Longstanding tradition: Wasilla High hockey program hosts 35th annual Gun and Outdoor Show

WASILLA— For two days, the inside of Wasilla School bustled with activity during the 35th annual Gun and Outdoor Show. This longstanding tradition serves as a fundraiser for the school’s hockey team.

This event featured an eccentric section of wares from across the Mat-Su Valley, even pulling in vendors from around the state. Options ranged from ninja throwing stars and steel katana swords to semi-automatic rifles and embroidered handguns.

On the first day of the show, Jan. 19, Michelle Sturgeon helped man a booth near the main entrance, representing North Fork Supply. Her children, niece and nephew are all in the hockey program. Sitting behind a table adorned with shiny firearms, she grinned and said it was a, “great day to be an American.”

“It’s cool being a vendor at a gun show. It’s even cooler being a vendor at a gun show when you’re doing it for your kids,” Sturgeon said.

Sturgeon said that she saw all of her 4-H kids running around the show. She said that being able to help a generation of children grow up with valuable skills was very rewarding.

“It’s our most valuable resource. I’ve got to back it,” Sturgeon said.

Robert “Bear” Kelsey has done leatherwork for more than 50 years. He said everyone calls him Bear, which is actually short for Running Two Bears. He said he acquired the name in Troy, Montana, during a ceremony with his Native American friends. He said that he became blood brothers with one of his Apache friends during one of the ceremonies. He received his new name after his vision quest, seeing two bears running through the woods.

Kelsey said that he started leatherwork as a hobby. He said that he’s tried turning his craft into a business a few times over the years, but that didn’t take off.

“So it’s still a hobby,” Kelsey chuckled. “If I can earn a little jingle here and there, then I’ll do it.”

Kelsey said that he’s retired and taking care of his wife. He primarily sells his wares at gun shows, occasionally going to other kinds of markets. He said that he enjoys selling his leather products at gun shows. He said that he’s known many of these vendors for years. He said that he wasn’t there to make a killing in sales, favoring the sense of comradery while “visiting old friends and meeting new friends.”

“I don’t really care if I make money or not,” Kelsey said.

Kelsey said that working with leather is relaxing. He said that he can make anything with it. His booth was covered with assorted goods, including gun holsters, belts, wallets and even covers for tobacco chew cans.

“I get into my shop, I put on my tunes and I’m in my own little world,” Kelsey said. “Leather is such a great medium. If you know how to work with it, you can make some really nice stuff.”

Kelsey takes a lot of pride in his leather products, selecting the best quality for the best price. He thinks that leatherworks and gun shows go hand in hand. He said that he makes a lot of western style products and does custom orders year round.

“If you’re pretty proud of your gun, you’ll put in a leather holster, a pretty hostler. If not, you’ll put it in plastic,” Kelsey said as he chuckled.

Kelsey may not be worried about pulling in a big payload for this show but he was glad that the two-day expo served as a fundraiser for the school’s hockey team.

“I think it’s wonderful. We need to do a lot more for our kids,” Kelsey said.

Wasilla High assistant hockey coach Jake Dargis said that most of the funds raised for the team come from admission (about 75 percent) and the remaining funds come from vendor space fees, Split the Pot and other places. He said that overall attendance was boosted by the fact that their program has grown to such a large scale, with about 30 players on the varsity team and 26 on the junior varsity team.

“Our program is growing a lot,” Dargis said.

Dargis said that the hockey community is a very tight knit group and the families involved quickly get very committed so this continued growth has way of expanding on itself thanks to family members and friends showing up to support their kids’ teams. Plus, it’s the Valley and it’s a gun show so Dargis thinks it’s the perfect way to draw people out of their homes on the weekend.

“That certainly targets the demographic,” Dargis said.

This WHS tradition started 35 years ago, according to WHS head hockey coach Trent Schachle. He recalled working one of the first outdoorsman shows when he was in middle school. This annual show was in full swing by the time he started playing hockey in high school. He said that a lot has changed since then, namely the surge of overall team members.

“We didn’t have a junior varsity team,” Schachle said.

Schachle noted that having such a large roster of players really helps them run this event, saying that it makes the set up and breakdown go by much faster and the vendors really appreciate it.

“We’ve got such a big team this year. It brings a pretty big community together,” Schachle said.

WHS hockey player Jaxon Maloney helped set up the show with his teammates, starting around 5 in the morning. He was glad to have support from the community.

“It pays for our buses,” Maloney said.

His long, curly blonde hair tapered down from his backwards ball cap. He started growing his hair out when he was a freshman joining his teammates, joining the “flow.” The hockey players continue to grow their hair to show their commitment as their strands flow in the wind. Maloney said that he tried to go for a mullet but his mother shut that idea down.

“My mom won’t let me,” Maloney said with a laugh.

Schachle said that if his team bets Colony High School Friday, the Warriors will win the conference championship.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com