"Hunting gal bags 52nd deer"

Months after finding an article from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune featuring a woman dressed in orange camo, sitting atop a deer lawn ornament, I had the pleasure of talking to Mrs. Celette Couette, the widow of Russell "Frenchie" Couette.

The search started back in October 2010 with a photo from Grandpa Givan's collection - on the back of it he had written "R. Couette, Maple Lake, Minn, Maui 1945". There were other photos of Mr. Couette in the pile, but nothing more than a first initial or the nickname "Frenchie", but I was hopeful that having a hometown would help narrow down the results.

Next, it was off to Google where I searched for his name and hometown. My first hit was a genealogy web site that listed, by state, names of servicemen extracted from the Minnesota World War II Casualty List Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. On that list was a Russell William Couette, Pfc, USMCR, whose parents were Mr. and Mrs. William Couette, also of Maple Lake, MN.

On the same page of search results, I saw the news article about the "hunting gal" and hoped I had really lucked into finding someone from his family. Sure enough, halfway through the article, the writer talks about how Mrs. Couette started hunting ruffed grouse after marrying Russ Couette in 1953. Three years later, she shot her first deer and so began the tally. With her son, Bill (who I thought may be named after his grandparents), she kept up the tradition after her husband's death in 2000.

JEFF WHEELER - jwheeler@startribune.com
MAPLE LAKE - 10/31/07 - Celette Couette, 80, will be in a deer stand for her 50th season this Saturday morning when she and her son, Bill, carry on the family tradition she began in 1956 with her husband, Russ.
IN THIS PHOTO: Celette Couette and her son, Bill, at her Maple Lake home Wednesday afternoon, the day before they headed up north for this weekend's deer hunting opener.

Published November 9, 2007

JEFF WHEELER - jwheeler@startribune.com
IN THIS PHOTO: Celette Couette with the massive 10 point buck she shot the first time she went deer hunting with her husband, Russ, in 1956. It was actually the second buck she shot on that first hunt. It weighed about 260 lbs. field dressed. This is a photo from the library of the Minneapolis Star by an unknown photographer, (likely) published on November 26, 1956.

Now that I had confirmed names and a location, it was time to find mailing address. For that bit of information, it was off to WhitePages.com. With an address in hand, I wrote a brief letter, included one of the photos of Mr. Couette and dropped it off in the mailbox.

Then finally after a few miscues and forgetfulness in returning phones calls on my end, I made contact with Mrs. Couette on Tuesday, February 15. We had a great conversation and chatted for about 45 minutes, talking about Bill, her hunting prowess, and her husband.

One of the stories she shared was the engraving on his tombstone when he passed away. During the war, there were rumors among the residents of Maple Lake that Mr. Couette was spotted in Minneapolis on furlough.  During this time, as the rumor goes, he didn't make the trip to Maple Lake to visit his parents, which as everyone knows would be frowned upon. He was adamant that he never left the Pacific, Camp Maui or Camp Pendleton during his four year enlistment period, and to prove his point, he requested a permanent reminder to everyone. His tombstone reads "four years in the Marines without a furlough."

As with all of the families I've had the opportunity to meet as part of this project, it was an honor and privilege to talk with Mrs. Couette and her son, and something I look forward to doing more of. I am hopeful Kathleen and I can even meet Bill in Washington DC for dinner one evening - small world, he lives out there now. My next step though is to print out some of the photos I have and mail those to Mrs. Couette. Hopefully that doesn't take another four months to finish!