I'd like to thank all you guys and gals that make this place so special. I get emails from time to time that really make me realize just what all we have here. Its easy to get caught up in our little differences and that makes it easy for us to loose sight of the big picture of what we truly have in our little cyber campfire.
No doubt this sport is composed of some of the finest folks on earth.....and I'm glad they stop by here for a visit to share and contribute.
Like I said, this email I just had to share as a token of appreciation for our membership that makes Trad Gang what it is. It makes a difference it peoples daily lives.
Take care, and God bless.
Here's an email I got from Ms Jensen.....
I wanted to let you know that my husband Lee Jensen, from McCall,Idaho, passed away June 17th from his struggles with cancer....I wanted to let you know that your web site was his safe place....Lee spent hundreds of hours on your space....he loved reading all the info and stories that your space shares...he bought several bows...boxes of arrows...met people across the USA thru your space.....so I want to
thank you for giving him some of his greatest times in his last year of life....keep up the great site.....and bless all the people he made contact with.....
Thank You........Rainey Jensen
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/terry/Lee_photo_01b.jpg)
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/terry/Lee_photo_03b.jpg)
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/terry/Lee_photo_02b.jpg)
Here's a couple more the family just sent me...
Lee and his son.....
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/terry/leejensen1.jpg)
Lee and his grandson.....
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/terry/leejensen2.jpg)
And a story......
BLESSINGS
September 15, 1986, Idaho's back country elk season was about to begin. I had just struggled through my first hike of the day, a tough 60 yds, down one of Pittsburg's Presbyterian Hospital halls. This hike seemed harder than any I had been on in Idaho's Salmon River Breaks country.
Less than a month earlier, I had undergone a liver transplant. I was still hooked up to surgical tubes and was pushing a loaded I.V. pole around, but that 60 yarder was my longest hike to that date, and I was gaining ground each day. As I inched around on the bed trying to find a comfortable position, I noticed the picture of my seven year old laying next to the FALL 1986 copy of BUGLE. I stared at his picture and the magazine's cover picture for a long time then mentally set several goals. One was that he and I would wander those Idaho hills together and another was that I would be with him when he harvested his first elk.
OCTOBER 17, 1992, three of us, my son Clayton, Neal, my long time hunting partner, and myself started up a steep Idaho slope just before daybreak. That crisp October air kept us two old guys from boiling over as we humped up the mountain side. Clayton, after two previous months of Jr. High football, breezed up that mountain side like he was on an escalator.
A thousand plus vertical feet above us was a ridge that Clayton and I needed to reach. Neal was going to break off about two thirds of the way up and contour around through some east slope old-growth timber. Clayton and I were going to hit the ridge top, work its broken timber patches, then drop down and work a north slope bedding area.
In spite of the heavy hunting pressure that this area was receiving, fresh elk tracks littered the ridge top. The only problem was that they were being made by the light of a big silvery moon.
We worked the ridge top without seeing anything, then dropped down along the edge of a open grass stringer that separated two big timbered areas. We moved down off the ridge a couple of hundred yards, and turned to the heavy dark timber. Just before entering, I asked Clayton to give me his Remington 721, a scoped 270, and handed him the peep sighted 358, a Browning lever action. The Browning, I told him, would be the best of the two in this heavy timber where the action would probably be close and quick. The 250 gr. Speer handload would be more potent and a better penetrator at the short range I expected us to have. Since Clayton had hunted groung squirrels with that rifle for three or four summers, he knew it and was comfortable with it.
"Son", I said, "we're going into their bedroom, this will be the toughest type of hunting you are going to experience. Not physically tough, but mentally tough. You've got to go slow, and I mean really slow and quiet, you've got to move like a shadow. We'll probably go for a long time without seeing anything, and you'll find yourself starting to get antsy and wanting to move faster. You'll have to fight that urge and keep your pace to that of a sun driven shadow. You'll have to use all of your senses. Listen to the forest, listen to what's going on all around you. Listen for the snap of a twig or the chirp of a cow. See the forest, look and see what's happening around you, see the twitch of an ear of the movement of an antler tine, the out of place patch of tan. Feel the forest, feel the forest's activity, feel the movement of the air, feel the stick under your foot before you put your weight down on it. Smell the forest-smell the mingled scent of duff and fir and when you catch the scent of the bull, follow the air currents. And taste the dryness of your mouth as the excitement and tension builds, the deeper into the elk's bedroom we go."
I told my son that I was putting him in the lead and that he was to pick the route through the bedding grounds. "Your hearing and eyes are better that mine", I told him, "and we're out here to get your bull." "Just remember", I said, "to pick the cleanest route, go slow, stop often, avoid the hucklebrush and downfall tangles even if we have to circle or back track", then into the shadows we slipped.
For an hour and half, we shadowed through the upper section of the bedding grounds, covering less than a quarter mile. Breaking out into a narrow grass stringer, we hunkered up behind a couple of young fir trees. We sat there in silence having an apple and a candy bar, each of us absorbed in our own thoughts.
Clayton had done excellent in leading us through that thick, decadent old-growth timber. We had ghosted through there about as good as any prowling cougar. Setting there for awhile, we watched another hunter walk down the other side of the stringer, then turn and disappear in the offside timber "Okay", I said as we got up and ready to move, "we'll drop straight down the hill about 150 yards and contour back through the bedding grounds. Do the same we did before".
As we got deeper into the timber, we started seeing recent beds and the odor of elk still lightly lingered. The elk were using this area.
My tension increased while Clayton's pace slowed. He started picking up faint game trails and using them until they faded away. His stop and looky/listens were getting longer, and I felt he was starting to tune to the actions of the forest. I kept thinking, they're here or they will be, they've been using this place, it's too good of a security area for them to abandon, we're going to bump them anytime now, anytime, its just a matter of time, anytime now!
We kept up our slow stop and go. Clayton was working along a faint trail when it faded away. He stopped and was cautiously looking for his next move when I thought I heard a faint sound. My right ear hears better and I thought the sound had come from that direction. I studied the timber and brush to the right but didn't see anything. As I turned my head back, Clayton was slowly easing his rifle up to his shoulder. He had distinctly heard the twig snap as a large hoof had stepped on it.
I looked over the top of his rifle barrel and saw a large patch of tan moving through the heavy cover up slope from us. I started sending heavy mental signals, stay calm, identify it, bull or cow, stay calm. I'm sending these stay calm messages and I was about to blow a gasket.
I had an overload of adrenaline and was just starting to warp the stock on the 270 with an adrenalin charged grip when this big six point bull materialized out of the heavy timber stand 30 yards above us. He was coming down thru the heavy timber straight toward us, acting like his only concern was where he was going to find a soft spot to bed-up on. I really started sending silent signals again, jeez!, oh jeez! stay calm buddy, get a sight picture, track him with the sights, of man! oh man! stay calm, squeeze the trigger - - - - SQUEEZE THE TRIGGER!
Ka-Pow the 358's blast rocked the bedding grounds. The big six point leaped straight in the air kicked out with all four feet and hit the ground going like Secretariat at the Derby. "Bust him again" I hollered, but he was gone.
I started up to the fir thicket that he disappeared into when, Clayton whispered "He's over this way, Dad". I looked to where he was pointing and could just make out a shade of elkish tan.
"Is he down or is he standing", I asked. Clayton said he couldn't tell. "If he's standing, put another round into him", I urgently whispered. Clayton said he couldn't because there was too much cover in the way to get a clear shot.
We inched across the slope watching the big patch of tan across us. I must have asked my son three or four times if the bull was down or up cause I sure couldn't tell. But it seemed like that tan patch was awful high above the ground. We slowly worked over to where we could see him clearly. He was down but still alive and he turned his enormous head and rack to watch us as we stepped into the open. "Finish him quickly son, put a round into his neck just below the head".
It was only a little ways up to the bull, but so many thoughts and emotions were going through my mind that they couldn't be counted. Excitement, happiness, a solemnness that bordered the edge of regret, thankfulness, and many more were all ricocheting in and out of my consciousness. I was pounding my young man on the back while thanking the Lord for both providing me the health and strength to travel these Idaho mountains with my son and allowing him to harvest one of Lord's grandest North American animals.
I have always felt a solemness walking up on one of these downed animals to take an elk's life for sustenance is sacred, to take one for the thrill of killing or just the antler size is a crime. My son was blessed with both a fine trophy and a bountiful supplement to our grocery needs. We did get carried away with the excitement of the moment and forgot to thank the Lord for the Blessing that He had generously given us, but later remembered, and on the ridge top that evening, in the softening light of dusk and evening breeze's windsong in the pines, we offered our prayer of thanks.
I waited five minutes after the last shot then fired off our signal shot to Neal indicating that we had one. Clayton circled and circled the big bull trying to comprehend the enormity of the animal. Touching the times, moving a leg, patting the massive chest, and commenting on the pungent smelling belly hair. I could tell he was awe struck by this mountain king --- but I was going thru something that I hadn't experienced in a long time.
I couldn't hold my knife steady to stroppe it on my steel and the buttons on my shirt were pinging and popping off right and left. This was the ultimate! NONE, abso-gol dang-lutly NONE !, of the bulls I have taken compared to this experience here in the bedding grounds with my son.
Neal came up out of the draw bottom a short time after. Said he had heard the shots and crashing getaway run of the elk. After another flurry of congratulating, the three of us started dressing the bull out. All the time Neal and I both kept up congratulations and good natured hardtiming for shooting such a big bull. The three of us also took turns verbally kicking each other's butt for forgetting to throw the cameras in the hunting packs.
We got the bull skinned, quartered and hung, then headed off the mountain. I suggested that we ought to take the antlers primarily because I wanted to do a little, actually a lot of bragging about my son.
We went in with the horses the next morning. Neither Neal nor I felt like trying to throw those massive quarters up on our mules that stand 16 and 17 hands high, so we took the horses. The packout was uneventful, in fact it was a breezer after we got the load lashed on. It was a bit of a gutbuster getting those quarters up on the Deckers. Clayton had packed the antlers out the previous evening, so when we got back to the truck, we just set them up on Neal's old Wolf horse's load, then starting snapping pictures.
Driving home, I thought back to 1986 and thanked the Lord again for His strong helping hand that helped me back to these mountains of Idaho, for my son and this experience with him. Thank You Dear God for the blessings You have given me.
no words...prayers for you Ms. Rainey.RC
Prayers for the Family
Trad Gang is a very special place.....
speechless,,,, prayers sent
Amen...Tradgang kept my sanity during the month of January...special folks..prayers and positive thoughts/vibrations sent to/for you Ms. Rainey.
Randy Keene
Thoughts with the family......
Kinda shows how our "community" helps doesn't it. This is a great space to learn and talk with like minded folks. Not a lot of bashing of anger (some heated discussions) but never rude. I'm glad this space was a solace for a dying man who needed to stay connected with the things he loved.
Prayers out to the family,
Allan
This really is a little more than an online forum, isn't it. So many great people in one place, be it a 'virtual' place.
My thougths are with the family.
Prayers from Texas. This is sure a great family. And the love and kindliness is all through the people here. They have always been there for me. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Donald
There's nothing virtual about TG. The friendships are for real. My condolences to the Jensen family.
It's a blessing to be able to pray for that family.
Prayers sent for your family.
Incredible. We will be praying for the family. I know, from experience, that there is a peace that passes all understanding!
My heartfelt condolences go out to the Rainey family.
Thanks for sharing, Terry. This place is NOT what's special. It is the people who share it who are special.
May God bless this gang.
Russ
Prayers for the Family
this site helps me when i am down in the dumps.this is truely a brotherhood of hunters from around the world.my condolences to your family and although i never knew him your husband was my brother of the gang.godspeed to you lee.
Mrs.Jensen, my prayers of healing for you and your family. I lost my Dad awhile back. Thanks to this group of archers it was a comfort to me to spend time here. In this world today it is nice to know you can discuss a healthy passion with others that share it. It is a blessing to know your husband received the goodness of this site as well.
dang, that says alot...prayers for the wife and family..marco.. God Bless Mrs. Rainey, I buried my Dad Oct. 1st. he died of cancer . dang
Prayers sent.
God Bless, this is a great place! Prayers are with the Jensen family!
Prayers sent
Prayers for the family.
This is a special place made up of an amazing group of people.
May you find peace and God bless your family.
Leland
Thank you for sharing that with us.
John III
Hope he had a wonderful life. I know this sport helps us all in many ways through good and bad times.
Blessings to all the Jensen's from Kentucky.
I agree 100%...it only takes a few minutes on one of the "other sites" to realize just how special this one is. Prayers go up for the family.
Prayers for the family.
Prayers sent. TD.
Prayers sent.
Prayers sent.
Prayers for Lee
Yes, you guys are some kinda special. Thoughts and prayers are with the Jensen family.
From our family to yours. Joe
You have my prayers.. Gods speed.
im so sorry for your loss ,my prayers are with you & your family
Sorry to hear of his passing, I enjoyed talking with Lee on the phone
Lee and I spoke on the phone several times over the past few years......swapped some bows back and forth. He told me he like to sign on to tradgang, just didn't like to post. Only time he ever sent me an email was to let me know he was going to call me or for me to call him. Wonderful individual that will be missed greatly. Prayers to family and friends.
Thoughts and prayers.
Prayers sent.
Prayers sent.
"TradGang it's not just a web site, It's a Family"
>>>>--------------->
Mrs. Jensen, my condolences to you and your family and our prayers are with you. God bless you and your family in the days, weeks and years to come.
Thanks to all, You Brothers of The Bow, for a great community. God Bless from Ohio.
Dave.
Amen to all thats been said and prayers to the family .
Mike
:thumbsup:
I'm proud to be a part of the haven Mr. Jensen found peace and enjoyment in! My condolences to you and yours.
Nothing more can be said! TG is FAMILY!
Prayers sent.
Johnny/JAG
My condolances and prayers to the Jenson household.
Prayers for the friends and family of our fallen brother.
Prayers and best wishes.
God bless Mr Lee Jensen and his Family.
thanks for sharing Terry... bless Mr Lee Jensen and his Family :campfire:
Prayers from our family to your. Prayer of healing sent :pray: :pray: :pray:
Pics added to original post.
Godspeed Sir
Sorry for your loss.
Prayers to you and your family. Deeply sorry for your loss
Prayers and thoughts of your lost loved one!
That's just awesome. He looked like a real outdoorsman.
Condolences to the family.
Sorry for your loss :pray:
Prayers sent from my family to yours...
Hey, I shed a tear. thanks for letting him spend his time with us!
More prayers being said.
May Lee's arrows fly true in the happy hunting grounds and may the Jensen family find peace.
Thanks for posting the pics Terry. Lee looks like the kinda fella you'd like to share a campfire with. I'm sure he left behind some great memories.
Thank You, Mrs. Jensen, for sharing your husband with us.
May his life be remembered, more than our loss.
This family is always here for you; to sit by your side,to talk, or just listen.
Godspeed,Lee.
Here's a hail and a hearty farewell....remember him as he is in the photos Mrs. Jensen...prayers for blessings on you and your family from Georgia, M'am.
Always knew from the very first time I signed on here that this was a special place. Prayers and condolences to the Jensen family.
Prayers of peace and comfort...He will be missed indeed...Shalom, BLM
Prayers to you and your family ...
:pray: :pray:
I never met Lee, never spoke with him, and don't know what his handle is on this board. I like him though, as I can see how he feels about horses, old ways and the land by seeing those wonderful photos. The man has eagles in his eyes, and I am sure that God revels in meeting a spirit such as must have lived in Lee's breast.
I hope that he did get some chuckles out of whatever subjects we may have shared in passing here. My heart goes out to you, Ms. Jenson, for your loss. I pray that you sustain yourself well, with the strength that God has provided you, and with the knowledge that Lee's true heart is waiting, as yours is, for a reunion in God's own time.
Bless you and Godspeed.
Killdeer
My condolences and thoughts for the family.
Those are awesome pictures! I really think that top one is powerful. It embodies life in every aspect. Beauty, obstacles, the path our lives take, the solitude of the outdoors. Just beautiful!
My condolences to the Jensen family
Thanks for starting this thread Terry. I have been here visiting TG only a short time, but it doesn't take long to see what a special place this is, filled with special people. May God bless everyone here, and special prayers for the Jensen family.
prayers sent to his family----
I sold Lee a bow a few months ago. He wasn't satisfied to just email or PM, he called several times and we chatted about the bow and things in general. He mentioned that he was being treated for cancer, something we share. A fine man and one I wish I could have met in person. Rest well, Lee.
John
Happy trails Lee, and Godspeed on your journey....
Mrs. Jensen, it is obvious from the pictures, and from the love the words in your letter express that Lee was a blessed and happy man. My condolences to you and your family.
This site is truly the place for meeting the kindest, good hearted folks that the Good Lord created. My prayers go out to Rainey Jensen and her family.
Beautiful pictures, even though my computer screen makes em blurry. :campfire:
Thank you Mrs. Jensen for sharing Lee with us.. I'm sure my wife will echo your thoughts at my passing. We have lost a brother whether we knew him or not. My thanks also to Terry and all the moderators that make it possible for us to be here and share each other's joys as well as the heartaches. My prayers are with you and your family. As Killdeer said it so well,
"The man has eagles in his eyes". I would add wisdom,kindness, and love also. God Bless and comfort you. Thank you for reminding us all how much this place means to each and every one of us.
Pine nut
BTW, his handle on here was Hardrock. He didn't post much. He did tell me that he was once the Idaho longbow champ.
John
QuoteOriginally posted by Killdeer:
I never met Lee, never spoke with him, and don't know what his handle is on this board. I like him though, as I can see how he feels about horses, old ways and the land by seeing those wonderful photos. The man has eagles in his eyes, and I am sure that God revels in meeting a spirit such as must have lived in Lee's breast.
I hope that he did get some chuckles out of whatever subjects we may have shared in passing here. My heart goes out to you, Ms. Jenson, for your loss. I pray that you sustain yourself well, with the strength that God has provided you, and with the knowledge that Lee's true heart is waiting, as yours is, for a reunion in God's own time.
Bless you and Godspeed.
Killdeer
QuoteOriginally posted by Killdeer:
I never met Lee, never spoke with him, and don't know what his handle is on this board. I like him though, as I can see how he feels about horses, old ways and the land by seeing those wonderful photos. The man has eagles in his eyes, and I am sure that God revels in meeting a spirit such as must have lived in Lee's breast.
I hope that he did get some chuckles out of whatever subjects we may have shared in passing here. My heart goes out to you, Ms. Jenson, for your loss. I pray that you sustain yourself well, with the strength that God has provided you, and with the knowledge that Lee's true heart is waiting, as yours is, for a reunion in God's own time.
Bless you and Godspeed.
Killdeer
Lee did indeed have the look of eagles in his eyes. You are very astute to notice that. Lee always had an affinity for the land and the animals that shared our universe. Lee was taught to hunt by our father who grew up when "harvesting" the bounty of earth was a necessity for the winter locker. As soon as he was able to carry a rifle legally, Lee was part of the October deer hunt. He started shooting a bow as a young teenager. I have a picture of him and a friend dated "winter '66" target shooting in the driveway of our south Salt Lake City subdivision. Lee was a Smoke Jumper for the McCall Forest Service. He loved jumping out of perfectly good airplanes to fight a forest fire. He was also a member of the National Ski Patrol and on the Search and Rescue Squad. And he loved absolutely playing jokes on family and friends. He was the 2007 Idaho longbow champ. He taught his son to bowhunt and now his little 8 year-old grandson is following in his footsteps.
Thank you to all of you that have sent your prayers and best wishes to Lee's family. I know that Lee is now with his mule, Abe and his faithful dogs and they are headed for some great, new adventure. Thank you also for giving Lee a safe, happy place to go when things got tough.
Lee's little sister
NaDene Edmunds
Gods speed Lee.
My condolences, Mrs. Jensen. May a quiver full of great memories accompany him to his new place and help you and your family through this great loss.
What Killie said, and by the looks of the pics Lee got to spend alot of time in heaven before he left this planet.
He had a gift for writing. I could feel myself along on that hunt. Prayers up for Lee and the family.
Sounds like a person many of us would aspire to be. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.
Of the tens of thousands of hunting stories I've read in my life that was the best written, heartfelt journey into a man and his love of his son and the experiences they shared together. God blessed that man and especially his son.
I am sorry for your loss but glad you had Lee for as long as you did. Special.
I was wondering when a thread as this would appear! I knew Lee as well, he lived right down the road from me. I was fortunate enough to shoot several 3D Shoots with him & Clayton,I will say Lee was one tough son of a gun just like a piece of rawhide! He taught Clayton well no doubt about it. Clayton is my Sons best friend & we've both had the pleasure of hunting & sharing a camp with him, Lee & Rainey did right well by the young man for sure. Lee will be missed by many of us & I'm sure we'll be thinking about him on our future elk hunts! My heart goes out to the family!
ElkNut1
Very touching. God bless him and his.
Prayers and condolences..thanks for sharing the pics and story..Lee was a special individual for sure.
Keep the wind in your face Lee, I hear the trails aren't quite as steep on this next adventure. :pray:
I feel your loss..
Prayers sent.
The family really appreciates the kind thoughts and prayers from everyone. Thanks for posting the photos and the story.
Wow. I have never read such heart felt thoughts put together like that, just WOW!!!
He certainly had to be a man of great character. We need more like him these days!! Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.
Terry----Indeed this sight is more than type written words shared by those with the same interest.
(http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii259/ElkNut1/2007%20Elk%20Hunting/3LeewithClaytonandBull.jpg)
Here's a nice bull Clayton took with his recurve, his 1st. Lee is a proud pappa here!
ElkNut1
Although I never got to shake his hand in person, it's a real pleasure to know a little about Lee now. Sounds like an all-around great guy, the sort who quietly makes lots of positive contributions to other people's lives. The world is a better place because he was in it.
One terrific hunting story!
Thank you for sharing that with us.
That man can write!!
Killdeer :notworthy:
I just want to say thanks again to tradgang.. Dad got my husband and I started on this site and we have purchased bows, and enjoyed a lot of the different things on here.. When mom sent a thank you to you guys we never expected this kind of a response.. this is a great site and hopefully many more will enjoy it as much as dad did.
Lee Jensens daughter
Vickie Jensen Hogen