As dream of recreational complex becomes mission to change the world, one donation at a time


Jack-a-Lopes are a rare breed in Aitkin County. You might even call them “extinct” if you mean the species that focused all its jack rabbit quickness and antelope-like perseverance on the well being of those around them. That’s because, on Dec. 5, the last remaining remnants of the breed met at the Fireside in McGregor to disband the Aitkin County Jack-a-Lope Hunters.
 
In attendance at their last official meeting after 45 years on the philanthropic trail were Shirley Berquist, Bud Johnson, Bev Leonard, Mary Nelson, Larry Nelson and Trix Wyant. (Original  member Ken and Pat Boyd were out of town that day and unable to attend.) Their last official beneficial act was to distribute $80,500 to 28 local nonprofits.
 
“This was a very emotional meeting for the members as they remembered their loved ones who were not there to witness the generous spirit of the Jack-a-Lope,” said Amy Wyant, whose mother was one of those at the meeting and whose father, Clinton, was a founding member.
 
The group’s donations over the years of their existence totaled more than $188,400. It was started in 1966 by eight businessmen from Aitkin County including Edward Barrows, Lloyd Berquist, Kenneth Boyd, Patrick Cummings, Richard (Bud) Johnson, Lawrence Leonard, Marlin (Doc) Nelson, Gary Verrips and Clinton Wyant.
 
For nearly a decade, the men had been discussing how they might develop the county’s potential for tourism.
 
“They wanted to create a unique image for Aitkin County, a branding that would uniquely represent Aitkin like the Viking did for Alexandria and Paul Bunyan did for Brainerd,” Amy Wyant said.
 
Thus the “Harebilus Lopus” was created – a genetic cross between the jack rabbit and the antelope. In March of 1967, the club became incorporated in Minnesota with the Jack-a-Lope as their copywrited image.
 
Big dreams
 
“The purpose of this corporation shall be the promotion of tourism, to solicit and raise funds for the promotion and betterment of Aitkin County, to construct, own, build or operate all manner of enterprise incidental to the promotion of the Aitkin County Jack-a-Lope, to create jobs in Aitkin County, to aid needy individuals and organizations directly in improving their economic situations …” the original articles of incorporation said.
 
They set their sights high but membership dues were reasonable at just $1.20 per month. It was a men’s club but wives of members were invited to participate as members of the Aitkin County Jack-a-Lope Foundation Auxiliary.
 
In April of 1968, the Jack-a-Lopes started work on their “dream project,” a 340-acre recreational complex and amusement park to be located on 774 acres in Fleming Township. The park was to be owned and operated by the non-profit corporation to raise money for the community and for the low-income people living there.
 
Income from the park, estimated at $1 million annually, would be used to secure employment for at least 100 low-income residents of the county, provide seed money for training, financing and management of local “borderline” businesses, establish a philanthropic foundation for the poor, create private satellite businesses in and near the park, reduce the township’s tax rate, provide a source of local funds to upgrade the area’s natural resources and upgrade the area tourist industry to be a more effective stable part of the county’s economy.
 
The estimated cost of the project was $4,620,680. On Jan. 20, 1970, Doc Nelson and Clinton Wyant traveled to Washington D.C. for two days to meet with officials about the project.
 
“They worked diligently for the next five years trying to make this dream come true. They applied for funding from the Office of Economic Opportunity, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission, the Minnesota Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, the Northern Minnesota Small Business Development Center and from banks in Aitkin and McGregor.
 
They corresponded with local, state and national officials that ranged from district congressmen to James Oberstar, Donald Rumsfeld and Walter Mondale. The “dream plan” included a general store, riding stables, nature and snowmobile trails, a 90 by 150 foot lodge, indoor swimming pool, indoor/outdoor chapel, a suspension foot bridge overlooking Jack-a-Lope canyon, a ski slope, archery pavilion, boat launches, shooting range, look-out tower, amusement rides, a wide animal barn, a “Jack-a-Lope Express Sight-seeing Train” and a 32-foot Jack-a-Lope statue surrounded by water fountains and flower gardens. The theme of it all would be “conservation education and saving the area’s natural wildlife resources.”
 
Continuing vision
 
The dream may have faded in the years that followed but the vision was preserved. In the early 1980s, the project was abandoned, the land was sold off in lots and the proceeds were placed in a certificate of deposit. The interest from the CD provided the funding that allowed the Jack-a-Lopes to continue the philanthropic vision they had for Aitkin County.
 
The $80,500 they donated at their last meeting in December went to Aitkin County non-profits that included private charities,  civic organizations, the hospital, school districts, churches, food shelves and sportsmen’s clubs.
 
Add that to the $107,965 the group gave away to the county’s charities, organizations and individuals between 1983 and 2010 and the total distributed over the years of the group’s existence comes to more than $188,465 – all for the “betterment of Aitkin County.”
 
According to Webster’s, philanthropy means “love of humanity (or in modern practical terms) private initiative for the public good, focusing on quality of life – especially an active effort to promote human welfare.”
 
If you want to define “philanthropy” in Aitkin County, Amy Wyant believes that all you need to say is, “Aitkin County Jack-a-Lope Hunters, Inc.” That and, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
 
Margaret Mead said that and, to that, Amy would add, “The Aitkin County Jack-a-Lope Hunters may not have changed the world but, in their own quiet way, they certainly made positive differences in the lives of Aitkin County residents. If only more people could be like a Jack-a-Lope …”