It was 1969 and John Koch, a teacher at Pequot Lakes High School, asked Calvin Wallin to help him teach a firearms safety class.
The next year, Koch said he didn't want to teach the class anymore and he asked Calvin to take over. Calvin did, and he asked his brother, John, to assist.
That's the way it's been for 39 years. The Wallin brothers have taught the class in the school's kitchen (they didn't get to eat), the library, a science room and now the Gathering Room - the very best place for the class, John said.
"Everything is here," he said. "We can show videos and DVDs, and the seating is perfect. The school district has supported the program."
The brothers have taught their own children and grandchildren. Calvin's grandchildren, Samantha and Andrew Loberg, are taking the course now.
The Wallins like to teach the course in late February, early March. That gives the student the summer to practice before the fall hunting season starts.
"There's the satisfaction you get when former students come back and say they are better shooters because they took the class," John said. "We've also had students who tell us that their parents tell them they took the class and they were told, 'You better behave'."
Not that Calvin and John have any discipline problems with the class. The students are in the class because they want to be. The Wallins have even had parents take the class with their child.
The teaching materials are improving all the time, John said. And there are more girls taking the class than when they started.
"My daughter, Jodi, can outshoot me any day," John said. "She's also good with a pistol."
Calvin agreed that Jodi was the best shot in the family. Incidentally, Jodi Wallin is a former editor of the Pine River Journal. She now lives in St. Paul.
The firearms safety class is sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. A conservation officer talks to each class. On a recent Tuesday, the game warden spoke to the class about hunting regulations, including safe ways to transport firearms.
The class covers more than shotguns and rifles. Students learn about bows and arrows, revolvers and pistols, and muzzleloader firearms. They learn how to load, clean, and, most important, how to do it safely.
Firearm safety classes may be taken on the Internet or on a home study course, John said. Some adults who have been hunting for years and are planning a hunting trip to Montana or Idaho find they need to have a firearms safety certificate. So the call goes out to the Wallins. The hunter must pass the course to get a certificate.
"We recommend the firearms safety course to everyone," John said. "Besides teaching the 10 commandments of gun safety, we teach about conservation, game habitat, hunting ethics and survival skills."
After a student completes the 14-hour course (seven two-hour classes) and passes the test, a special time is set up to go to the firearms range at Camp Foley. It's an excellent firing range, John said.
Contact John or Calvin and they will set you up with the student manual and get you started toward earning that firearms safety certificate. You are never too old to become a safer hunter.
