The Start Of The Handy Camp
The idea for The Handy Camp started about twenty five years ago when some of my friends and I were going deer hunting. While we were getting our gear together a couple of my other friends came to the house. Mike and Doug were both confined to wheelchairs. Mike was paralyzed from the waist down due to a car accident when he was five. Doug was born with spinal problems that confined him to a wheelchair all his life. Neither one would ever say that they would like to go hunting or fishing with us, but you could see it in their eyes while we would be getting ready or when we would be talking about our trip.
As we were driving to our hunting area we got into a conversation about Mike and Doug Maybe we could try and get them into the woods or to the lake. A week later we returned from our trip and were in the garage when who should be the first ones to come see how we did? Mike and Doug. After getting every thing unloaded we were talking about what a time we had and some of the funny stories that happened during our stay in the woods. With every story you could see Mike and Doug fill with excitement. Then the time came to tell them that we would be going again, and would they like to go along? They couldn't believe that we asked them to go and if need be I think they would have been ready in about two minutes.
Over the next couple of days we thought about what equipment and supplies we would be needing, and how to handle some of the problems we might have. Finally the day came and it was time to go. Everybody got their stuff together and we were on our way. We needed to take another car to fit every thing, but that was no big deal.
Once we got to our camp site is when all the problems started. More area needed to be cleared for the chairs, and getting them in and out of the tents was quite the trick, then came the problem of having to go to the bathroom, something you don't think about when you're at home. Then came time to go out hunting, and more problems. How do we get them to the good hunting areas in these chairs?
After a long battle, creating new swear words, we gave up on the chairs and just carried them to a close spot and hoped for a deer to walk by. After several hours of waiting, and with darkness coming, it was time to repeat the process all over again to get back to camp. There were a couple of times that it was suggested that we just leave them and pick them up before we head for home. They knew we were just kidding, I hoped. Things were a little quiet around the fire that night. We were exhausted and I think that Mike and Doug thought they were just a burden on all of us.
The next day we thought we would try the lake and some fishing. This was a little easier on all of usl and we had a good time. The hunting season came to an end and after getting home it was nice to see the smiles on everyone's faces when we pulled into the driveway. It was about two or three weeks later when Mike and Doug approached me and thanked me for putting up with them and all that I had tried to do for them. I told them that they had better be ready to go next year and to start coming up with some better ideas on how we can move them around in the woods. They just laughed and thought I was crazy.
The following year came and it was time to get ready to go. Some of the people that always went decided not to go when they found out that I had asked Mike and Doug to go again. They made remarks like they didn't want to waste their hunting time moving them around,or having to cater to them. I told these people to go on their own and we would go our own way. So it just ended up being five of us. Mike and Doug said that they didn't have to go, but we decided that the others could go to hell and that the five of us would do just fine. Besides that, I had a plan.
The day came and it was time to pack up and head for the woods. We all had our gear packed when I threw the wheel barrel on the back of my truck. Every one wanted to know what I was doing with that and I told them that this how we were going to get Mike and Doug around in the woods. Once again every one thought I was crazy until we got to where we were going to set up camp and the next day. We put Mike in the wheel barrel, loaded the gear on top of him including a lawn chair. We hitched a deer drag to the front of our rig and off to the woods we went. Mark was pulling and I was holding the back of the wheel barrel up and pushing, and it worked like a dream. It wasn't perfect, and we dumped Mike a few times, but we would laugh it off, load him back up and away we would go.
Once we got to the spot I left Mark and Mike to get set up while I headed back for Chuck and Doug. After getting Doug to his area I stayed with him while Chuck moved farther down from us. We could not have been sitting there twenty minutes when a nice little six point buck came walking right toward us. For all the noise we were making I didn't think we would see a deer for days. I told Doug there was a deer coming and to be quiet and get his gun ready. The deer came up to about eighty yards from us and stood perfect for the shot. I said ," shoot him" and heard nothing. I looked over at Doug and he was just shaking like a leaf. I said again " shoot him " And Doug said, " I can't find him in the scope, the gun won't stop shaking...", and just that fast the gun went off. About forty five minutes later I found Doug's deer.
What a day that turned out to be, we couldn't shut him up. As for Mike, he never did get his deer but he said he sure had one hell of a good time. The five of us had a great meal that night sitting around the fire listening to Doug relive his story over and over again. Later that night after we had a few beers in us I was sitting on the back of my truck feeling pretty good about myself. Out of the blue I said , " you know, some day I'm gonna have a place where I won't have to carry your fat ass's around any more. You'll just be able to come stay with me and go hunting and fishing at your convenience. I think I'll call it, The Handy Camp".
I'd like to say that this all happened and every thing went well, but unfortunately our hunting trips only lasted for a few more years. Mike was killed in a car crash. Later that same year Doug shot himself after his girl friend left him for another man. I never forgot my dream of starting The Handy Camp, but being a young man I had other things to do with my life then start a non profit organization. I made some half hearted attempts like writing Ross Perot asking him for money with no response. I contacted people to see if they would donate the land for The Handy Camp with no success. I went as far as to contact Anheuser/ Busch To see if they would be interested in my program. I actually talked with a gentleman who told me that he would love to help out but because I was not a 501 (c) 3 program there was nothing he could do. He also told me that he had a son who was in a wheelchair and that should I ever become a 501 (c) 3 non profit organization that I and my program would want for nothing.
So here I am twenty four years later. I have become a 501(c)3 non profit organization known as The Handy Camp. I have obtained my federal tax exempt status, and have become incorporated. I have my attorneys working on becoming Pennsylvania state tax exempt. I have a web site being designed and have Clarion University working on my business plan. I have several companies interested in possibly sponsoring my program. I am negotiating to purchase the large parcel of property that will be needed. I have started asking for funding to help with the purchase of the property and the cost of my program. I am hoping that people, companies, other foundations, the state of Pennsylvania, and the United States Government find this program to be one that will provide nothing but good for the people who need it.
I would like to add that I will never forget my friends that brought this dream into reality. Unfortunately just a little bit to late.
Sincerely,
Brian DeGuire, President
The Handy Camp Inc.
.jpg)