Jo Daviess County Longbeards Gets 100 Kids Outdoors at Annual JAKES Day

For this year's JAKES Day, about 100 children gathered in Illinois for four hours of fishing, archery, firearm safety, shooting and hands-on activities designed to introduce them to outdoor hobbies and give returning participants another chance to build their skills.

With good weather overhead, kids moved from one activity to the next, some trying something for the very first time and others returning to familiar stations with a little more experience than the year before.

For a few young anglers, the day brought one of those outdoor memories that tends to stick — catching a first fish.

At the archery range, some familiar faces showed just how much difference another year of practice can make. A few girls who had attended the JAKES Day in previous years had struggled to connect their arrows with the animal-shaped targets. This year, their arrows found their mark.

It was a small moment of success, but one that captured part of what has made the event special for more than two decades. Some children come for the first time, while others return year after year, growing a little older and more confident as they continue learning.

The day also gave every participant a chance to build something of their own.

Jo Daviess County Longbeards committee members prepared bird feeder pieces before the event by cutting and drilling them ahead of time. That preparation allowed even the youngest children to successfully assemble a feeder they could take home.

Building a birdhouse or bird feeder has become another tradition within the chapter’s JAKES Day. Along with teaching children how to make something with their own hands, the project gives them a simple way to continue connecting with wildlife after the event is over.

Lakeside Critters of Apple River, Illinois, also joined the festivities, bringing docile farm animals for kids to touch and pet.

For the Jo Daviess County Longbeards, JAKES Day is about giving children opportunities to experience outdoor activities they may not encounter elsewhere. One child might discover fishing for the first time, while another returns determined to hit the archery target they missed the summer before.

“To see all the smiles on their faces is so rewarding,” said Carla Randecker, a Jo Daviess County Longbeards committee member.

After 26 years, those smiles remain at the heart of the tradition.

Some came after a first fish was pulled from the water. Others followed a well-placed arrow, a finished bird feeder or a chance to meet an animal up close. Together, they were part of another summer day spent outdoors, and for some of those kids, perhaps the beginning of a hobby they will carry with them for years to come.