With a heavy heart I report that Trad Gang has lost Brian Krebs, (# 2800). Brian died last Saturday in his home in North Fork ID. He was 59 years old.
Here is the link to the Obituary column of the Idaho Statesman newspaper: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/idahostatesman/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=146114511
Brian was my friend. His passing is a huge loss to not only me personally but to the many Trad Gangsters and other hunters he had helped over the past years.
The manner I met Brian was typical of many people who met Brian. In the summer of 2006 I threw out a Trad Gang Pow Wow post asking for help in finding a place in Idaho to hunt elk. Brian stepped up, answered the call of a total stranger and we began a friendship that included deer elk and bear hunting adventures, along with many late cold nights swaping lies around the camp fire. During these past years I brought a handful of bowhunters along with me to hunt elk in Idaho. Brian embraced each man with a glad heart. This man was not shiney or flashy, just solid.
Brian was a man of limited finances and he made due with what he had, I never heard him complaining about life being too rough. He was outspoken and passionate about hunting in Idaho, highly concerned about the mis-management of the Rocky Mountain wolf issue.
He was a successful and accomplished hunter. He was a breeder of fine hunting dogs and kept a string of pack animals. His roots ran deep in nature, like many of us who prowl Trad Gang.
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p177/MikeOrton_2006/BrianKrebbsdoelastdayofseason07.jpg)
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p177/MikeOrton_2006/CIMG1684.jpg)
Rest in Peace Brian....and "Thank you" for all you did for us while you were here.
God's Speed, he will be missed
Glenn
never met Brian but had the pleasure of speaking with him several times here. Me being a Buckeye and he a Wolverine we used to rib each other a bit. He will be missed.
Thank you for the thoughtful post, and I am very sorry for the loss of your friend.
May God bless you and all affected by this.
I didn't always agree with Brian, but I always liked him. I will miss the discussions on hunting politics I've had with him over the years and hunting period. He will be missed.
very sorry to here about his passing.
Mike..thank you for the update. May Brian find peace in the ultimate hunting grounds.. God bless you Brian.
We are diminished ...
I never got up to North Fork to meet Brian face to face but we chatted on here and PM'd. I sent him a piece of seal skin this Summer and hope it helped him take his last deer. Godspeed Brian.
Felt like I knew him although we never met. Prayers for his family and loved ones.
Sorry for the loss of your friend. I always enjoyed reading his posts here. Hap
We PM'd back & forth a number of times through the years. Always new he was solid ethical hunter. I like that. Prayers for Brain & family.
Always enjoyed his posts, rest in peace Brian.
Damn. :(
Rest in Peace and God bless his family.
:pray:
RIP Brian amd my condolences to his freinds and family.
Prayers to his family. like many I always enjoyed his posts andshared PM's with him from time to time.
so sorry for the loss of a good buddy mike he will be missed. Brian may your Bow always be strung and at the ready may your arrows fly true and find there mark may the Great spirit Guide and look after you. you will be missed Brother of the Bow. :pray: :pray: :pray: God Bless and keep you and yours.Amen
sorry to hear of a death in the trad community.never knew the man but he looks like a real standup guy.god bless him and his family.he left us way to soon.
Mike,thanks for the up date,I am really touched from this news;I never meet Brian but the exchanged few PM and I could understand how a hearted man he was.He will live in the memories of his friends and dears.Condolences to the family.
I always pause and feel pain at the loss of a "Brother of the Bow"..
My very heart felt condolences to the family..your in my prayers tonight.
Gene
Oh wow..Condolences go out to his family.
prayes sent for Brian and his family.
May God grant His peace to all affected by Mikes' passing.
I pray that each of us will remember to tell others how much we care about them each and every day because there might not be that chance tomorrow.
I also pray that Mike is with the ultimate source of love, "The One" who died for Mike and for us all.
With the love of Christ
God bless,Mudd
Couldn't say it any better than Mudd did.....
God Bless !
Froggy
Very sorry to hear.
God shed his very best strength and memories on the family and friends of Brian.
He always did his best to help out the next guy. He should have had many more years of hunting and posting his kind words. I will be thinking of him often as I walk the trails.
Killdeer :(
I will certainly miss you Brian, Peace to your family.
Prayers and positive thoughts sent from my house...
>>----->
God Bless ya Brian!
Another good man gone. RIP
Condolences to his family,may he live on in their hearts.
Leland
God speed to Brian and peace to those he left behind.
Rest In Peace Brian. My condolnces to his family and loved ones!
May his memory live on in those that knew him and his spirt be passed in the smoke of the campfire.
I am Deeply Saddened by this news....Thoughts and Prayers from my house...
My prayers for his family and friends. May the peace that surpasses understanding be with them all.
:pray:
Rest in Peace
Very sorry to hear about his passing...he sounds like a great man. Prayers sent to his family. :pray:
Rest in peace, Brian. May your spirit continue to hunt the elk, deer, and bear of Idaho, and condolences to your family.
Bill
Wow. I never knew the man, never even posted with him (i'm kinda new around here), but that lower picture with him smiling broke me down. You can tell a lot from a person's smile. You can see humility, sincerity, and passion for life and his friends and family. May we all remember that the almighty chooses only his finest for his army, and sometimes he takes them sooner than we'd like.
Cheers to you Brian, and may peace that cannot be found on earth, be found in you.
Prayer from Minnesota for you and your friend
><>
glenn
My condolences to his family. He will be missed. He was always respectful to me, even if we didn't agree on a topic.
It sad to hear...Our prayers go out to Brian and his family. God Bless, you my friend...
Pierre and Jean-Pierre
Very sad news. Like many here I have never met Brian in person but felt like I knew him. I always enjoyed his posts. He was very supportive of fellow Tradgangers and will be missed here.
His contributions to this forum will be missed.
Prayers for his family and friends.
we have talked a few times about things.i am sorry to hear of his passing,steve :pray:
Prayers sent.
God bless
Too bad, sorry to hear.Prayers for his family.
Hard times, but life with God is so much better. :pray:
Brian Krebs will indeed be missed.
Walk on brother!
59 yrs. old is way to young. My condolences to his family.
Seems like a Man I would have liked to have hunted with. May he Rest In Peace.Prayers sent :pray: >>>>~~~~~> bentpole
Amy God Rest His Soul. Prayers sent to his family.
Brian always shared with his fellow TradGangers and was a valued member here. I'm sorry we have lost him, but am glad to know he has gone on to a better place.
Allan
I am deeply saddened by this. I remember reading several times as Brian offered up advice,support or simple humor in his posts. I recall that he was doing it right up until he was called home. God Bless, Rest in Peace Brian.
Sorry to hear this. Shared a few discussions with Brian. Prayers for his family.
Very sad to hear. I always tried to read Brian's posts when I saw his name. I respected his opinions highly and he helped me out with a few PM's as well. I'll be thinking of him.
Best wishes to his family and friends; may you rest in peace.
Sorry to hear that. My prayers go ou to his family and friends.
Sad, may he rest in peace and inherit that great kingdom above.
God speed to Brian :pray:
.... hear the .."WINDS WHISPER" You'll hear his voice !
Brian-
You will be missed and my sympathy and condolences go out to his family and family of friends. Good hunting Brian...
Travis
Lossing a hunting buddy is hard. My thoughts and prayers are with you and Brian's family.
Werner
All that truly matters in this world is how you lived your life. Though I never had the pleasure of knowing Brian, he sounds like an example of a life well lived!
Godspeed to Brian, his family and friends!
I had some very wonderful email conversations with Brian. He was a good friend. I will miss him a lot. I'm at a loss for words here.
Prayers for Brian and his family.
Rest in Peace, Tonight the world cries while the heavens welcome a good man.
prayers to his family and friends
Didn't know him, but I hope he went to a better place while doing something he loved. I get the feeling that is likely the case.
I will send an arrow into the sky on my next hunt in his honor. Sounds like a selfless man.
Mike-sorry about your friend. Godspeed to him and his family.
Sad news indeed. I also enjoyed his posts. You didn't have to read between the lines to tell the man had a kind, generous nature. God has taken him too soon for us here on Earth. God Bless.
Sorry for your lost and God bless his family.
prayers and thoughts for his friends and family from ky.
Sorry for the loss and prayers for his family. Much too young to leave this world.
Like many others I have followed along with Brians posts, way to young to leave us, he will be missed. My prayers go out to him and his loved ones.
Very sad to hear, he'll be missed around here.
Prayers sent
He was a good man.
Sorry to hear about your friend Brian passing, G-D bless him and you for being a good friend.
Rest in Peace
Dang, hate to hear this.
Home is the hunter. We will miss his thoughts.
He will be missed. Rest in Peace
Very sorry to hear.
Prayers sent...
Great Spirit,
Our Brother comes to you as swift and sraight as an arrow shot into the Sun.
Welcome him to his place at the eternal Hunter's Campfire.
We will see him again...
Very sorry to hear of the loss. We posted some in the same threads. He relpied in my thread about my trad miss a few weeks ago. Now I feel a void of a lost friend I never knew.
Prayers to his family.
Rest in peace and God Bless.
Although I never met Brian, I did talk to him on several occasions about hunting in his area of Idaho. He was so gracious as he invited me to hunt Moose and even offered to guide me. I wish I would have gone up there hunting with him, he seemed to be a really nice man, he will be missed by many.
I'm sorry to hear of his passing, the world needs more guy's like him.
>>>>----------------->
Mike, you did good! I think Brian is looking down at us with a big smile on his face. He got the big one! One day it will be our turn to take the big one, and I hope the people who knew and knows us will think as kindly of us as we have of Brian. In the meantime, Brian can do all the scouting for us and get things ready for the big hunt where he's at!! Like he always has. A friend and hunting partner! We will miss you, Brian Krebs! mr.chuck
Bless his family and friends and may he always be around the big campfire.
my prayers go out to brians family and friends, and that GOD will help them find peace, and comfort in the days ahead. that they will seek him, he gave us this great opportunity to enjoy his wonderful creation, the outdoors and traditional archery. to him we give thanks and for his son that died on the cross and the choice to have everlasting life. may brain rest in peace by our fathers side.
Brian and I had PMed each other in the past. Very sad to hear of his passing. My condolences to his many friends and family.
God's Speed
RIP Brian.
A prayer sent for his family and one for him to have had Jesus in his heart.
RIP
Very sad news. I liked Brian's posts, very to-the-point and pretense. His sudden passing reminds us of how fleeting the moment is.
RIP, Brian.
Sad news for sure !!!
:pray: :pray: :pray:
god bless,love to the family sorry for your loss.
Prayers for the family. And rest in peace my brother of the bow.
Prayers for his family and friends.
My prayers go to his family and friends. Brian and I had some very interesting conversations He definately gave thought to eternal life. God bless you all, Steve
Brian kept many discussions here balanced. He will be missed. God Bless and much peace to his family and friends.
Mike Gerard owlbait
Prayers sent up for all who loved him.
For the most part I agreed with Brian;s posts and always looked forward to reading them. Will really miss seeing his post. Rest peacefully Brian.
Have peace in the happy huntin grounds.
God Bless
Prayers for the family.
I pray for peace and comfort for his family and friends. You have my sympathies.
God Bless,
Nathan
Prayers for the family
Prayers for the family. His posts here will be missed.
What a wonderful friendship you shared.
What wonderful memories you continue to have.
May God's love and peace be with him.
Well we've let this post run a few days and have a fair representation of the good friends and aquaintances who's life was touched by Brian Krebs. Thank you all for the kind words on Brian's behalf. I plan to direct Brian's extended family to these posts so that they will understand this man's life mattered. That he was more than just a poor recluse living alone in the mountains. His life touched people outside of his immediate family and that he had a "Trad Gang" family also.
In going through my old emails with Brian I found many photos he had sent me over the years. I'll not bore everyone with those photos but there is one photo that is worthy of sharing with you all. It's been said the measure of a man can be made in examining the "Fruit of his Loins". Brian had several children, grown adults now with their own families. He told me how proud he was of them all. He enjoyed being a Grandfather and looked forward to spending time with the grand kids, teaching them what he knew of the outdoors. But his eye really glissened when he spoke of his son Mike. The sportsman bug that Brian instilled in Mike really took hold in a big way. This is a photo that Brian sent me of his son's 2009 accomplishments as a trapper. Not a bad season by any measure.....
(http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p177/MikeOrton_2006/94590009.jpg)
Mike Krebs shot elk with his dad a fairly regular annual basis in North Fork, ID. Some of the stories Brian relayed were colorful. It's good to see that Brian passed the torch down to his children before leaving us.
If we can learn one final lesson from Brian, Ladies and Gentleman ask yourself when was the last physical examination with blood analysis that was performed on you? Brian was 59 years old....that's too damn young. Go get yourselves a physical examination by a competent doctor....
BRIAN KREBS POST fitting to re-read
RIP Brian
Ethical depends on the time in history.
I was once told by a really famous bowhunter that the way to get a big buck is to find a high spot where the deer cross and they are back lighted by the moon.
He said if you can see the rack- it has to be a good one.
Hunting by natural light was then considered OK; and really - its natural light...but it is illegal to do so now.
I got into bowhunting because I liked to see the arrow fly. I started with literally a stick and string- and some two fletch arrows and an Indian headdress- and my brother got the Roy Rogers guns.
But I started hunting things- anything. As a city kid it was bugs and chipmunks and squirrels; although no mammals were killed or injured in the process.
My mentor was a man that was into conservation; he was a hunter; and a speaker for hunting. He hunted with a gun; although once after an unsuccessful hunt for deer with a bow; he shot all his arrows at some grouse... and then the deer walked right up. But I could see how it was possible to take a deer with a bow.
Then came movie trailers. My first movie seen without my parents taking me to the movies was 'the house on haunted hill' and ' the tingler'.
In those days they showed one reel; then showed trailers of news and other interests while they got the second reel ready.
I got to see Howard Hill and Fred Bear in action.
But - there was something missing; not in them; but in me. I was not perceiving what I was seeing.
It took years of hunting with a gun; and great frustrations over hearing deer make noises; which I was ridiculed for suggesting; as the 'buck snort' was something related to eating beans.
Then I saw on TV -Fred Bear shoot a grizzly bear over a dead caribou. He screwed up the first shot; and really acted like a country bumpkin.
But then he shot the grizzly; and that flight of the arrow - I saw it connect him and the grizzly in a way that was like the brush of an artists stroke.
I saw the connection for the first real time between man and nature.
It was an artists action- I cannot draw a recognizable stick man- I can't throw a baseball; or toss a basketball or any feat of 'sport'.
I could swim; but I would not compete. I could play football; but backed out when the coach insisted we learn how to break the knee of the apposing quarterback. I refused.
I was chosen in high school gym class to be the goalie - two posts - no net.
And this guy from the other team made a great shot that was in.
The coach asked if it was in or out; and I said 'in' and both sides and the coach berated me.
I quit 'sports' that day.
I hunted with my bow for food when I left home. I learned the value of the reusable arrow.
In college I met a guy that asked me to go bowhunting for deer.
I had gotten out of the service; lost my Ben Pearson recurve in that time.
I did have a 1930s longbow my father used in military school as a child. I got good with it at ten yards; and was ready to take that shot.
I had taken many deer with a rifle and shotgun; and practiced with my bow for months; and got good at ten yards; although my arrows were mismatched and my broadheads were sharp by my standard at the time; and dull by my standards now- and I am glad I did not connect with a deer that first trip.
But I did get a shot at a deer; and it was very much slow motion; and I hit a tree the deer was standing behind.
But I saw something I had never seen before- I saw in that shot just as artistic a shot as Fred Bear had ever made. The arc of the arrow; the way it stopped right at the deer ( although in a sapling) - but it was a connection that I could not get out of my mind.
I still can't.
And I started mingling with Fred Bear; and other bowhunters.
And I read about Ishi.
His people all killed for their scalps; and his connection to the earth with his bow. He was the last 'wild indian' ; and he finally gave up; he turned himself into white mans world expecting to die: and did that in a way that really defined his understanding of white society- he turned himself into a slaughter house- naked.
Pope and Young learned about his villages as he made reproductions in their museum. They gave him relics taken from slain members of his own tribe; including the basket his sister had made; and that he last seen her with.
And through all that horror; for it had to be; he taught Pope and Young to hunt. He showed them respect for the wild beyond killing things.
And in his last living statement; he said " we will meet again in the flight of the arrow".
We have hunted as humans with bows that were not bent over saplings; but made from billets- for thousands upon thousands of years.
And in its purest form- the concept that Ishi passed on was not to kill; but to be a part of nature. It took practice and observation and skill.
Crossbow were ALWAYS a short cut to shooting arrows accurately. That was their point- that you did not have to practice to get good. It was a shortcut to hitting a target; and so are modern tech bows.
And now a few of these tech hunters are saying that Ishi; and Fred Bear and Ben Pearson; and Howard Hill were merely " experimenters in bowhunting" and that they are the result of all that experimenting.
I think: not.
Fred Bear talked about the 'spirit of the wild' and he was talking about the connection passed down with his hand shake with Young; and Youngs handshake with Ishi.
It was not about how many animals you could kill; it was about the adventure and the thrill of the hunt; and the thrill of the shot.
It has always taken a longer to do that with a bow than with a gun. Where the hunt ends with a rifle; the hunt begins with a bow. I remember the average shot distance with a rifle for deer with a gun; and it was 55 yards.
Now I see the bows of the tech world shooting way past that with confirmed confidence.
And cross'bows' take no skill beyond what you need with a bow- other than what to expect once you hit something.
The 'professionals' use more and more modern equipment; and Pete Shepley says the best thing you can do as a bowhunter: is to keep up with the technology.
You now can attach a range finder to you bow; and once the distance is determined you can pick your pin.
That I argue is NOT bowhunting. It is bastardized bowhunting. It is taking a woman you love and replacing her with a whore. It works; but it lacks communication and a real connection with another person on a mental level. It is money taking the place of skill; and wisdom and understanding and compassion.
I am opposed to the crossbows in archery season; and the use of the new high tech bows in archery season too -- for they admit and brag; they have taken the 'arch' out of 'archery'.
Our weakness didn't help; but we were up against numbers of people that like money and shortcuts to 'success'.
I don't want to share the woods making cow calls and elk bugles while rifle hunters are in the woods with me.
And I don't want people that do not understand bowhunting to take over bowhunting; and saying that we trad bowhunters are just the past; the experimenters; the ill equipped for bowhunting as the 'pros' think we ought to be.
Let them hunt in the rifle - as we call it the 'any weapon season'; and let them follow their horn porn to its conclusion.
Just lets make sure we don't get pushed out in the process.
Because we really run that risk...
--------------------
THE VOICES HAVEN'T BOTHERED ME SINCE I STARTED POKING THEM WITH A Q-TIP.
Posts: 2556 | From: North Fork , Idaho | Registered: Feb 2004
What a shame. I've always heard the good die young. Sorry for your loss and prayers for his family and many friends. Thank God for the time you had to spend with him. :pray:
My sincere condolences to Brian's family and friends. Peace be with you.