MIKE BRAUN Unfortunately, deer hunters won't rendezvous this year

For the past 17 years, the Deer Hunters' Rendezvous, a special event usually held on the Sunday at the end of Ohio's deer season, attracted hunters and others interested in seeing what kinds of deer area hunters had harvested.
As a side benefit, donations of venison were made to help feed the area's hungry, and proceeds from the event were used, in part, to help fund local youth events.
However, apparently progress -- and some organizational problems last year -- got in the way of the 18th annual gathering -- originally planned to be held today -- and the event was canceled.
The event was originally conceived and organized by Paul and Marti Thomas of Paul's Taxidermy in North Lima. The gathering of hunters and their harvested deer was held for the first few years at Pine Lake off state Route 7.
A good job
The Thomases did an admirable job those first years, and the event offered an example of local hunters' prowess and the excellence of Ohio's growing deer herd.
Many excellent local mounts were on display, and in some years national magazines were present to snap photos of the deer. The event always brought out the best of the bucks harvested from the area and also gave hunters and their friends a chance to compare notes and discuss the season just ended.
Paul and Marti gave the event over to the local chapter of the Safari Club International after a few years, and the SCI ran the event, also very well, for about 10 years. The group moved it from Pine Lake to the Canfield Fairgrounds and the Lowellville Rod & amp; Gun Club until the Thomases resumed control a couple of years ago. The couple eventually transferred operation of the show to their son, Andy.
Didn't go well
Last year, the younger Thomas had some help from a local outdoors publication. "Things did not go so well," he said.
Thomas said that, despite some problems with how the show was handled, the event still managed to send a truckload of ground venison to the Second Harvest Food Bank and raised $500 for Lowelville Rod & amp; Gun's youth day event.
Didn't work well
Still, Thomas said the 2002 partnership just didn't work as well as he had hoped.
In addition, progress, in the form of the construction of condominiums at Pine Lake, put a large barrier in plans for this year.
"We booked it last year for this year," he said. "But they closed the road down to the clubhouse."
Thomas said that there was no time or chance this year to book another site, and interested waned.
"We talked to a few groups, but nobody else seemed interested in it," he said.
In the meantime, those who have benefited from this event in the past will, for this year at least, have to forgo the extra assistance The Deer Hunters' Rendezvous offered.
"It's a shame," Thomas said. "It's been held all these years. Hopefully, we can get it going again next year."
braun@vindy.com