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As these years roll by we have lost some of our pioneers in the restoration of Wild Turkeys in Michigan. These are the people who gave of their time, personal funds and resources to give those first Wild Turkeys a foothold, that has turned out to be beyond our wildest expectations.
There is a lot of hype in our sport and exploitation of those birds that we hold in such high esteem but few true giants. Robby Robins who lived in the Fairview-Mio area was truly one of them. This past August Robby passed on. Robby was quiet and unassuming. During the time that Wild Turkey restoration was in it's infancy most of the Wild Turkeys found in an area surrounding Mio were congregated on one farm during a series of severe winters. Robby dug deep into his own pockets, bought all the corn for the 500 plus flock and delivered it thus insuring their survival until spring break up. On September 13, 1986 Robby formed the Ausable Valley Chapter, one of the earliest local chapters of the National Wild Turkey Federation in Michigan. Robby served as it's president for many years. Because of his chapter's efforts the Mio-Fairview area became the Wild Turkey Capitol of Michigan, containing the highest concentration of Wild Turkeys in Michigan. On July 4, 1996 Robby's chapter parted ways with the national organization and was one of the founders of the Michigan Wild Turkey Hunters Association (MWTHA). During those early years Robby never received recognition from the national organization for his major contribution to the restoration of our Wild Turkeys. It is noted that the Mio birds contributed to restoration in the upper peninsula, northern lower Michigan and Ontario, Canada. Robby may be gone now but certainly is not forgotten. Those of us today who take turkey hunting for granted owe Robby a great debt of gratitude.
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