September 30, 2021
Dear fellow members,
I am very pleased to report that we will have Friday dinners in the clubhouse this fall! We will also have
Saturday breakfasts indoors and box lunches for Saturday outdoor dining, too! As approved by your
Club’s Board of Directors, all indoor activities, namely cocktails, meals, and lodging are limited to COVID19 vaccinated members and guests only. Consistent with current state guidelines, fully vaccinated
individuals may gather maskless indoors.
Here is the full statement of the Board’s approved policy.
Fall Clubhouse use and meals
Based on state guidelines, the latest available information, and a desire to comfortably and safely
participate in Club activities, the Board has opted to offer our traditional Friday evening meals, Saturday
breakfasts and overnight stays, but these sign-ups are limited to COVID-19 vaccinated members and
guests only. Hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities remain open to all regardless of vaccination
status, although we anticipate that everyone will practice due care to avoid exposing themselves or
others to the virus. We will continue to offer our Saturday box lunch option for members and guests to
enjoy a lunch together at lakeside by the clubhouse or at Martin Pond. Obviously, everyone is
responsible for making their own daily health checks and anyone not feeling well should refrain from
any club activities.
Our first Fall dinner will follow our Annual Meeting on Friday, October 15. The plan as of now is to have
our usual 8 Friday evening dinners, prepared by Chef Joel with a rotating menu of delectable
dishes. Stay tuned for a calendar with menu overviews. We will ask that members lock in their dinner
reservations on the website by Wednesday evening to allow time for food purchasing.
Remember. Wednesday is the deadline for Friday dinner reservations. Thursday is the deadline for
Saturday club bird shooting reservations.
News around the Club
You will be pleased by the improved appearance and functionality of the Clubhouse. John Larkin and a
team of volunteers have carried on their tireless and generous multi-year project of breathing new life
into the ancient building at the social heart of the Club. Thanks to all who have pitched in.
Martin Pond is mostly weed-free! We are looking forward to longer casting lanes when the fall stocking
arrives. Rainbows are on order and delivery awaits the arrival of cool nights and cooler water.
Camplot will hunt bigger this year because Andrew Gibson and his son John have spearheaded a multifront team effort to clear encroaching trees and brush and to provide all-weather transit from Camplot
to Thousand Acre. Thanks as always to all who have pitched in.
EHFGC President’s Letter, Fall 2021
The tractor is out of commission with a failed fuel injector pump, the most recent of a cascade of
expensive, time-consuming maintenance problems. We are at the point where repair seems futile and
replacement the only way out. A team of volunteers is searching local dealerships and the web for new
and used alternatives and we hope to have a report and recommendation for acquiring a replacement
tractor very soon. We will keep you informed of any purchases or Board action when they occur.
We are fortunate that Molly was able to finish the most critical mowing before serial tractor failure set
in. The fields are imminently huntable, thanks to her diligence and hard work.
Camplot and the other release areas remain works in progress. You will see evidence of recent brush
pile burns in Camplot. The crop circles around ashy centers are the result of brush hogging not alien
spacecraft. Clearing one level of undesirable plants releases plants in the next layer down. Sometimes
that’s good and other times not so good. Clearing at Camplot has released a new crop of stilt grass, an
invasive annual grass of little value to wildlife that will require pre-emergent herbicidal treatment in the
spring.
We are using herbicides to treat an outbreak of mugwort in one of the wildlife food plots on the back
side of Peck’s Meadow. Mugwort is an invasive, noxious weed of no use to wildlife but capable of
crowding out desirable grassland plants. Aggressive control is the only prudent option.
The financial outlook is good. FY21 ended with an operating surplus. We are projecting another
operating surplus in FY22. Operating surpluses enable the Club to deal effectively with the daily
contingencies of managing a 2500-acre property with five ponds, an antique clubhouse, and a fleet of
equipment of various vintages without touching the capital lines that are so important to improving the
Club’s facilities and properties for the benefit of our members’ enjoyment.
You will soon receive the call for the annual meeting on October 15 from our Secretary Pete Steinle.
Between now and then, you will also receive a detailed report on “capital line” items referenced above
from me. In the meantime, I hope to see you at the tune up at 10am Saturday morning at the Wall
Street Range or at the cookout to follow at our lakeside spot behind the Clubhouse.
Our fall season beckons.
Sincerely yours,
Mike Fotos
Club President
https://ehfg1904.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Fall-Presidents-Letter-30Sept2021.pdf