“He Killed a Bear” is the title of the program at Old Independence Regional Museum on Sunday, September 13, at 4 p.m. Tre Merritt and his grandfather Mike Merritt will tell about the day in 2007 when Tre, then just five years old, killed a 445 pound black bear.
They were in a hunting stand when the bear came out of the thicket into the open. Mike said “I whistled at him and he stopped and I said ‘Shoot ,Tre’.” The boy followed his grandfather’s instruction. At first Mike didn’t think his grandson had hit the bear with his youth rifle, but Tre insisted “Paw-paw I squeezed the trigger and didn’t close my eyes. I killed him.” And after they tracked the bear, they found he was right.
The Merritts are a hunting family who live in DeWitt in rural eastern Arkansas. Mike Merritt works there for the Farmers Agricultural Resource Management. Tre’s father, Wheatley Merritt, said he began teaching his son to shoot when he was less than three years old. The boy killed three deer in one season.
Tre’s 10th great-grandfather was the famous frontier hero Davy Crockett. It has been said that Crockett killed a bear when he was three years old, but it may be just a legend. The Merritt family attended a large Crockett reunion and after the gathering heard of Tre’s bear kill, he was given a special honor as being the youngest Crockett (other than Davy) to have killed a bear by himself.
This program will introduce the museum’s newest exhibit titled “Winter: Time to Hunt, Trap, and Weave.” According to Twyla Wright, curator, “ We are featuring display areas that show small animal hunting and bear hunting, plus bird hunting. Fur coats and a man’s 1915 hunting outfit will be on view. A kiosk of animal pictures and tracks will invite visitors to push a button and hear the animal sound.” She also related that a section of the exhibit area will focus on spinning and weaving. “We have a fireplace with mussel-loading double barrel shotgun and powder horn hung above it, and an antique spinning wheel, plus a table loom for weaving. This was part of a woman’s work during the winter in bygone days,” she added.
Nelson Barnett, co-creator of the exhibit said, “Tony Mesa, of Tony’s Taxidermy, has graciously loaned us several examples of his work, such as a bear rug, a fox, a duck, and a turkey to bring the hunting exhibit to life.”
The hunting and weaving exhibit is the final segment of the museum’s “Living Off the Land…Season by Season” larger exhibit. The total exhibit with all its seasons will be up through 2010.
Old Independence Regional Museum, located at 380 South Ninth Street in Batesville is non-profit institution serving 12-counties in north central Arkansas. The Museum is open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 1:30 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. The museum is located at 380 South 9th street, between Boswell and Vine Streets in Batesville. The Museum’s Gift Shop is open to the public and has an extensive collection of books, historical reproductions and gift items related to local history and culture for all ages. Call 870-793-2121 for more information.
