Mentors and Friends
- Peter Maggenti
- Mar 21
- 4 min read
This past weekend I traveled over Donner Pass thru blowing snow to get to Reno for the Nevada Premier Sportsman’s Show. I wasn’t going to miss this event for almost any reason. The reason you ask? Larry Weishuhn, Mr. Whitetail to some, was one of the guest speakers at the event. Now I have never even hunted Whitetail Deer let alone shot one, so why you ask would I brave a severe winter storm over the pass to see Mr. Whitetail? Larry and I go back a long time, back to the 1990’s! Which to me seems like just a few years back, but to many, a lifetime ago.
Larry was one of the featured speakers on the NRAs Great American Hunters Tour in 1994 and 1995. In 1994 I was wrapping up college at Sacramento State University working on a major in Environmental Studies with a Minor in Recreation Management, when an opportunity presented itself to me. Michael DeChambeau, one of my most influential mentors growing up, was a partner in an Outdoor Marketing Company and was to be the Tour Manager for the NRA GAHT. He asked if I would be interested in being his Assistant Tour Manager. I was excited beyond belief and convinced one of my professors to let me turn it into an Internship for my Recreation Management Minor.
My first official duty was to go with the rest of the group to the Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade Show and work on getting more sponsorships. While there, we met with most of the speakers that would be on tour, and few other ‘hunting celebrities’ who were unable to make the tours. Larry Weishuhn was one of the people I got to meet on that trip. Little did I know how much of an influence he would have on me at that time, and what a treasured friend he would become.
That first year, Michael and I drove in the box truck while the speakers drove in separate vehicles. We all stayed at the same hotels and often had dinners or breakfasts together. I truly came to appreciate what the meaning of a True Southern Gentleman was by being around Larry. He was witty, funny and extremely knowledgeable about more than just White tailed deer. He was always eager to meet new people, listen to the them and share his knowledge no matter their age or background. He was genuinely one of the best people I had ever met.
Some months earlier I had written what was to become my first published article in a real magazine, but I wasn’t sure it was good enough. I finally worked up the courage to ask Larry if he would read it and let me know what he thought of it. He said “of course, I would be honored to read it!” There was no real e-mail back in those days, so I had my mother send it to our next hotel in advance thru Federal Express. The envelope was waiting for us when we arrived in Boise Idaho. With nervous hands I gave it to Larry and he said he would read it that night and let me know what he thought. I told him to make any corrections he felt would help.
The next morning we met for breakfast and he said he had started to write down some comments, but thought it would be easier to type them up. He handed me back my copy of the story, and a typed out copy he had done that night with corrections in it! I was extremely touched that he would take the time to do that for me. The article “Three Points to take Home” was published later that year in California Hunter Magazine. So in short, Larry helped give me the push to be serious at writing, and here we are some 30 plus years later and I am still writing. I have not been nearly as prolific as Larry, although I doubt few have been. But it was a genuine kindness I will never forget the rest of my life.
The next year, I was Tour Manager for the Midwest NRA GHAT while Michael was managing the East Coast, and Larry was one of my main speakers again. Michael and I came together to run a West Coast Tour and a Texas Tour, and Larry was along with me again. Between the Sacramento Show and the Visalia shows, my parents go the pleasure to drive Larry, Paul Newsom and Jim Zumbo. Listening to their stories was a highlight of my fathers life and he talked about them often and how much fun it was to get to spend time with these great men of the outdoors.
I haven’t seen Larry in person since the tours nearly 30 years ago, although we keep in touch
thru Facebook, often commenting on each others posts. That has managed to keep our friendship alive. So when I heard that Larry was going to be just three hours away, not much was going to stop me from visiting with one of my most influential mentors and dear friends. The bonus for me was that Michael drove down from Oregon and the three of us got to spend some time together again, catching up on our lives and sharing stories from our ‘Tour’ days. It was a weekend I will treasure, and I hope it isn’t 30 years before we get together again!
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