Another great story on the rich history that is a Pennsylvania deer camp. We don't see too many big drives any more. The camp crews are smaller. Several factors come into play. Sadly, less guys are in the woods, and more of them choose to hunt closer to home and work. The first day of deer season used to be what amounted to an unofficial state holiday. Schools closed, factories experience very high absenteeism, or just closed up, as everyone marched into Penn's Woods for "the opener."
Nowadays, a ten man drive is a pretty big deal. Old traditions die very hard though, and for years to come, when the early November winds swing around and come out of the north, a stirring in men's souls will send them down to the man cave to sort through a mountain of gear, and prepare for the annual pilgrimage that is deer camp. A huge Thanksgiving dinner, a peck on the cheek from a doting wife, and it's off to the woods to renew the great tradition that is a Pennsylvania deer season.
