Off the Editor’s Desk 7-10-24

Not close to a state record!

I caught this 26-inch Northern on Lake Hayward July 4th while fishing with a couple of my grandchildren, Ross and Sara. It took my spoon on my first cast with the following two hundred casts providing nothing.

So what is the state record for Northern Pike, turning to my trusty Firefox information center, which showed that a 45.5-inch Northern that weighed in at 38 pounds, was caught in Green Lake.

So then I wondered about the big Muskellunge, and that came out of the Chippewa Flowage in Sawyer County and weighed in at 69 pounds and 63.5 inches. So enjoy these great summer days on the water.

Every so often, I find myself in the Tribune Library looking for some information and this was the case last week one day as I traveled to the library to look at some issues from 1916. I was looking for the names of the players of the Glenwood City High School basketball team from that year. I was not able to find what I was looking for. But I noticed another item that caught my eye and I am reprinting that item with the heading, “Boys will be Boys,” published on April 29, 1916.

“The Tribune was informed that four Glenwood City young men, all minors, were out on one of the creeks last Friday night (the opening of the trout fishing season) with a small keg of beer, the contents of which went down their several alimentary canals, in short order.

“The question naturally arises …where did they get it? There is a law against the sale of liquor to minors, and every saloon license is granted strictly on the condition that this law be complied with. The saloonkeeper who sells liquor of any quantity, to a young man under the age should be put out of business instantly.”

It was reported in the next issue that the beer was bought in Downing.

So how bad is drinking today among minors? So I went to my computer again and found some very interesting figures. 

According to a report by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) 13.2 million people ages 12 to 20 (34% in this age group) reported that they have had a lease one drink in their lives.

The report also noted that of those in that age group, 3.2 million people reported binge drinking in the past month. That is consuming five or more drinks in a single session.

From the Center for Disease Control, they reported some time ago in a survey that four out of ten had drunk some beer, wine or spirits before they were 21, and one of those four people had driven after drinking alcohol.

Also, one out of four had engaged in binge drinking and just as many, approximately one out of four, had ridden in a vehicle with a drunk driver.

The CDC reports that alcohol is the most common drug that young people use in the United States and young people who drink alcohol are more likely to engage in risky behaviors that can lead to injuries and other health conditions.

So, stay alive and don’t drink. The CDC reports that about 4,000 young people, under 21, die from excessive alcohol use each year.

Thanks for reading!     ~Carlton