Mushroom Hunting
With Tom Nauman
Several years ago we traveled to The National Morel Mushroom Hunting Championship at Boyne City, Michigan. We didn't really know what to expect. As we neared Boyne City we started seeing signs that read "Welcome Mushroom Hunters". It was truly unbelievable.
We, like most morel maniacs, were very secretive of our shroom patches. We didn't even share them with each other always. We nicknamed our most productive spots so that we could discuss them in public without giving away their location. A neighbor once greeted our return home with several pounds in hand by asking our then four-year old, "Where did you find those?" You can imagine the laughter when our daughter innocently responded "New York City". She wasn't trying to be deceitful, it's just that that's what we had nicknamed that particular location (because there were so many dead elms we thought it must be the New York City of Mushrooms).
At any rate, we did feel welcome. These people were like us. They understood us. And. best of all, they were inviting us to come and pick their mushrooms. This wasn't Michigan, this was Heaven!
After several years of attending The National and several other festivals in Missouri and Indiana, we started to envision a Championship for Illinois. One idea led to another until December of 1995 when we approached the Magnolia Village Council to ask for permission and help in hosting this event. We wanted to combine the best of the other festivals and yet not compete with them. Because the mushroom season travels north with spring we are able to have festivals on different dates and still be at the peak of the season. We're sure the Magnolia Village Council thought we were nuts (who else would invite hundreds of mushroom hunters to their favorite patch) but they were willing to try it.
The response was overwhelming. We originally had leased the mushroom hunting rights at the site for the entire season. The site contains approximately 90 acres of timber which has been a productive site for morels. We anticipated no more than 400 entrants and thought the site was adequate for that many people given the time limit of 90 minutes. By mid March we had 100 entries with literally dozens arriving daily. Our projections indicated we would have 2000 by May. We then set a maximum number of entrants at 750 and arranged with an adjacent landowner for the use of an additional 60 acres of timber.
May 4 began with a slight sprinkle in Magnolia during registration. The contestants started arriving at 7:00 a.m. Geographically, 60 were from out of state (mostly from neighboring states, but some came from as far away as Arizona, Texas, and Massachusetts). Our oldest entrant was 90 while the youngest honor was shared by two 4 year-olds. One family of nine from Glenview spanned three generations.
At 9:30 a.m. 750 anxious mushroom hunters climbed on to 15 school busses without any idea as to where they were going. The 20 minute ride to the site was truly something to see. The starting siren sounded and the next 90 minutes were like a blur. Someone hollered "here's one" within 30 seconds. Surprisingly, she wasn't mobbed. We were afraid there may be some arguments, but that didn't happen. The only tense moment we had was when officials brought a contestant that had collapsed to the ambulance. He seemed so young to be having health problems. We later discovered that he had partied until 4:00 a.m. and then driven to the hunt. He was exhausted!
John Husar of The Chicago Tribune described the day perfectly on the return to Magnolia when he said, "This is the 33rd different type of sporting event I've covered in 30 years. For all the reputation mushroom hunters have for being deceitful and devious, this was the most congenial crowd I've ever seen. This wasn't a competition - this was a celebration!"
Once back in Magnolia, it took about 30 minutes to count the mushrooms. Phillip Garibaldi of Joliet became the first ever Illinois State Morel Mushroom Hunting Champion with 293. He won $100 and a trophy. Second place went to Mike Hanley of Kickapoo with 223 ($50), and Scott Volk of Hudson was third with 190($25). Trophies were also given to Clem Hartke of Dietrich for finding the largest mushroom and Dawn Jones of Chillicothe for finding the smallest mushroom.
The day then continued with the mushroom auction. We had sent requests to mushroom hunters to bring in any extras in half-pound packages. Much to everyone's amazement, the average price was $36.36! That's $72.00 per pound. Even the firms growing them indoors out-of-season don't get quite that much.
Then Mr. Stan Tekiela, a naturalist and author from Minnesota, held an open discussion and slide show for anyone interested. The children in attendance were entertained by a petting zoo. Several other mushroom experts conducted mushroom tours. They took busses of interested people out to mushroom patches near Magnolia to show them some of the finer points of "shroomin".
We plan to host the Second Annual Illinois State Morel Mushroom Hunting
Championship on Saturday, May 3, 1997. To receive an entry form, send us
your address. The forms will be mailed in mid February.
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Write us at: Morel Mania, R.R. 1 - Box 42, Magnolia, IL 61336 (USA)
Phone: 309-364-3319
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