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Memories of the first FCF Rendezvous
 It
was 1969 when the first National Training Camp was held in Marshfield,
Missouri, at Camp Arrowhead.
I went there as a trainee, and that's when I
met Johnnie Barnes. I completed the course, and in 1970 I was surprised
to have an invitation to serve on the staff in Marshfield. Then
I really got to know Commander Barnes.
To my surprise, in 1971, I was once again invited
to serve on the staff. That Saturday evening, when the trainees
were on the overnighter, the whole staff was sitting around talking
about the Rendezvous that was coming up. The first national event
would take place in Springfield, Missouri, at Fantastic Caverns.
But as we were talking, Johnnie mentioned that the guys who were
supposed to bring the wild game for the one meal they were going
to fix, failed to come up with it.
So I said: "Why don't you butcher a goat and call
it Kansas antelope and butcher a hog and call it Arkansas razorback.
That will provide the amount of food we need." So Johnnie said,
"That's a great idea! Why don't you provide that for us?" I told
him I would, but I wasn't going to cook it.
Next, they asked if I would be in FCF since I
wasn't. As a result I went to a Southern Missouri Royal Rangers
event and was initiated into the Daniel Boone Chapter of FCF. Then
I began to prepare for the 1972 Rendezvous. I had been a member
of the Osage Muzzle Loading Club for quite some time before I became
a member of FCF. Johnnie had asked me if I would conduct the shoot
for the Rendezvous.
Well, I'll never forget as we began to gather
for the first ever Rendezvous at Fantastic Caverns. There were very
few men who had muzzle loaders. I doubt if there were two dozen
in the whole group. The number of members who were there was probably
less than 200. So, nobody really knew a whole lot about how to conduct
a Rendezvous, but we did the best we could.
We started out with our noon meal, and everybody
seemed to enjoy the Kansas antelope and the Arkansas razorback.
I think that somebody there smoked some salmon, but everybody seemed
to enjoy the meal, and we began to get into our activities. We had
activities like horn-blowin' and pole climin', and we did have a
hawk and a knife throw and a muzzle loading shoot. I recall Don
Wray and myself loading and reloading our muzzle loaders for quite
some time and allowing everybody to try at least one shot.
I remember that the winner of the first muzzle
loading shoot ever held in FCF was Jerry Haines of Kansas City.
And the winner of the costume was Henry Adolph of New York. It seemed
like everything went real good. We had good council fire services,
and everybody seemed to enjoy himself. That day, some of the guys
had curtain fringe sewed onto their shirtsleeves to make them look
like buckskin. Some wore rabbit skin caps with coontails sewed on
the back.
I was thinking back to the '72 Rendezvous and
to where we are now 'bout to enter the new millennium at the year
2000 Rendezvous in July. What a difference those few years have
made! The men now are authentic with their dress. Most have buckskins,
colonial costumes, or military-type costumes from Plymouth Rock
to pre-Civil War.
We had a good group of muzzle loaders that shot
and everybody, just about, entered into the hawk-and-knife throw
and the flint steel. The men and boys have become so colorful in
their costuming and have sharpened their skills as frontiersmen.
I'm so pleased that we've seen the progress that we have.
It's not only the fun and foofaraw of FCF, but
we have a Trappers Brigade now that we use as a benevolent service
to help people out in our own country. We also have a Pathfinder
organization that travels all over the world to build churches in
foreign countries where there are scarcely any facilities such as
water, electricity, motels, restaurants, and that sort of thing.
But FCF has really come a long way. I was just
thinking about the '96 Rendezvous, when the evening services were
so great. Men and boys alike were slain in the Holy Spirit, men's
lives were changed, they were given new challenges, and young men
were called into the ministry. Some had a new, fresh experience
that has encouraged them to continue on to work in the Royal Rangers
ministry, reaching boys for Christ.
I said all that to say I believe the FCF is second
to none as far as color, excitement, and adventure are involved.
But I really believe the thing that makes FCF so great is not our
costumes or our muzzle loading or our other activities. It's God
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as men with hungry hearts
and boys with hearts that love Jesus Christ come together every
4 years.
It's like a real Rendezvous, I'm sure, that they
had back in the days of Jim Bridger and Jedediah Smith. I know that
they were all happy to see one another like I am. We see people
we haven't seen in a long time, and we see the young boys that have
grown up to be men. What a thrill it is to see the fruits of your
labor. I know FCF is going to continue to grow and become a real
spearhead of frontline troops to help reach boys for Jesus Christ.
FCF will set an example and project the Christian male image in
the boys as well as the men.
Well, see ya,
Fred ("Old Hawkeye") Deaver
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