Shelby, Indiana April 22-23, 2023

[Captain America]

We had an absolutely fantastic Appleseed event over Patriots weekend in Shelby, Indiana. The weather here was similar, if not cooler than it was in Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. The highs  both days were in the mid to upper 30s, with cloudy skies, strong winds, and frequent periods of sleet, snow pellets, and rain.  It was not a weekend for sunshine patriots for sure, but our students rose to the challenge! It was such a pleasure to get to know all of you!

Our friend, Terry, a repeat rifleman from over in Illinois, came over again and showed again us that he knows very well what he is about. Lilah, also, from Illinois, eventually finished the weekend with a rifleman's score in the mid 220's, although for her first rifleman's score (fortunately for us) was exactly 210! This led to an Appleseed first for us - a discussion of "religious" practices of our time honored tradition of being baptized by the waters from under the North Bridge! In this case, we didn't want to "immerse" the poor gal with five gallon buckets outside when it was 35 degrees, and we actually had (Compliments of our Ohio friends who had taken a road trip to battle road and had brought home large quantities of ACTUAL WATER FROM UNDER THE ACTUAL NORTH BRIDGE)  a 16 Oz bottle of water from under the bridge! So we chose to sparingly sprinkle in a very meaningful ceremony!

Chloe, a young lady who drove from Michigan, was on her second Appleseed weekend and sported an impressive score of 203, knocking on the door of Rifleman! She was last spotted discussing her return to get the patch and an orange hat!  Our Instructor Pepper Spray claims to have already picked out a forum name for her!

Collin, from closer in Indiana, came to his first event and ended up in the mid 220's with iron sights! Collin, thanks for showing us that you also know very well what you are about!

Finally, our good friend Chuck, prior to the weekend had donated two 10/22 stocks to us to use as demo/laser rifles. He came and brought both of his two young daughters. They were truly a delight to be around and really brought joy to everyone on the line. Chuck came hauntingly close with a 209, and already I'm selfishly hoping to see him and his family at many more events to come!

It seems like every weekend I spend with fellow Appleseeders - both students and instructors- I feel like I've been honored to spend time with the the most dedicated Americans there are. This weekend was no different. It was truly my honor to spend it with you, and we are honored that you trusted us with your weekend! Please keep in touch and come see us again! Pictures and comments are welcome!

[Paladin223]

This was indeed a great Appleseed weekend.  The weather did provide a little additional challenge. Besides respiratory pause, one had to fire between shivers. Just a situation to persist through.

Would like to thank Captain and the rest of the crew for a tremendous weekend of instruction and history of this country's founding.  And thanks to Beth and Ray and the Izaak Walton League- Diana Chapter for their support for this great program.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to meet everyone, but on the left side of the line I would like to compliment Ana for the progress she made throughout the weekend.  Also, a special congratulation to Lilah for her multiple Rifleman scores with a rifle she had never used before.  A special salute to Collin for his earning the Rifleman patch multiple times with iron sights at his first AS. Gave me challenge to try iron sights again with these very old eyes.

Hope to see you all again in the future.