pork chops.

“This year it will be deep-fried breaded walleye to align with the fishers of men scripture and theme,” said Bouwman. 

Along with the theme, “Fishers of Men,” the organizers plan to provide a rod and reel for each youth who attends, and to teach them fishing techniques, the art of tying knots, rigging and much more. “Fishers of Men” is derived from scripture, Matthew 4:19,  “And He said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’”

Bouwman added, “The real deal is the dessert Jerry makes – five different cobblers. He uses coals under and on top of the cast iron ovens and they always turn out great. Then we feast on the homemade ice cream, all 10 gallons of it, that Vern Engstrom (of Alexandria) makes every year. It is clear by the enthusiasm, this is an event kids remember for a lifetime. All of this is done in the woods.”

Besides the great food. this event is a gathering to teach. The leaders include McCrery, Bouwman, Mike Larson of Alexandria, Jeff Klug of Alexandria, and many others. They combine their hobbies, passions, past careers, and the love of engines and pioneer machines to teach and show the youngsters how things were done “back in the day.”

“On Friday afternoon, as a start, the kids love to shell out cob corn with two shellers we bring up to the woods from Jerry’s home in Alexandria,” Bouwman explained. “They will go through almost five 50-gallon barrels of corn the first night. Another interesting thing we do is run hit-and-miss and throttled hopper-cooled engines that were used way back in the 20s and 30s when there was no rural electricity. The kids love it.”

Dads and Lads shell out cob corn with two shellers that are brought up to the woods from Jerry’s home in Alexandria. Contributed photo

“We guys do have to put some work into this, finding corn in a plot that the deer haven’t already devoured. We somehow always find corn,” said McCrery. “The kids love this event.” 

The adult leaders set up all of the antique machines to be used for the Dads and Lads event, machines that the kids find fascinating. Along with the machines, the leaders bring their valuable knowledge to share.

“They learn about shelling corn, grinding feed, pumping water, sawing wood and more. Both the hit-and-miss and throttled engines are unique in the way they run – but differ in the mechanism of governing the speed. Both are used interchangeably for the tasks at hand. The kids give their full attention to the activities provided by the dads and are always intrigued by these tasks and machines,” said Bouwman. “You have to watch it to really understand it.” The group even washes clothes in the woods.

At the end of Friday night, the kids pitch their tents for the night. Some of the guys sleep in vehicles and campers.

Jeff Klug of Alexandria built a cook trailer a few years ago making it easier to prepare and serve meals for the 100+ participants each year. Contributed photo

“Whatever it takes to get us through the night,” he said. Jerry sleeps in his hammock, however, the option of sleeping in the cabin owned by Jerry is for “seniors to sleep in.” A gazebo, which took seven years to build, provides a big fire for mediations and music. Jeff Klug designs the “brand” that will be used for the T-shirt design and the woodworking project where the boys make their own wood “plaques” to take home at the end of the weekend.

It takes more than 30 guys to do the planning and executing of the two-day annual event. On average, 100 people attend each year, providing a variety of activities for the boys – including camping, zip-lining (750 feet), corn shelling, black-smithing, and a variety of chores powered by hit-miss stationary engines in addition to scheduled devotions. Special guests drop in as well. One time, Life Link III came and the dads and lads learned all about the emergency service they provide.

Registration for the event is through New Life Christian Church and dads and lads of the community are welcome to attend.