I live near Lebanon Illinois which is close to Highland Illinois. They had a very well know Schuetzen club there back in the day. German farming community. Rural area but near St. Louis Mo. There were a lot of wealthy farmers back then as well as poor ones. As far as the time involved, they had no radio, TV, or internet. They all had at least some leisure time. Shooting was a sport that most could enjoy in some manner. Every farm had guns for hunting and informal shooting. Turkey shoots go way back.  They raced horses before cars came along. Then they raced Model T's. You did not need an Indy car to race and you did not necessarily need a high dollar target rifle to compete and have fun. The sport died because the times changed. Glad it has came back. Most things do sooner or later. It was hard to find good speed equipment for the Y Block in my '57 T-Bird back in the late '60s. There are great parts available now. Life is good.

I would also add that proibition was a major factor. Most Schuetzen Parks served a lot of beer. Weddings, Funerals, Birthday parties Holiday gatherings etc were important in bringing in income to the parks from beer sales and rental of space. Another point was that as cities and towns grew the Schuetzen Parks land grew in value and more neighbors were impacted by the activities including the shooting. 
Many factors came together that made it hard for the Schuetzen Parks to survive with out a place to shoot it was hard for the clubs to survive. 
Cheers,
Laurie

Hi Webb !!!

Great Photo's. !!!    As I study them I must conclude these Gent's can really hold their Sud's !!!  As far as our Champion, his eye's are clear and focused, not what I would expect to see from one who would need to have this much assistance !!!   Wish I were there !!!

Regard's;  Ed ....

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Me also !   I wonder just how often they get together to do what they do ?  They certainly are well decorated bunch of guys, which makes it a lot easier to know who the best shooters are.   

They must send their suite coats to the dry cleaners every so often, which raises the question; who removes all of the hardware from the coat and then re-installs it when it comes back from the cleaners?

Here is my favorite photo; "chasers" followed up by a pitcher of beer.  I would assume the gent with the broad girth might be the schuetzenmeister and he is making a few words of dedication or good cheer or both.

I like everything about the group.  They are well groomed, well dressed, well decorated, and best of all, they have a smile on their face (or in their eyes).

Their wife's are apparently the "designated drivers" on these occasions.  Ed, you don't think they do this once a week, do you?    

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Dr.Maynard

Here is my favorite photo; "chasers" followed up by a pitcher of beer.

A few "group tighteners", could be Ed's Red/

   Please consider this series of time lapse sequences:

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My opinion is, and I do not know this to be a fact, but apparently the King Shot for 2014 is ritualistically escorted around the premises by two "seconds" after the King Shot medal has been bestowed upon the winner of the match.

Why might that be so?  Well one very cogent reason would be that celebratory  "toasts"  have already occurred prior to the King Shot commencing his one year reign.

Dr.Maynard 

I'm not sure what all the traditions are, but I might join up there. From all the photos, it seems that the odds of winning a cup, medal or target are high, since everybody and the dog seems to get one. Normally I'm not very competitive, but it might be a place even I could get an award. Or at least a good dinner. Where's Brooklyn?  Pat

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