Mainly clear. Low near 65F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Mainly clear. Low near 65F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.

Old pie irons and lanterns like the ones on the left contain memories of many camping trips through the years, even though newer models are available. Globe | Andy Ostmeyer

Old pie irons and lanterns like the ones on the left contain memories of many camping trips through the years, even though newer models are available. Globe | Andy Ostmeyer

CASSVILLE, Mo. — Along with my dad’s old Coleman lantern, which glowed and hissed through many a childhood camping trip, I keep some of his old flies and lures, one of his old fly rods, and a deer rifle I bought him decades earlier that he used until he died. Shortly after he died, I told my mom not to throw out his old fishing hats, scruffy though they were, because I wanted those, and I have worn them on occasion since.

One of the most sacrosanct of that group of possessions is his old campfire pie-maker.

How many memories — from Tuttle Creek in Kansas to the Black Hills to the Grand Canyon?

And how many arguments among the kids over whose turn was next?

Its steel bowls are blackened by decades of carbon and its wooden handles scorched. I suppose it’s officially retired, mostly because I would hate to lose or damage it. When I consider bringing it along one last time, for all the memories it evokes, I remember: I lost a later-generation cast-iron campfire pie-maker on a river trip. Better not to chance it.

I thought about that old pie-maker recently, upon learning that pie iron cooking will be one of those topics offered this fall during the 25th annual Wonders of Wildlife National Outdoor Recreation and Conservation School at Roaring River State Park, Oct. 7-9. Park Superintendent Joel Topham will teach that class. A couple of hundred people are expected to participate in the weekend classes.

Sometimes called hobo irons, pie irons were invented in the 1940s in Australia, and one of the advantages of them is that everybody gets to make their own favorites. You like apple pie while someone likes cherry and someone else likes blueberry? To each his own when it’s your turn. Or you can make hot ham and cheese sandwiches, Reubens, pizzas and much more.

“The possibilities are endless,” said Topham, who will be making pumpkin pies with pie irons that weekend at Roaring River.

The school offers hands-on learning experiences, with instructors who will lead courses on rappelling, canoeing, kayaking, shooting sports, fly-fishing, fly-tying, archery, primitive skills, outdoors survival, Dutch oven cooking, nature crafts, outdoor photography, rock climbing, stargazing, tree identification and more. In all, it looks like about 80 classes are being offered, beginning at noon Friday and running through Sunday evening.

One of the courses will be an overnight canoe trip with hammock camping on the shores of Table Rock Lake.

There also will be a snorkeling class, with wetsuits, offered Friday afternoon.

Some of the classes will be great for kids, including a family caving trip and an owl prowl.

Another group will hike the Devil’s Kitchen Trail and cook their food along the trail as part of an introduction to backpacking cooking.

You can take classes in crossbow archery, fly-fishing or plein air painting.

Bo Brown of Earth First Wilderness School will teach a course on making blowguns from river cane.

All the classes, times and registration information and more can be found at https://brushfire.com/wondersofwildlife/events/534393.

Many have limits on capacity and they fill fast, so sign up early.

“We have multiple generations of families that come,” said Misty Mitchell, director of conservation programs for the Johnny Morris Foundation, sponsor of the event. She added there is something for everybody, ranging from adventure challenges to nature crafting.

“It gets everybody unplugged, to get away from the phones and the screens,” she said.

More than that, these classes offer a chance to build memories that will linger after you are gone, whether that’s a campfire pie or fly-fishing. My dad and I took one of these sessions on fly-fishing many years ago.

By the way, one of the classes will be on trail running, an introductory session on gear, safety, shoes, hydration and more. At the end of the class, participants will run part of the Roaring River trail system.

And speaking of trail running, Saturday, Oct. 8, is also the day for the Roaring River Trail Run, with the great slogan of “Hike Mo, Worry Less.” I think I might adopt that for myself.

This is a 10K that begins at the old lodge and follows the Devil’s Kitchen, the White Connector, part of the Fire Tower Trail, Route F and the River Trail, ending back at the lodge. It starts at 7:30 a.m. The cost is $40, and you can sign up through Oct. 7 at https://runsignup.com/Race/MO/Cassville/RoaringRiverTrailRunCCC.

If you sign up for both the trail run class and the WOW school, you get a $10 discount on the total.

Previous recipients of the money raised by the runs include the Cassville Food Pantry, the Cassville School District Backpack Program, Haven of the Ozarks (a no-kill animal shelter) and the water safety program offered by the Cassville YMCA.

“We are expecting around 50,” Rachael Freeman told me when I asked about the runners. This is the third year for the 10K in the park.

If the trail run and the WOW outdoor classes won’t get you to Missouri’s most popular park, then consider one other thing:

It’s October, it’s Roaring River. It’s a match made in heaven. Do you need another reason for going?

“It kind of sells itself,” Freeman told me about that weekend.

Andy Ostmeyer is the editor of The Joplin Globe. His email address is aostmeyer@joplinglobe.com.

Andy Ostmeyer is the editor at the Globe. He is a graduate of Kansas State University who has worked at the Globe for 38 years. His email address is aostmeyer@joplinglobe.com. His telephone number is 417-627-7281.

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