John W. Fitzgerald ~Stone Mills

As the storm front moved throughout the early hours of Friday morning, Trapper Jack, John W. Fitzgerald, 85, Stone Mills set his final trap on the waters of the Perch River. The man, the myth, the legend Trapper Jack, born the son of William and Francis Cummings Fitzgerald in the summer of 1935, he grew up navigating the waters of the St Lawrence River. His passion for the outdoors began with a small bait stand started with his father during his preteen years. Fishing, hunting and trapping were other loves of his life outside. Waking at 4:30 on a Friday morning to drive down to Geneva to catch a load of minnows, or to check just where the beaver were running. With a glance of a marshland he could predict the perfect spot to set his traps or to pull his canoe into and wait for that flock of ducks or geese to fly over and land. His grandson Greg inherited Jacks enthusiasm for the outdoors as Jack mentored and taught him the bait business and trapping world. Turkey hunting trips with his Granddaughter Kristen and the pride when she got her first beard. Fishing trips with his son Tim when he visited from Virginia and all season long with grandsons Chad and Nathan and Alex. He even tried to share his enthusiasm for the winter weather with his southern grandson Josh when they would come up for their Christmas visits. Josh wasn’t always so convinced. A visit with Jack was never boring. You were bound to hear adventure from the old days and the names like Gene Sanford, Walt Paddock, Charlie MacCarger, and Art Gamble in the mix. Stories of great bounties and freezers full of beaver and muskrat pelts waiting for the fur auction. Believe me when I say, you were a little leery to open a garage freezer. Speaking of leery, be careful if you happened to stop by at dinner time and there was a pot of stew on the stove. You were a little fearful of what the “beef” part was, and the vegetables were fresh from his garden that he tended to religiously. Fish fries of perch, blue gill, walleye and bullheads for his family were another meal you might be treated to.