Craig's Famous Chili

Teal Season back in Ohio was always an iffy deal. Some years the birds were there, some years they weren't. We never put much planning or effort into it. In 1974 I was out of the service for about 9 months and was able to hunt every day of the duck season, including the Teal Season. That was the only year that any of us went at it very hard.

My old friend, Craig Wallace and I went up to Indian Lake planning to stay for the entire Teal Season. We camped at Harry Fleming's campground, Cree Park. We had a dual mission that week, hunt and build our duck blind for the season. We did a great job of building and grassing the blind. By far the best blind we ever had at Indian Lake, but we spent several days working on it.

The night we got there, Craig mixed up a cauldron of assorted foods and called it his famous chili. All week long he added "stuff" to it and we kept on eating.

We hunted Teal each morning and each evening. Didn't have much luck. I think we killed 2 Teal each day. Lots of motoring and rowing the boat. Lots of wading through the marshes. Very little shooting. During the day we worked on the blind and at night we ate chili.

By Thursday night Craig had such a belly ache that he drove back to Dayton. I found out a week later that he ended up in the hospital with abdominal somethingorother. I guess the famous chili just about got him.

So Friday morning I went hunting with only Chief as a partner. We had spent what little money we had buying ingredients for the chili, so by Friday, I had one bottle of Pepsi and a dozen Fig Newtons to keep us going. After fighting 80 degree temperatures all week, Friday was cold. Fog on the lake from the sudden drop in temperature and down right cold. After all our efforts of the week, I didn't have a dry stitch of clothing. Either wet from sweat, or from stumbling around in the marshes. So I was pretty miserable on Friday morning.

Despite the fog, I went across the lake to Long Pond marsh to start off the morning. Hadn't seen a duck there all week, but got a little pass right after daylight and knocked down a pair of Blue Wings. I was happy enough. Didn't see any more birds, so after a half hour or so, I took a drink of my Pepsi and Chief and I each ate a Fig Newton and we left. I was cold and miserable but thought I would take one last look in Blackbird Basin. My favorite place to Teal hunt, but hadn't seen a bird in there all week. Well, they were here now. The marsh was just buzzing with Teal. I killed another pair in nothing flat and headed back to Cree Park. It was still early so I gave the birds to someone for safekeeping and headed back to Blackbird Basin. I shot another limit in an hour or so. Another drink of Pepsi and another couple cookies.

Took those birds to the Park and tried to convince Harry to come out hunting with me. He said he was busy, but maybe he and his son would join me for the evening shoot. Whatever, I hunted with Chief the whole day. I ended up shooting 4 limits of Teal. Pretty much made up for the slow week I'd had. I truly hated it that Craig couldn't have been there to share it with me. He worked hard and hunted hard all week up until Friday and had only a sick stomach to show for it.

That evening I was really miserable. Nothing to eat, sleeping bag all wet from a couple thunderstorms earlier in the week, clothes all wet. Harry saw that I was looking pitiful sitting down by the lake picking ducks in the dark and lent me a couple dollars and his car so I could run to a nearby beer joint and have some supper. Really nice of him. When I took his car back he told me he had talked to my Dad on the phone and that he and my brother Tom would be up to hunt with me on Saturday. Good to go.

Tom woke me up after daylight Saturday morning and I thought I had died during the night. Got so cold I got some sort of muscle cramp in my back and could barely walk. They got me to the boat and they took a canoe. We all headed to the scene of yesterday's crime with high hopes for a repeat. Tom missed one Teal. That was the extent of our day.

The Teal had moved though with that cold front and only stopped on the lake for 24 hours or less. Where hundreds of Teal had been at sunset, there were none by sunrise. Like I said, Teal Season was always an iffy deal.

Craig fully recovered, but missed a couple weeks work as a result of his famous chili. Next time I talk to him I'll ask if he still has the recipe