The Huron Gun Collectors

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My father has a lifetime membership in this club, and I came here with him as a young girl. In fact, there are lots of kids here today with their dads. The old dealers tease them a bit, asking, "Are you staying out of trouble?" They nod and smile. Most of these dealers are older folks — farmers and hunters. Except the National Rifle Association instructor — he's my age, and is a retired police officer and Drug Enforcement Agency agent. He eyes me warily for a minute till I reassure him with my my-dad's-a-lifetime-member speech. He gives me handfuls of pamphlets about gun safety and Michigan laws, and two magazines — one entitled Woman's Outlook — celebrating firearms freedom and outdoor lifestyle.

In addition to shotguns and handguns, I find holsters, skinning knives (some with gorgeous bone handles), ammunition, powder horns (made from real horns), books, handmade wooden birdhouses and toy boxes, and a wide range of hunting supplies that don't cost $20,000. I'd really love a Sydney oilskin slicker — a long weatherproofed coat designed for horseback riding in nasty weather. It has a cape across the shoulders and is split down the back. It's fifty bucks, though, which is more than I can afford. I'd wear it too, despite being a country girl transplanted to the city. With no horse. Or gun.

The next Huron Gun Collectors show is at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds Saturday and Sunday, December 8 and 9.