Some photos are more than just a photo.
This one, taken around 1968 or 1969, captures a group of hunters gathered at Winfred Orndorf’s place during deer season. To George “Buddy” Norris, these men were more than hunting companions. They were friends, mentors, and part of a tradition that shaped his life.
“Great hunters, good friends, safe hunters and all gone to the happy hunting ground,” Buddy wrote. “An honor to have hunted with all of the guys.”
Buddy was, as he put it, “the young kid on the block.” He had started hunting there in 1964, before he went into the Army. By the late 1960s, many of the men in the photo had already been hunting together on Winfred’s land for years, some since the 1950s.
For the first three days of deer season, about 20 to 25 men stayed in Winfred’s house, the one seen in the background of the photo.
“It was crowded and very noisy,” Buddy remembered.
They stayed from Sunday night through Wednesday. Sunday night was full of energy. Monday quieted down after a full day of hunting. By Tuesday, everyone was tired and early to bed.
“As I said, it was an honor to hunt with these guys, all good friends, looked forward to it every year,” Buddy wrote. “Needless to say, I miss them all and I still know almost all their names.”
Years later, that same sense of camaraderie and connection to the land helped shape another decision: protecting land for the future.
Buddy shared that when GunBarrel Valley Wildlife Preserve was purchased, 19 of the original 20 shares went to people who had deer hunted on Winfred’s land.
“Many of us thought we needed to buy the land just to protect Winfred’s land,” he wrote. “Turned out good.”
It did turn out good.
Today, the GunBarrel Valley Wildlife Preserve is protected through a conservation easement with the Cacapon & Lost Rivers Land Trust. The land will remain forested, wild, and connected to the larger conservation landscape of the Cacapon watershed.
The land holds more than deer season memories. It holds friendships, family stories, old cabins, mountain streams, wildlife habitat, and the kind of rural heritage that cannot be recreated once it is gone.
That is what land protection makes possible.
It keeps the woods standing.
It keeps the water clean.
And it keeps the stories rooted in place.
As Buddy said, “The older the pictures are, the more valuable they are.”
We could say the same about the memories made on these beautiful lands that are protected for present and future hunting companions and a tradition that will keep shaping their lives.
Related story about the Gun Barrel Club