No Hunting Sign - History??
Kansas
Found this today... anybody know the history as to why these signs were produced??? Dang Farmers.
I believe it was due to the Departments lack of action to license rabbit hunters.
Interesting Z, do you know about what year this took place? I found it while cleaning out my grandpa's old shed. He loved the outdoors and hunting... and would often let people hunt on some of his property, so I was surprised to find it.
Thanks!
I sent you a pm Ray, let me know if you receive it..
I thought this might of been from the year that bird season was moved to a week earlier . Lots of farmers were really upset because it would not let them get there crops out of the field before season. So that year some just posted there ground No Hunting.
Its from before 1925, a great piece of Ks history
I got your PM... thanks! Wow... 1925. This sign is made out of a heavy cardboard... do you really think it could be that old? I figured signs back then would have been made of metal.
I found it behind an old shelf while cleaning and was surprised the rats or mice hadn't gotten to it. Pretty good shape outside of being crumpled.
The reason i say it was before 1925
1925 -- Fish and Game Department reorganized as Kansas Forestry, Fish and Game Commission, comprising three members appointed by Governor
1920s searches reveal lots of cardboard sign usage..
They may have been a reproduction, but there were a few signs simler to that the year Charlie mentioned.
What is the history with your grandpa? Was he born in Ks? Did he own property? How old is the shed and how long has it been in the family?
My family has farmed in Kansas for many generations... I believe I am the 8th generation. Mostly in extreme SE Kansas. This particular shed is roughly 40 years old, but it replaced a barn that would probably be 100 + years old if it were still standing today. Yes, my grandpa (moms dad) did own some land and was an avid hunter. He loved to pheasant hunt in Western Kansas, I was lucky and old enough to go on one pheasant hunt with him before he passed. He hunted coyote, rabbit, deer and quail here, closer to home. I know this particular grandpa was pretty fiery and helped organize a protest (tractorcade) in the late 70's in regards to the farm program, but in the 20's he would of been barely walking. He definitely would have put a sign up, I am surprised since he did let people hunt some of his property, but if he was miffed enough I'm sure he would. His dad (my great grandpa) was a hunter as well, so that might be the 20's connection.
This shed/farm was left to my parents and my other grandpa (dads dad) was a farmer as well, so it's possible that this came from him as well... my dad doesn't remember seeing the sign before, but said he thought it had to do with farmers being required to buy hunting licenses to hunt on their own land. He wasn't for sure though and wasn't certain on a date either.
No matter the date, I will dust it off and file it away. Wish I could nail it down though. Pretty interesting stuff.
Also, many of the old buildings, that are now long gone, would have dated back to the early 1900's. The house I'm living in was built somewhere around 1918.
Thank you for that family history lesson, my dad was born in 38', .
I talked to him, he knew stories of rabbit hunts, or drives, but felt they mostly happened before he was born. He said that he did shoot a lot of rabbits, and mostly jacks,..he said they often ate them...but also said many people shot rabbits on sight..as there were many.. My family came here from Amana Iowa in the late 1870s, i am a 5th generation to be here. Robert, Sigel, Maurice, Clifford (my dad), Me,..and my son is the 6th.
Farmers bitching about "Fish and Game." Could have been anytime between Noah and Ray.
The Font is all wrong for an old sign. That sign is not very old.
NCK - I think that's what Writer was referring to.... could be any year from the beginning of Fish and Game to just before I posted it. I have to agree due to the condition of the sign, but who knows. I'm guessing late 70's early 80's, but that's a total guess.
I do wonder if the fact they called it "Fish and Game" rather than "KDWP" makes it a little older? Not sure when or if they changed the name.
Lots of grey beards still say fish and game in normal conversation. We also use the term game warden.
Turk...how do you know it even has a KS connection? Don't see reference to KS anywhere on the sign and just because it was found in an old bldg. on the family's place doesn't mean it has ties to KS or even a KS original. Could be from 30 or 40 other states who have called themselves Fish & Game at one time or another, right?
I don't crested... that's why I posted here. I honestly have no clue the history of it. Kansas makes the most sense if it's relatively new (70's or 80's), but if it's older it could have come from Colorado for all I know. My great-grandfather used to hunt Blacktail, I even have a rack from one of his bucks, so it could have come from a few different states. My best guess is it's from the 70's or 80's from Kansas. I was hoping to find an answer here from someone may have come across one in the woods.
Perhaps I would have better luck on the National Forum, but I do appreciate all the input.
You could be right Crestedbutte. I found some old, original, rusted signs in the Fall River WA next to a cornerstone placed when the WA was first surveyed and it didn't look like the above sign.
