I would like to announce the start of my Annual Trapperman Kids Art & Writing Contest!

THE PRIZES:

FIRST PLACE $100 PLUS a JoeGoodmanPrints.com prize package!
SECOND PLACE: $75 PLUS a JoeGoodmanPrints.com prize package!
THIRD PLACE: $50 PLUS a JoeGoodmanPrints.com prize package!

TO ENTER:

You must be LESS than 18 years of age and a Trapperman member or family member only. You must have your parent's permission to enter, as the winners will be asked to pm me their addresses in order for us to ship the prize packages to you. You must submit your entry no later than 9 PM EASTERN TIME ON CHRISTMAS EVE, DECEMBER 24TH. NO EXCEPTIONS PLEASE! To submit your entry, you must post a scan or good quality photo of your finished drawing or painting, as well as TYPE IN your writing or story RIGHT HERE IN THIS THREAD. YOU MUST INCLUDE YOUR FULL NAME, AGE AND STATE YOU RESIDE WITH YOUR ENTRY. Ask for help from your folks, or other members here if you have difficulty posting. This is so all Trapperman members may see and read it. Previous winners may enter again! Let's see how you've improved over the years!

THE RULES:
This year's theme is: "My Favorite Trapper of ALL TIME!!"

FIRST, write a story that describes your "Favorite Trapper of ALL TIME!!!" and whoever that means to you. It could be a man, a woman, living or deceased, a family member or someone you've only read articles by or about. I'd like this story to be a few paragraphs minimum, if possible. I know this may be difficult for the very young contestants and we will consider this when we judge the entries at the end. Include many details to make your story interesting, who, what, where, when, why, how!? One of my favorite trappers of all time is E.N. Woodcock of Pennsylvania. I've drawn a portrait of him which I've included here.

SECOND, You must draw or paint a picture that goes with this story and illustrates it in the best possible way. It may be FULL COLOR OR BLACK & WHITE. It may be done in PENCIL, INKS, WATERCOLORS, ACRYLICS, OILS, CHALKS, CRAYONS, MARKERS, or the KITCHEN SINK!!! Put as much effort as you can into it! I want to see what talented young folks we have here on Trapperman! Then have someone take a nice brightly lit photo or scan of it and post it here with your story!!

ONCE AGAIN, THE CONTEST ENDS AT 9 PM EASTERN TIME ON CHRISTMAS EVE !! NO EXCEPTIONS. YOU FOLKS ON CENTRAL, MOUNTAIN, AND PACIFIC TIME PLEASE MAKE NOTE!

WE WILL ANNOUNCE THEM HERE ON CHRISTMAS MORNING, SOME TIME AFTER MRS. CLAUS HAS HAD HER COFFEE…..

PM ME IF YOU OR YOUR FOLKS HAVE QUESTIONS.

WELL KIDS, I SUGGEST YOU GET BUSY!!!
AND GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL THE TRAPPERMAN FAMILY!!!

From The Goodman's
Joe, Julie, and Carly
www.JoeGoodmanPrints.com

OK, We are only 4 days away from Christmas Eve and the DEADLINE to enter my contest! I hope you kids are working on your stories & drawings by now and are excited about how they are coming along! If not, you better get busy! There are some nice prizes awaiting the winners!

Joe Goodman
www.JoeGoodmanPrints.com

By Lillianne Bonine Age 10
My Great Grandma Helen.
My favorite trapper is my Great Grandma Helen. She lived to be 100. She passed away in 2018 two weeks from her 101th birthday. I have very few memories of her. I remember we went to see her for her 100th birthday, I also remember that she had very long nails. Great Grandma Helen was born in 1917. She started to trap sometime in the 1940s. They lived on a ranch on Little Pumpkin Creek outside of Volborg near Wolf mountain in Montana. My Great Grandma Helen and my Great Grandpa Buren raised a lot of sheep. Great Grandma Helen trapped mostly coyote. She used coyote getters. Great Grandma Helen would drop off her two kids at North Stacey school, and then on her way back she would check her first of her trap line and then on her way back to pick up her kids she would check the other half of her trap line. Once she caught a wolf and got a $100 from its fur. The money that she got from the furs they used to buy groceries. Their life was hard but they made it though.

The End.

by Katherine Bonine age 8




My favorite trapper is my brother Zachary. He placed his his trap on a beaver lodge
it was about 2 two 3 days and he gets sick in the 2 two 3 days and asked dad to check
his trap so dad checked the trap and there was a fox in the trap.



The End.

Wyatt Sadowski
Age: 6
State: Ohio
My favorite trapper of all time is "Trapper Eric" who is my dad. My dad is a produce farmer and he grows a lot of sweet corn in the summer. Raccoons love sweet corn! When I turned four he started teaching me how to set number one traps. I liked it a lot so I didn't quit. My favorite time of the year is trapping season. I get to spend time with my dad and learn from him. I get up at 5:45 am to check traps before I go to school. My dad's the best trapper. I hope to be like him some day!

Emma Pingel.
Age 11.
Wisconsin
I have a favorite trapper, with an everything-can-do feature.
I love trapping, so does he. We have a lot in common. We both love trapping, and we both have a love for small farming. I don't know a lot of trappers, but I can't forget him. He can catch coyotes six days in a row, or eight possums in one day. I have to take notes a lot to understand. There are thousands of trappers out there, and it's a blessing that I met this specific one, the perfect one.
One question, have you ever met your hero?
Because I have. I've seen my hero almost every day of my short life. My favorite trapper can be anyone, but the only one who can be as awesome and magical, is my dad. He might as well be magic!
Dad and I have to load up with coats, and ten pairs of socks, but still my feet always get cold. We are Wisconsin trappers, with "the can't-find-our-traps-with-all-the-snow" feature. Especially with drags.
I have many memories with my favorite trapper on the trap line. I started going trapping with my dad when I was three, and now I'm eleven. I couldn't imagine anyone better.

AAAALLLLRRRRIGHT!!! We have some excellent entries this year so far! I want to welcome Lillianne, Katherine, Wyatt & Emma to my contest! Great job, you kids! I sure hope you kids out there who want to enter, are working hard on your writing and drawings. There's less than 9 hours left until the DEADLINE, so you best get to scratchin'! You all have some very very tough competition this year!

GOOD LUCK!!!

Joe Goodman
www.JoeGoodmanPrints.com

Ryan Duliba age 13 My favorite trapper of all time is Daniel Boone, the great hunter, trapper and frontiersmen. Daniel was born in 1734, near the edge of a small town in Pennsylvania called Exeter. At that time his parents, Squire and Sarah, had five other children: Sarah junior, Israel, Samuel, Johnathan, and Elizabeth. Soon after Daniel was born his mother gave birth to Mary, George, Edward, Squire junior and Hannah.

When Daniel was eight, he and a couple of other boys from the town where walking into the woods to go hunting with their homemade slingshots, when one of the boys named Henry Miller stated that he was the best woodsmen among them so he would take the lead. Hearing this Daniel said “you’re not the best!” Then Henry, knowing he didn’t want to challenge Daniel to a shooting contest because everyone knew Daniel Boone was the best shot in all Exeter, punched Daniel in the jaw and asked, “Give up Daniel Boone?” Then Daniel jumped up and tackled the other boy. As the others cheered, the two boys tousled for a minute but soon the slightly bigger Daniel pined his opponent to the ground and Henry gave up. Then Daniel said, “Alright Henry lead the way.” All the other boys were stunned, Henry said to him, “But Daniel, you beat me so you lead.” Daniel just replied casually, “Yes I am the leader, and as the leader, I say you should lead.” Well, no one could disagree with that! After that Henry and Daniel became good friends and Henry became apprenticed to Daniel’s father so the two became like brothers.

Daniel was hunting one day when he and Henry were fourteen and had an especially good morning having killed a large black bear. The bears were getting very rare with all the settlers killing all the game in the area for food. After dragging the beast home he took one look at his parent’s faces and knew something was happening. “What is it?” He asked, and they told him that they would be moving down to Virginia because Exeter was getting too crowded for them. After a few days of packing the family was ready to hit the road. Daniel was chosen to be a scout for the group. Soon they arrived safely in Virginia at Linesville Creek.

When Daniel was fifteen he convinced his parents that it was time for him to go on his first long hunt. A long hunt was when a hunter would go out for an extended period of time to shoot as much game as possible. Daniel chose Henry to accompany him on the trip. Soon Daniel was off with Henry. After two days the only thing they seen was a squirrel which they had shot to eat. Henry was complaining that they were not going to see an animal larger than a rabbit when a huge mountain lion jumped out of a tree above their heads to kill them but, Daniel was faster, he drew his rifle and shot the giant cat though the heart as it was still mid-jump. “Jehosophat!” Henry exclaimed, but Daniel simply replied, “Nope, just an old cougar,” and started taking the valuable hide off the dead animal. After three weeks of hunting and trapping the two men had over fifty animal pelts including: deer, bear, otter, beaver and, of course, one cougar. After selling all the pelts in Philadelphia, Daniel and Henry had over five hundred dollars, which was about a year’s wages for the average person in those days. “We have five hundred Daniel, we’re rich!” “Do you know what the only thing that much money is good for? Spending!” So, they went through all the great city eating all the best food and staying in the best hotels and eating the best food. During this trip Daniel made a saying, “All a man needs is a good gun, a good horse and a good family.” Which he had all three. When they had spent all the money they went back to the Boone home, after being gone just over a month, they were welcomed back into farm life.

Daniel eventually realized that his ‘good gun, good horse, and good family’ meant more than one’s own father and mother, it meant having a wife and children of his own. There was a young woman in the valley named Rebecca that had told her brothers to invite Daniel to the party that they were having at their house, and invite him they did. At the party there were many young men and boys, who all wanted to dance with Rebecca but, she only wanted one, Daniel Boone. Daniel was standing over in the corner out of the way, content to let the party go on without him. But Rebecca, who would not let him sit out the whole time, came over and stared talking to him. After a few minutes Daniel asked, “You wanna see a trick?” Rebecca said she did. He whipped out his knife and threw it up in the air, intending to catch it, but being nervous his aim was off and the knife went fling threw the air and cut a long gash straight through her dress. Daniel took one look at the dress and was over the fence and gone. However, Rebecca was not mad at all. The two soon got married at the same time as two of Daniel’s cousins and two of Rebecca’s cousins.

After a while Daniel was called to go to the west, so he and another man named John Findley went to Kentucky to hunt and trap the many buffalo and beaver living there. After almost a year of stockpiling pelts, the men where almost ready to head home but a group of Indians stole all of the valuable pelts. Many times this happened over Daniel’s next few expeditions. Every time it happened Daniel remained calm, once he even shared a meal and a pipe with the Indians, but they still took all the pelts he had.

Daniel Boone is my favorite trapper of all time because he always persevered. He was always hunting or trapping if there were woods around him. Every time he met with the Native Americans he was respectful and civil. He helped his sons and others get into trapping by showing them how happy he was to trap and hunt. He helped settle Kentucky by being the leader in the building of a fort. He helped get his sons and others into take part in the great harvest that God created by trapping.

Daniel Boone died at the age of eighty-five years old. He was buried next to his wife who had died seven years earlier at his daughter’s home about two miles from present day Marthasville, Missouri. Years later men dug up their remains and moved them to New Cemetery, Frankfort, Kentucky in honor of Daniel being one of the first white men to go to Kentucky. There has been some debate over whether the remains moved were actually the Boone’s but, most think they were. My favorite trapper was Daniel Boone, he was one of the country’s greatest hunters and frontiersmen but most importantly the greatest trapper.

Matthew Duliba
Age 7

My favorite trapper of all time is my brother Robert. He traps fox,
raccoons, coyotes, mink, muskrats, beaver, and opossum. I like Robert
because he is very smart when it comes to trapping. Robert traps day
and night and catches big animals. He uses jelly and dog food as bait
for raccoons. One time Robert caught six raccoons on Christmas day.
One of them was his biggest one ever! Robert uses coil spring traps.
He uses deer meat and beaver meat for fox and coyotes, carrots and
apples for muskrats, fish for mink, and opossums eat everything. I
like Robert because he is one of the best trappers in the family. I
have even checked traps with him. One time eight days after Christmas
he caught a red fox. He brought two of my older brothers and I to see
it. I have never seen a fox so close. It’s like seeing a bear from
far away, it was awesome. I just like Robert because he has a lot of
trapping skills and shares them with me.

Well, that's it for tonight! The contest is now closed for 2022! Thank you to all who entered!
We will announce the winners tomorrow morning! Good luck!

Joe Goodman

Our apologies, but due to internet issues at our place, we will not be able to post the winners of the Kids Contest until hopefully later this evening! I appreciate your patience and understanding!

Sincerely,
Joe Goodman

And the WINNERS of the Annual Trapperman Kids Art & Writing Contest ARE:

FIRST PLACE, and winner of $100 plus a JoeGoodmanPrints.com prize package:
Mathew Duliba, Age 7 from New York! We loved the colorful red fox drawing you did and the story of your favorite trapper, your brother Robert! Well done, Mathew!

SECOND PLACE, and winner of $75 plus a JoeGoodmanPrints.com prize package:
Emma Pingel, Age 11 from Wisconsin! Your story honoring your favorite trapper and hero, your Dad really touched our hearts! Nice job, Emma!

THIRD PLACE, and winner of $50 plus a JoeGoodmanPrints.com prize package:
Wyatt Sadowski, Age 6 from Ohio! Your very fun and colorful drawing made us all smile! We loved it! Great job, Wyatt!

HONORABLE MENTION, and winner of $25, plus a JoeGoodmanPrints.com prize package:
Ryan Duliba, Age13, from New York! You did such an excellent job on your favorite trapper, Daniel Boone, we decided to add an "Honorable Mention" category! Awesome job, Ryan!

CONGRATULATIONS to the winners! Please have your folks private message me their address and permission to mail you your prizes via USPS. Thanks to all who entered! It was so hard to judge this as each entry was worthy! We always have fun doing this contest, and hope others enjoy it, too! To all the members of the "Trapperman Family", we say, "Merry Christmas!!!"

The Joe Goodman Family
Joe, Julie & Carly

Very nice drawings and writings! Lots of talented kids in the trapping family!