Father Dale was a mentor to me and many other Mt. Carmel kids, especially those interested in hunting and fishing. Under his watch , I shot my first pheasant (I can still hear him yelling “Get him Joe”!”) and Bobwhite quail ( I missed a lot more than I hit but Father Dale was happy to back me up) and caught my first walleye, smallmouth bass, and channel catfish. I earned my outings with him by catching the bait, serving 6:30 am mass ( he said my hair was too long to serve 8 am mass), and saying the rosary on our way home. My rewards were adventures with a person that obviously loved God’s natural world… something that helped lead me to my 40-year career as a Wildlife Research Biologist. Father Dale was a tough disciplinarian at school with a soft heart for kids that needed it and his spaniels that thrived with it. I feel very fortunate that he was our pastor for many of my formative years.
Joe Fleskes
Joe Fleskes
Father Dale was a mentor to me and many other Mt. Carmel kids, especially those interested in hunting and fishing. Under his watch , I shot my first pheasant (I can still hear him yelling “Get him Joe”!”) and Bobwhite quail ( I missed a lot more than I hit but Father Dale was happy to back me up) and caught my first walleye, smallmouth bass, and channel catfish. I earned my outings with him by catching the bait, serving 6:30 am mass ( he said my hair was too long to serve 8 am mass), and saying the rosary on our way home. My rewards were adventures with a person that obviously loved God’s natural world… something that helped lead me to my 40-year career as a Wildlife Research Biologist. Father Dale was a tough disciplinarian at school with a soft heart for kids that needed it and his spaniels that thrived with it. I feel very fortunate that he was our pastor for many of my formative years.
Joe Fleskes
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