Bravo for the outstanding and thoughtful column by Ron Joseph (“When my high school ate moose meat,” Dec. 5).
Joseph tells the story of hunting season back in 1965, at Williams High School in Oakland, now Messalonskee High School. Back then, guns were used prolifically, including by students, to hunt deer, game birds and the occasional moose (this was before the highly popular Maine moose hunt was started in the early 1970s!) Boys were allowed to carry long guns on their walks to school, hunting ruffed grouse, woodcock and other creatures along the way. At school, the hunter-students unloaded their rifles and turned them in at the principal’s office for safekeeping until the school day was over.
What a long, strange trip it’s been since young boys toted firearms to school freely to today’s gun massacres, school shootings and fear and loathing among students, their parents and teachers.
To me, this column was one of the most beautiful and thoughtful pieces of writing I have seen in 55 years of reading the Kennebec Journal.
John Hale
North Monmouth
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