New archery range established at Outdoor Center

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

Larry Frost of Rogers City and Charles Cremer of Millersburg are difference makers. There was a need identified for an archery range for the youth of Presque Isle County, and the men, with the assistance of numerous other individuals and business, spearheaded an effort to establish one at the Ocqueoc Outdoor Center (OOC). A few years ago, the Department of Natural Resources was ready to bulldoze all the facilities at the OOC, rather than maintain them. The county took ownership and prevented the demolition.

There had been a range located on the western edge of the property, but it was for rifle and pistol target practice. Shooters took their positions under a 21-foot long roof held up by 4-by-4 inch beams and aimed at targets on a sandy berm about 20 feet away. The shooting range was probably never going to be used again.

THE ESTABLISHMENT of an archery range got rolling when the 4-H program purchased 12 new Jenison bows. Frost, who promotes programs at the Presque Isle Sportsmen?s Club and is an archery advocate, asked Michigan State University Extension director Cheryl Peter if the club could borrow the new bows for some youth who were going to shoot at the club and she agreed.

?When I went to picked them up, I asked her if the 4-H kids had been shooting,? Frost recalls. ?She said they didn?t have an instructor or a range.? Frost, a certified instructor, asked if he could put one in at OOC. His idea was to enclose the shelter at the former rifle range and have people shoot from 10 feet, 15 feet and 20 feet, toward the shelter structure. Frost was able to employ Cremer?s help. They used old conveyor belts donated by Carmeuse Lime

& Stone (Calcite), so errant errors would fall harmlessly to the ground along with stacked foam from Cadillac Products to pin targets onto. Frost said Vern Vogelheim brought his backhoe to OOC to level the area and fill a 6-foot deep hole.

WHEN NOT in use, 8-foot wide doors close in front of the targets. When all the way open, they provide extra safety so errant arrows don?t end up in the woods. There also will be a storage room once it is completed. The men started in early September. ?It?s for the kids,? sad Cremer, who took up the hobby only a few years ago, ?That?s really what it comes down.?

Frost and Cremer are part of the North Huron Archery Club, which includes members from Presque Isle, Alpena and Cheboygan Counties. Others assisting with the project are Mark Schleben, Jeremy Juznicki, as well as Grulke Hardware, Rogers City Ace Hardware and the Rogers City Do It Center.