A Double-Barrel Shotgun

Back in the spring of 1965 a small boy named Danny wished for a double-barrel shotgun. (I know, you're wondering why the picture of Dad in the lawn chair, but it really is part of the story...) Since Danny's father (aka Dad) enjoyed hunting and fishing, the request fell upon a soft heart. I don't know if toy makers ever considered producing double-barrel shotguns for small boys, but Dad did not need a toy maker for this project, he became one instead.
One day in mid-June, Dad found a piece of wood and fashioned a gun stock. Some pieces of metal became the trigger and the armrest to a worn out lawn chair was cut up, sanded smooth and recycled as the barrels of the gun. Once the stock was finished, Danny was all set to hunt bear in the woods. We were warned as children never to shoot people, only animals. As a seven year old Dan loved his gun and even took it to bed with him on occasion. (Dad wrote about it in his diary.)

One hot night in the middle of July, after hunting with his friends down in the little strip of woods, Danny couldn't sleep. Instead, he tossed and turned. When Mom asked him what was wrong, he told her he had left his gun in the woods. This was in the days when it was still okay to leave your sleeping children safe in their beds and venture outside without them. With flashlights in hand, Mom and Dad set off for the woods in search of the lost gun. Danny had been fairly certain where he left it and, in spite of the darkness, it was soon located and returned to its much relieved owner.

As a child I also loved to play with my brother's gun. It was unlike any other a neighborhood kid might have. I have to be honest and tell you that I don't recall hunting bear with that old gun. We played Cops and Robbers or Cowboys and Indians instead and, uh, I guess we shot people...

(The picture, of course, is Josiah at Mom's house yesterday. I think there may be an old photo of Danny with his gun somewhere, but I haven't got a copy. I'll have to keep my eyes open for one.)