Since 1991, members of the Krull family of Harvard have been involved with Clay County’s 4-H Shooting Sports, and are passing the tradition down to upcoming generations.
It started with horses— Brunell and Debbie Krull’s kids, Jackie and Dan, worked with horses in 4-H, and shortly after began in shooting sports.
The Krulls have a long history of showing in 4-H, everything from horses to foods.
“We’ve been so involved with 4-H over the years— with the horse show, parking cars at Old Trusty as a club, and participating in the trail rides,” Brunell and Debbie explained.
When it came to their horses, the kids learned responsibility and discipline early.
“They had to take care of the horses,” Burnell said. “They grew up working with the same horses over the years.”
Back when shooting sports started, each club had their own shooting sport, practicing at home outside, and then signing up to compete at the fair between the sheep and horse barns.
The Marksmen Club, started by Chuck Burr about 40 years ago, is what shooting sports became, and the Krull family has been along for the ride almost since that start.
Burnell has been a certified leader for 35 years, and although she’s not a certified leader, Debbie has volunteered with shooting sports for 33 years, and has served on the 4-H Council and was a project leader.
Dan got his certification 11 years ago, while his wife, Dawn, earned hers 10 years ago.
Their dedication and constant support of shooting sports has been passed down to the current generation of Krulls—Dan and Dawn’s daughter, Milayna, is in her third year of competing.
Their son, Johnny, isn’t quite old enough to compete; kids must be 8 years old by Jan. 1. Their run in shooting sports ends by the time they are 18 by Jan. 1.
So what’s kept them involved for so long?
Simply put: they enjoy it. “It’s fun and we’ve got kids who want to learn,” they said.
“I enjoy seeing the kids and it’s nice to see how good they can shoot,” Dan added.
Now in her third year, Milayna agreed that shooting sports is fun and overall enjoys participating in 4-H. Over the years, she’s also entered the rabbit show, cooking, and clothes.
Along with many other things in 4-H, things have changed a lot in shooting sports.
“It’s amazing how much more its changed,” Burnell said.
Back then, maybe 20-30 kids participated— this year alone there’s 104 kids involved, most of which are competing in BB Gun and Archery.
They also don’t compete at the fair anymore, mostly for safety reasons, and many instructors are farmers, which limits their availability.
Each year, kids practice for five weeks and then compete during the sixth week.
Kids compete as Juniors (ages 8-11), Intermediates (ages 12-13), and Seniors (ages 14+).
During practice, the leaders work with them on how to hold the gun or bow, sight in, holding their breath properly, and then they start shooting.
“You’d be surprised how they become amazing shooters,” Burnell said.
Kids come from all over, too, not just Clay County. In the past, students have traveled from McCool Junction, Superior, and Lawrence.
They use three different targets to shoot at in the prone, sitting, and standing stances, and just with BB’s alone, go through about 5,000 every week during practice.
BB guns and bows are furnished for all the kids, but some kids will buy their own archery bows as they progress.
The Krull clan agreed that through it all, the 4-H Council and fair board have been great supporters.
“It’s a group making this work and people have been good to bring their kids here to be taught and learn safety of gun and archery handling.”
Shooting Sports Leaders this year include Katie Bower, Laurie Jarzynka, Ryan Ochsner, Wayne Peshek, Perry Ridgway, Lyle Skalka Paige Wolf, David Woods, Eric Cox, Rex Kreutzer, Burnell Krull, Dan Krull, Dawn Krull, Rod Smith, Tex Wagner, Deanna Peshek, and Whitney Winter.
Kids can compete in BB gun, air rifle—they have to have their hunter safety in order to compete in this—and archery.
Most of the kids participating in shooting sports compete in archery.
Showing at fairs has been a long standing tradition in the Krull family. Here, a collection of fair ribbons shows the changes over the years, with the oldest going back to 1906. Shows include the NE State Poultry Association, NE State Poultry Show, NE State Fair, United Fanciers Exposition, Kansas State Fair, Missouri State Poultry Show, National Black Langshan Club of America, and Trans-Mississippi Poultry and Pet Stock.
A photo of young Dan shows C. Dean Johnson, left, examining Tiger the turtle, owned by Dan, during the rainbow classic at the fair.
