Superior Outdoor School marks its 57th year

The Savenac Nursery in Haugan has a tremendous history and welcomes visitors, but this year it’s closed.

A state-of-the-art wastewater system is being installed which will interrupt the entire facility. It cancels the kid’s fishing derby and Passport in Time public events along with weddings and family gatherings.

But what did make it by the skin of its teeth was the Superior Outdoor School for its 57th year. This program has the sixth-grade class from Superior Elementary School staying there for a week in what has become tradition and for some students, the best doggone time they’ve spent in school.

Dawn Bauer is the administrative assistant for the elementary school and said, “I went to this when I was a kid. My kids went when they were in 6th grade and they now have kids old enough so 3 generations.” 

Bauer has attended as a SOS counselor for 17 or 18 years. Roni Phillips is a para-professional at the school and has been helping Bauer, along with her other duties as Kitchen Manager, for about the same amount of time. 

“The curriculum hasn’t really changed,” Phillips said. “We have tried to keep it pure to the outdoor education and lifestyle we have living here. But the kids have changed.” 

Bauer said, “A huge change we’ve seen,” as she looks at Phillips, “is that so many of these kids have never held a fly rod before. Some of them are camping this week for the first time.” 

The culture and lifestyle of living in Mineral County is not the same as it was when the veterans who run the program today grew up living here. 

“We grew up hunting and fishing, camping, hiking, getting firewood and that’s not as common today, is what I think,” Bauer shared. “Each year now, some become restless because they don’t have their video games and iPad’s and some have wanted to go home.” 

Trying to find the words, Bradley Smith, who teaches fifth grade at Superior said, “The change, I think we face, is now it’s more of explicit teaching because a lot of them don’t know anything about this lifestyle when back when I was a student, we knew about forests and vegetation. It seems like we all fished and had a grasp on hiking and camping, building campfires. Our families were more connected as far as outdoor recreation goes where we are seeing kids that could easily have come from big cities.  Their first time camping. Their first time away from their parents.” 

Smith grew up in Superior and then taught school in Hawaii for a few years and is now teaching at his alma mater completing his sixth year home. 

Sixth-grade student Brently Simkins said this was a cool class. He’s one who has been camping and fishing with his family but he said what he discovered and found very interesting are the different species of trees we have here.

The dorm has three levels: One for the boys, one for the girls and counselors and staff sleep on each floor or in the basement and the showers and bathrooms were rotated on a timed basis. Bauer shared that the classroom used at Savenac was the Packing Shed which is where all of the trees were grown, and then packaged, refrigerated and then shipped all over the United Staes after the 1910 fire, or the Great Burn, as it’s known today.

On Wednesday afternoon, four members of the Wild Horse Plains Back Country Horsemen drove over with stock and tack for a demonstration that would have made kids from New York City faint.  Dave Crawford and his wife Laurie live in Ronan have been packers for 40 years and involved with the Back Country Horsemen for at least that long, but this is their second year instructing at SOS.  If the class subject had a title, it would have been, "How to build a manties load and put it on a mule or horse so that they can go down the trail without having a wreck," Dave chuckled. 

He explained that taking into consideration the size of the load, the weight and critical balancing act on a pack saddle is the goal but it’s 40 years of experience that makes the system work.

Kelsie Blevins lives in Charlo and is president of the Wild Horse Plains BCH Chapter. She’s been around horses her entire life and attended a BCH Poker Ride one year and was roped into attending meetings where she was voluntold to be vice president, and then Laurie Crawford nominated her to be president. John Errecart is originally from Wyoming and did some packing with the USFS but like Kelsie, grew up around stock and has a special attachment to the big critters. He brought one horse and two mules with them and they were the stars of the afternoon.

Dave said, “The younger I can get ahold of them, the better I like it because if they are interested on what we’re going to show them today, is going to spark a fire.” 

He went onto to say, “It’s no different than any other outdoor recreation. It’s very expensive.” 

Blevins agreed as they all laughed at what they had when each started this crazy-fun sport-recreation and how much everything costs today, starting with hay that can cost upwards of $350.00 a ton.

 A quick summation of the Back County Horsemen from Dave was, “To keep trails open for everybody. To perpetuate common sense use and livestock in the back country.”

The itinerary for the week was a spiral notebook each student was issued and it indicated the days were busy, but fun with rise and shine at 8 a.m. and lights out at 10 p.m. KP (Kitchen Police) Duty was shared after each homemade meal three times a day and classes included fishing, archery, journaling, wilderness survival, astronomy, wildlife management, forest and wildland fire, smoke jumping, Indigenous games and water safety with guest speakers for each subject. Thursday was spent in the Wallace, Idaho area touring mines, walking the Pulaski Trail, visiting the Railroad and Mining Museums and the Mullan fish hatchery. Flag ceremonies were held in the morning and evening with plenty of time for campfires, storytelling and games.

Bauer and Phillips immediately start tweaking and organizing next year’s SOS which operates like a well-oiled machine, but nuances do take precedent.

    The chow hall served three meals each day to the students who divvied up the KP duties. Roni Phillips was the Kitchen Manager, but staff and counselors were all helpful peppering and serving the food. (Monte Turner/Mineral Independent)
  

    Students had free time to play games, visit amongst themselves and just enjoy the grounds of Savenac Nursery which has vegetation description throughout the grounds. (Monte Turner/Mineral Independent)
  

    John Errecart explains the proper way to install a Decker pack saddle onto Bullet and the sequence it must be done. From the pad placement to the tension of the latigo, everything needs to be done with care for safety on the trail and comfort for the critter. (Monte Turner/Mineral Independent)
  

    Dave Crawford has been packing over 40 years, and his manties are almost a work of art. But he explains that the weight and balance is too important to rush through so packing must be done with care. (Monte Turner/Mineral Independent)