The Pioneer Sportsman's Club

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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Great stuff Guy. Amazing photos! So glad they finally came to light. Makes you wonder about other photos hidden in attics.
You’re right, Bob. Hilly must have been quite a character. Lol.

He has many more photos but did not offer them to me so I am not going to ask again.
 

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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All,

On the first day of December I received a private conversation from a member named Lorraine who signed up to write this to me.

The posts here have been so very interesting, thank you! When I was a child, my father hunted with the Pioneer Sportsmen’s Club. I recall going with he, my mom and brother on “family weekend”. There was an old car (it had no roof, as I recall…which was certainly exciting for a kid). He and other members took my brother and I for rides to explore. It was a one-story cinderblock clubhouse building. Don’t recall exactly what time of year the family visits were, but he hunted throughout much of 1960s. I do have some photographs if anyone is interested.

Well, you all know me, and I asked her for the photos. She rummaged around in her attic and a few days ago she followed through. But first, here is some other info leading up to this. I contacted Ed Batten from the club and he wrote this.

OK, if you want tell them I may have been at that “Jamboree” too as they used to call them.

And then came the photos and text from Lorraine. I edited the text.


Hello! Sorry it’s taken me this long, but attached are some photos of the Pioneer Sportsmen’s Club (these were my father’s). My father is not in these pics…can’t seem to find those, but I have one more resource to try. My Dad’s name was Larry (Last name removed). I am remembering we visited the clubhouse with him in the early-mid 1960s or so.

I will look for the additional pics and circle back.

Thank you Lorraine for allowing me to post these photos!

It is important to note this is when the original building was still standing at their current location.



Notice the same pioneer sign on this building as they had at the Carranza Road location.

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This is most likely the same man in the previous photo in post number 18.

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They carried the generator on a boat trailer.

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Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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If you notice in the below photo given to us by Lorraine, there is a building behind the Pioneer club. That building is not on their property. That is the blueberry field building owned by J. Garfield Alloway and Mark Alloway. However, by the time the photo was taken J. Garfield Alloway had passed and Mark Alloway was the owner. And as mentioned before he sold Pioneer the property they are currently on.

This photo shows both buildings with the Alloway building on the edge of his blueberry field.

pioneer.jpg



And this 1963 aerial shows the angle the photo was taken from.... allowing us to see both buildings.

Pioneer:Alloway.jpg
 

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stiltzkin

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Feb 8, 2022
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Medford
Not the same thing, but here are some photos of the foundations of the buildings around the Alloway/DeMarco monument. I was there just a few days ago.

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Is there any further information about these buildings? Were they equipment sheds or something for the blueberry operation?

Here they are on 1951 USGS imagery. The above photos are of the ruins of the west-most one.

alloway.jpg
 
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Teegate

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That is the home and whatever else they needed at the Alloway Monument.
 

stiltzkin

Explorer
Feb 8, 2022
558
834
Medford
I wasn't sure if it could be a dwelling or not. The one I took pictures of looks a bit too small to be a house, although it does look like there are ruins of a chimney next to it. The terra cotta looked like a chimney liner.

The largest one to the south could have been a house, but again there really wasn't enough for me to tell. It would be great to see photos of the farm from when it was in operation, if those exist somewhere.
 
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Teegate

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Answer.

Implement shed would be a good description. The concrete pad is still there. It had 2 doors (opening to the NE) so you could probably put a small Tractor in there. If memory serves me, there were shelves on the inside, and “windows” that opened with hinges at the top. I think it served to store stuff they felt they needed to keep near the fields. There were several others within the fields, but this is the only one that I can remember that had a concrete pad. All had metal roofs.
 
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jpm

New Member
Oct 11, 2025
3
2
New Jersey
I recently learned through genealogy and genetics that I am Earl Hill ("Hilly's") grandchild. So this thread has been incredibly helpful for me to learn more. I recently took a drive past the location of the gun club and the home where my family lived. But I didn't have the information I found in this thread and others on paper and my cell phone didn't work in the area. So I am going to go back with photos and pull over and find the actual sites of the house where my family lived. I didn't see any photos that listed Earl Hill or anyone else in them, but I would definitely be interested in knowing if there are any photos of the Hill family from this time at this location.
 
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jpm

New Member
Oct 11, 2025
3
2
New Jersey
I also learned elsewhere that Earl Hill had two wives, and that Rose Ann (his second wife) is my grandmother. However, there is very little to no information about Rose Ann anywhere.
 

Teegate

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I
I also learned elsewhere that Earl Hill had two wives, and that Rose Ann (his second wife) is my grandmother. However, there is very little to no information about Rose Ann anywhere.
Thanks for joining.

I will write Ed Batten and let him know what you wrote. Maybe he will remember something.
 
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Teegate

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Here is Ed's reply. He responded before you mentioned Hilly was in the war so this reply somewhat confirms that. Also, I was assuming you were male so Ed's info assumes that also. If incorrect that is my fault.

This gent makes some interesting statements, particularly regarding his discovery through genealogy and genetics.
What I remember being told was that Hilly's wife was considerably younger than he was. I remember reading the census records and seeing his wife listed on them.
While I cannot confirm it, I was told that Hilly had been in the Navy, so maybe his service records would be available to this man via Ancestry.com, etc.
Hilly and family lived in the “Big House”. That was the only one with a cellar. The cellar pit is still there.
Driving from the Carranza Monument to Friendship, the Big House was the first one on the right. A bit further down was another structure similar to the original Pioneer Cabin. To my knowledge, no remains of that building exist.
The Pioneer Cabin was the last on the right. The red brick piers that are still there supported a shed that was attached to the main building. The kitchen was in this shed.
There was an outhouse or two behind our Cabin. Otherwise, there were no indoor “facilities”. A pitcher pump provided water.
Our Cabin was the closest to where The Featherbed Branch flows under the bridge further down.
I do not believe I have any pictures of Hilly and family at the big house. If somehow I discover some I will let you know.
 
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