CRIVITZ, Wis. (WFRV) – On the eve of gun deer hunting season in Wisconsin, thousands of hunters made their way through Crivitz on their way to their deer camps.
Naturally, those hunters stop at the gas stations, bars, restaurants, and hotels in the area, providing a significant boost to the local economy.
The folks at Pelkin’s Smokey Meat Market tell Local 5 News that gun deer hunting season is the busiest time of the year at their shop. They said they make sure to have extra staff and that they are well-stocked going into the hunting season.
On Friday alone, several thousand hunters passed through the door. Pelkin’s officials said that it’s very busy and at times chaotic, but that they still have lots of fun because just about everybody is in a good mood when they come to the shop.
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“We have people coming in to fill out their cut sheet on how they want everything prepared before they go out in the woods,” said Linda Wilke, the customer service specialist at Pelkin’s Smokey Meat Market. “So they’re optimistic and I am too. I’m wishing them good luck.”
Each year, the Crivitz School District music program has its annual brat fry fundraiser on the day before gun deer hunting season to take advantage of all the extra people in town.
Local 5 News caught up with them outside the Piggly Wiggly in Crivitz on Friday afternoon.
“It just makes me feel really proud of our community and much better about people who want to just give to help a group of students who want to go to Nashville,” said Crivitz High School junior Annaka Meyer.
Another popular place for hunters to hang out during gun deer hunting season is Fuzzy’s Bar in Crivitz. That is where Local 5 talked with Tom Andronowitz, who came all the way from Connecticut to hunt in Wisconsin this weekend.
For eight years, Andronowitz has made the trip to Wisconsin to hunt in the Crivitz area with his cousins. They hunt on a piece of land that has been in the family since the mid-1970s. He said they always try to stop at Fuzzy’s as well because the cheeseburgers at the bar are really good.
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Andronowitz told Local 5 News that he was so excited, he said he probably wouldn’t even go to bed and sleep before heading out hunting early Saturday morning.
“Getting out there and doing it and just being so peaceful with nature, the little sounds you hear in the morning, it’s like music to your ear,” he told Local 5 News. “The camaraderie we have with our cousins, we just have a lot of fun and a lot of laughs.”
“Once you get a taste of it, it gets in your blood,” said Mike Navarra, who is Andronowitz’s cousin. “The serenity of the woods, the peacefulness of the woods. It’s something that gets into your system, and once you do it, you’re hooked.”
The gun deer season runs through Nov. 30 in Wisconsin.
