LETS NOT FORGET—–

I KNOW ITS NOT THE ANNIVERSARY FOR 2 DAYS, BUT WITH A PREDICTION OF 3-8″ ANY THING IS POSSIBLE. BE SAFE BOYS THE DAY THE DUCK HUNTERS DIED

Thanks for the reminder!

Thanks for the reminder!

Wow. Thanks for the post. I never quite realized how bad the storm was.

Josh

Wow. Thanks for the post. I never quite realized how bad the storm was.

Josh

It was called the Armistice Day Storm, and since 1954 is now called Veteran’s Day. We WON”T forget that either, but that is a whole different Post Topic.
Jack..

It was called the Armistice Day Storm, and since 1954 is now called Veteran’s Day. We WON”T forget that either, but that is a whole different Post Topic.
Jack..

Can’t imagine what people went through trapped on the river with such a storm. When I read the books it raises the hair on the back of my neck. They got caught with there guard down and it cost a lot of lives

Can’t imagine what people went through trapped on the river with such a storm. When I read the books it raises the hair on the back of my neck. They got caught with there guard down and it cost a lot of lives

Thanks for posting that, I remember my Grandpa telling me that story and everytime I’m in Ely and it starts snowing real hard I think of that! If I remember correctly, the vast majority of deaths in Minnesota from that storm were on Lake Mille Lacs? That picture of the two dead duck-hunters laying frozen in the snow sure is haunting!

Thanks for posting that, I remember my Grandpa telling me that story and everytime I’m in Ely and it starts snowing real hard I think of that! If I remember correctly, the vast majority of deaths in Minnesota from that storm were on Lake Mille Lacs? That picture of the two dead duck-hunters laying frozen in the snow sure is haunting!

As sad as it is we need to be reminded of that, thanks for remembering.

As sad as it is we need to be reminded of that, thanks for remembering.

That is a very sad story.Friends and families starting the day doing something they love and it cost some of them-never to return to the duck marsh again.
My good friend Scott Cabalka e-mailed me this same story last summer.Hard to imagine what those poor fellows went through.
Ryan Hale

That is a very sad story.Friends and families starting the day doing something they love and it cost some of them-never to return to the duck marsh again.
My good friend Scott Cabalka e-mailed me this same story last summer.Hard to imagine what those poor fellows went through.
Ryan Hale

Very good memory ya got there Ryan. Didn’t know if you would remember that or not.
I was telling Ryan this morning that I hunt a part of the river only a few miles south of where most of that story took place.
A few years ago a friend of mine and I started out from Manchester, Ia. in a snow storm. We left at around 3:00am and it was almost a blizzard. I told him I didn’t think it was a good idea and that I knew we could get there,the storm had just started, but I wasn’t sure we would be able to make it back. He finally convinced me by saying, “If it is that bad we’ll get a hotel for the night.” He also said, “Let’s give it a try, if it doesn’t get any better we’ll just turn back.” So, after he talked me into it we left. Drove about 20 miles and it was only a flurry, drove anther 10 and it had completely stopped snowing. We arrived at our spot on the Miss. around 5:00am. Decoys are set, blind is in order, guns are loaded, hunters are ready. Now all we needed was the ducks. Had a few buzzing the area but not what we had expected. Then, about 9:00am…..the ducks showed!! Divers and mallards seemed to fill the sky. You would work one bunch, drop one or two and it would only be minutes and you would be working another. Turn out to be a great hunt! Well, it was so fun we hadn’t noticed the snow. Not until we noticed the decoys were all pretty much white. Before we knew it we couldn’t see the trees on the other end of our spot….about 125 yards away. It was snowing THAT hard. We were deciding at what point we were going to leave….I’m mean…..we did still need to try and get home. As we sat there watching this blizzard and hearing the mallards quacking over head(couldn’t see them) it suddenly dawned on us….. ARMITICE DAY!!!! It didn’t take long for us to vacate the area. No sense in trying fate! Equipment is different today, forecasts are better , chances of another Armistice Day tragedy are much slimmer today. But ya know what…..blizzard conditions ANYWHERE aren’t fun……but on the Mighty Mississippi, it just isn’t worth the risk.
It was just a very strange feeling when we realized we were hunting in a blizzard on Armistice Day with similar conditions. Sobering to say the least.

Ducks

Very good memory ya got there Ryan. Didn’t know if you would remember that or not.
I was telling Ryan this morning that I hunt a part of the river only a few miles south of where most of that story took place.
A few years ago a friend of mine and I started out from Manchester, Ia. in a snow storm. We left at around 3:00am and it was almost a blizzard. I told him I didn’t think it was a good idea and that I knew we could get there,the storm had just started, but I wasn’t sure we would be able to make it back. He finally convinced me by saying, “If it is that bad we’ll get a hotel for the night.” He also said, “Let’s give it a try, if it doesn’t get any better we’ll just turn back.” So, after he talked me into it we left. Drove about 20 miles and it was only a flurry, drove anther 10 and it had completely stopped snowing. We arrived at our spot on the Miss. around 5:00am. Decoys are set, blind is in order, guns are loaded, hunters are ready. Now all we needed was the ducks. Had a few buzzing the area but not what we had expected. Then, about 9:00am…..the ducks showed!! Divers and mallards seemed to fill the sky. You would work one bunch, drop one or two and it would only be minutes and you would be working another. Turn out to be a great hunt! Well, it was so fun we hadn’t noticed the snow. Not until we noticed the decoys were all pretty much white. Before we knew it we couldn’t see the trees on the other end of our spot….about 125 yards away. It was snowing THAT hard. We were deciding at what point we were going to leave….I’m mean…..we did still need to try and get home. As we sat there watching this blizzard and hearing the mallards quacking over head(couldn’t see them) it suddenly dawned on us….. ARMITICE DAY!!!! It didn’t take long for us to vacate the area. No sense in trying fate! Equipment is different today, forecasts are better , chances of another Armistice Day tragedy are much slimmer today. But ya know what…..blizzard conditions ANYWHERE aren’t fun……but on the Mighty Mississippi, it just isn’t worth the risk.
It was just a very strange feeling when we realized we were hunting in a blizzard on Armistice Day with similar conditions. Sobering to say the least.

Ducks

Scott,was this the day that Kenny shot 3 mallards with one shot?
Ryan Hale

Scott,was this the day that Kenny shot 3 mallards with one shot?
Ryan Hale

If that was a guess all I can say is
YOU DA MAN!!!!

Ducks

If that was a guess all I can say is
YOU DA MAN!!!!

Ducks

My Grandpa was supposed to be hunting with a group of people from the East Side of St. Paul during this storm. The reason he did not go was because of the birth of my mother!
That was quite a storm. Buddies of his died in their shirt sleeves because they didn’t think they would need warm clothes. Thank God for the advancement in weather predicting.

My Grandpa was supposed to be hunting with a group of people from the East Side of St. Paul during this storm. The reason he did not go was because of the birth of my mother!
That was quite a storm. Buddies of his died in their shirt sleeves because they didn’t think they would need warm clothes. Thank God for the advancement in weather predicting.