Dinner features unique menu

Wild turkey, moose stew, wild boar and sauerkraut, and venison meatloaf were part of an exclusive cuisine at the Clark Fork Baptist Church last week.

They were all part of the specialties offered at the annual event Friday evening, when over 60 men and boys gathered for the Wild Game Dinner, hosted by Pastor Kim Earhart and his wife, Denise. Visitors also had the opportunity to try Hungarian partridge, elk roast and gravy, wild turkey queso, pepperoni deer, and barbecue pulled cougar - "the other white meat," but there were also a few traditional items, like rolls, potato salad and cowboy beans.

"We had a great time and this might be our biggest crowd," said Kim Earhart, who has held the Wild Game Dinner for several years. He puts on the event for the fellowship, hunting and fishing stories, and for a spiritual inspiration. It included a discussion on finding elk during hunting season. Earhart gave tips on finding the sometimes elusive critters, including a "1-800 Call Elk" sign, which he demonstrated. It resulted in an answered bull elk, which seemed to bugle from another room in the church, although that might have been Earhart's longtime hunting partner, Zach Butcher. Other hunting stories surfaced, mostly true, according to one person in the audience, and several took time to poke fun at Earhart.

They also gave away more than 35 prizes from elk calls to a large high back camping chair. Casey Holley made "monster buck" metal bow holders and donated them to the Wild Game Dinner event. They had an assortment of prizes, such as fishing poles, hats, hunting vests, and custom made knives donated by Travis Ward of the Montana Knife Company from Frenchtown. The audience also voted on the best dishes. Fourth place went to Austin Turner of Plains for his turkey queso. Denise Earhart took third with her elk roast. Second place went to the Plains resident Tom Evans for his BBQ cougar. The top dish belonged to Red Lodge resident Russell Pruitt's turkey nuggets.

New this year was an archery contest outside next to the church. Twenty-three people tested their skill with a recurve bow set at 40 pounds with a single shot at a target 15 yards away. Most hit the paper target of a wolf's face. Only two missed the entire board and struck the church building. For most, it was their first time to shoot a recurve bow, though nearly all had shot a compound bow. Ward was the winner, hitting about two inches from the center and winning the bow. The next closest hit was Butcher at around four inches from the center, netting him a bag target.

The event also included the traditional sermon, this year by Pastor Jeff Copes of the Wahoo Baptist Church of Lumpkin County, Oklahoma. The 61-year-old Copes talked about what Jesus said of his crucifixion in the Gospel of John, quoting Jesus, "It is finished," giving people the pathway to Heaven. "If you reject Jesus, God will reject you someday," said Copes, who is also the vice president of the Heartland Baptist Bible College in Oklahoma.

Earhart said the event went well and he received positive feedback. "Overall the food, the fellowship, the fun, the attitude and spirit were awesome," said Earhart, who added he plans to hold the event again next year.

"I was very impressed with the dinner," said Johnson, who attended last year. "Aside from the amazing variety of wild game and engaging hunting stories, I was really moved by the message given at the end of the night. I am already anticipating next year's dinner."