BY WAYNE BEYER
Dick Bell was an outstanding and active member of the Red River Area Sportsmen’s Club for 25 years, serving as Vice-President and being honored with the Sportsman of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award and Lifetime Membership Award. He went far beyond paying dues status and showed up for everything.
He was a mentor to many young hunters and fishermen who affectionately called him “Grandpa.”
It all started when the Sportsmen’s Club and 4-H co-sponsored fishing instruction on Mooreton Pond, where he connected with a young boy and taught him how to cast from shore for trout and smallmouth bass. An outdoor role model for his children and grandchildren, Dick soon expanded his influence.
He was the figure responsible for the Dick Bell Catfish Tournament held during Blue Goose Days, so it was named after him.
Dick was recognized as “Sportsman of the Year” by the North Dakota Wildlife Federation and attended annual conferences in Bismarck for many years. The Wahpeton-Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce honored him with the “Extra Mile Award.”
Awards aside, his greatest gift was connecting with people, especially youth experiencing the outdoors.
Dick holds a special place in my memories for mentoring my daughter Kayla during a spear-fishing excursion to Grass Lake near Lidgerwood. His patience, humor and appreciation for the little things, like observing the underwater world, will never be forgotten.
Dick often volunteered for the Junior Wildlife Club. Some of his favorite times were spent hunkering in the cattails during the Youth Waterfowl Hunt, teaching girls and boys about duck calling, waiting patiently for the right shooting times and soaking in the early-morning experience, appreciating sunrises and connecting with nature.
Over the years, Dick built meaningful relationships with North Dakota Game and Fish (as a hunter education instructor), the ND Health Department (water quality testing on Mooreton Pond), Boy Scouts (Outdoors Day at Camp Wilderness near Park Rapids, Minnesota), ND Firefighters (another catfish tournament), Wyndmere Public School (archery program), the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (youth games), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (noxious weed control), the Richland County After-School Program (fishing mentor) and the North American Hunting Club (lifetime member).
He believed deeply in the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, particularly that science is the proper tool for wildlife policy. Dick regularly consulted with ND Game and Fish biologists on matters such as coyote bounties and was so passionate he earned the nickname “Wile E. Coyote.” It was great fun being the “Roadrunner.”
Dick was a sharpshooter growing up in South Dakota, and he went on to teach many young people how to accurately shoot rifles, shotguns and BB guns.
He patiently showed young fishermen how to tie a clinch knot, thread a nightcrawler onto a hook, make a spinner and accurately cast into a likely catfish hole near a fallen tree.
In recent years, despite challenging health, his positive attitude was an inspiration. Self-pity was not in his dictionary.
There is no finer outdoor mentor you could want your child to learn from. Sympathy and prayers are offered to the family and friends of Dick Bell, who left a lasting mark on the Dakota outdoors.
Wayne Beyer is the former Wahpeton Parks and Recreation director.