ASHFIELD — One hundred and five years since its founding, the Ashfield Rod & Gun Club is still all about outdoor recreation.
The club will celebrate its 105th anniversary with a rain-or-shine event on Sunday, Aug. 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the clubhouse, located at 161 North St. in Plainfield. The event will feature shooting ranges, presentations by wildlife educators, and a lunch of hot dogs and hamburgers.
“We’re just hoping for good weather and the rest will take care of itself,” said Ashfield Rod & Gun Club President Jack Shea.
According to “The History of Ashfield Vol. II,” the Ashfield Rod & Gun Club held its first meeting, with 23 members, on Oct. 21, 1920, at Sanderson Academy. It was founded to promote hunting and fishing activities, and assist the state in enforcing laws that protect fish and game. The club bought a site in Plainfield in 1924 and additional property that became home to its clubhouse in 1929, the same year it was incorporated.
Shea added that the club is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, as members were unable to celebrate their centennial in 2020 due to the pandemic. The festivities are open to all community members, not just Ashfield Rod & Gun Club members.
“I’m hoping there’s a good turnout,” Shea said. “It’ll be a full day.”
Attendees can peruse the shooting range, a pop-up archery range, a bounce house, a wildlife identification booth and a clay bird shoot. There will also be a free lunch at noon, complete with corn and ice cream, Shea said.
At 11 a.m., Tom Ricardi of Conway’s Birds of Prey Rehabilitation Center will give a presentation, and at 1:45 p.m., club member John Organ will speak about wildlife conservation. Organ is a certified wildlife biologist and former chief of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units who now works as an adjunct associate professor of environmental conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
“We’re really lucky to get John Organ and Tom Ricardi. It should be a great program,” Shea said. “I think it’s pretty special to have John Organ speaking. He’s a club member and has a really inspiring background in wildlife biology and conservation.”
Shea said he recently compiled a list of everything the club has accomplished over the past few years and he is proud to say that, despite membership fluctuations over the past century, it has recently seen growth. In addition to its monthly meetings, the club’s subcommittees (forestry, range, fishing, etc.) have been actively maintaining the property and running workshops and social events for members of all ages.
“There’s more people getting involved. For the last four years, we’ve had a quorum and we haven’t had to cancel a single monthly meeting,” Shea noted. “I feel we’ve got a good core of volunteers now.”
A recent accomplishment that Shea noted he is particularly proud of is the installation of Wi-Fi at the clubhouse.
“We joined the 21st century and put Wi-Fi in the clubhouse,” Shea said. “For 104 years we had no internet service. Now we can reach the outside world and call emergency responders if we need to.”
To commemorate the festivities, Shea has designed a limited edition pin that will be available to buy at the event for $10. There are only 100 pins available. The pins feature a rifle and fishing rod crossed with symbols of a deer, fish, rabbit and waterfowl.
Shea added that the club has a few other upcoming events, including a monthly meeting on Aug. 21, a clam bake on Sept. 21, and a hunting education program on Sept. 27. For more information, contact the club at ashfieldrodgun@gmail.com.
