Caption on the bottom right hand corner reads:
"Peeling Potatoes for Dove Stew July 16, 1913"
John Hartwig Hansen, my great grandfather. He was 48 years old in 1913.
This picture was found in Vere Hansen's photograph album, pasted on the inside of the back cover and surrounded by several smaller photographs. Why was John Hansen peeling potatoes for dove stew in 1913?
With a little sleuthing and some help from our local Facebook site You Know You're From Nevada County If You Remember... I was able to put this photograph into context. My great grandfather was photographed peeling potatoes at the annual Dove Hunt and Camp Stew put on by the Grass Valley Sportsman's Club. This was a yearly hunt which began with breakfast and ended with dove stew dinner in the evening. It was attended by many residents of Grass Valley (since 1880) and was a popular event. I suppose they needed quite a lot of peeled potatoes and John Hansen volunteered for the job!
From The San Francisco Examiner July 5, 1891
Newspapers.com
Indian Springs was in the vicinity of Rough and Ready California.
The Grass Valley Sportsmen's Organization (formally the Grass Valley Sportsman's Club) has been in existence since 1880, according to their website, making them the oldest sportsmen's club West of the Mississippi. They were "pioneers in field and stream". I don't know if John Hansen was an actual member of the Sportsman's Club; he was a popular and gregarious resident of Grass Valley and may have been invited to take part in this well known event by friends or neighbors. At that time membership in the club was very large, so it could be possible he was a member. Membership is now restricted to only 100 members and is by invitation only from an existing member. Dove hunts are no longer on the club's events schedule; current and upcoming events are the beer booth at the Nevada County Fair, the annual Steak Feed, the Lyon's Lake Kid's Trout Derby and a Crab Feed. Very different from over 100 years ago!
If you visit the Searles Historical Library online you can search their photograph archives (type "dove" in the search bar) for past pictures of dove stew get-togethers. I learned that the Nevada City Gun Club had their own dove hunting and stew gatherings also! I have added the Searles Historical Library as a favorite link on the right side bar, under labels.
Cooking dove stew over the fire? According to an archived photograph on the Searles Historical Library website this is how the club cooked their stew.
Dove hunts and gatherings for dinner afterwards are still popular around many parts of the country. I'm sure John Hansen enjoyed the day with his friends and neighbors helping out the Grass Valley Sportsman's Club with this annual get-together. It was fun discovering the picture and adding another piece of the puzzle to John Hansen's life story.
Relationship Reference:
Me->Margaret Hansen Boothby->Harold Hansen->John Hartwig Hansen = Vere Burrows Hansen
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