MERLE MONAHAN/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
merlemonah@aol.com

SEDLEY—Despite bitter cold temperatures, nearly 70 children showed up at the Sedley Hunt Club Saturday for the fourth annual Kid’s Day sponsored by the club.

Dressed in their warmest outside gear – most with stocking caps and hoodies – the 4-to-15-year-olds, starting at 8:30 a.m., waited in line for about an hour to sign up to compete in the hunting events offered by the club.

By 11 a.m., the four competitions, spread out over several acres, had taken place. Some of the kids took trophies in the bow and arrow or BB gun target shoot, while others won for their strength in the deer-tracking and dragging contests. There were 31 winners overall.

“We had a real good turnout,” said founder, Steve Eure. “This year we had kids from as far away as Richmond, Suffolk and Emporia.

“For the most part, though, they are from Southampton County. They usually have relatives in the club.”

Eure said the idea to have the Kids Day stemmed from his desire to have some activity that he could share with his son.

“This is a great way to teach the kids how to handle themselves in a hunting environment, which we think is of the utmost importance.

“For instance, they must know how to handle a gun. And if they kill a deer, they have to get it out of the woods.

“But above all, we stress safety, both for the hunter and his companions.

“The kids love it,” he went on. “You’d be surprised at how good some of them can shoot and that includes girls,” he added with a grin.

Eure said the cost of entering is $20 per first child in a family. All others in the same family are charged just $10.

“We have to do this because there is some expense for the club. All funds left after club expenses are saved to be used the next year,” he said.