My Hunting Heroes By Glenn Bates I grew up hearing stories about my father and two uncles hunting together and alone. Some were about deer hunts in Somerset County, when there were few deer in our home county of Greene. Some were stories of bowhunting - long before it was the mainstream - or of small-game hunts. Others were about where they stayed and the people they encountered during their travels, or practical jokes played on each other. To a young boy, all of this was intriguing. I knew hunting was something for me. Since those early days, I have had many great hunting adventures. But very few of them were with the three men who were my guiding lights. > > > Glenn Bates was my father. He grew up during the Great Depression and, to him, hunting had been a way to eat. Later it became a sport. A World War II veteran, Dad appreciated a fine firearm. But he owned only two guns - an old H&R 22-caliber pistol and an old bolt-action 16-gauge shotgun. By the time I was old enough to go hunting, Dad had heart problems. He stopped hunting. The good news for me was he still was there to show me the way. When I was 10, I got a Daisy BB gun You never forget those who influence you the most. 38