A Pet for a Prairie Boy
by Mickey Hersak

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Growing up in 1940s rural Manitoba was very different from what it is today. Mickey Hersak spent his days helping his parents on their farm while learning about animals and the outdoors, and playing in the surrounding rivers, ponds and fields with his siblings. One summer, when his family was berry picking near a national park, they startled an abandoned and starving white-tailed fawn which they rescued. The orphan quickly recovered at their farm and adopted Mickey’s family as his own. He was dubbed Bambi after a book that Mickey had read in school. Life with Bambi proved to be a series of unusual and delightful adventures, but was often more troublesome than anyone could ever have imagined. This true story chronicles the few precious years this prairie boy spent with his childhood pet.

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Mickey Hersak B.Sc. B.Ed. M.Ed. is a retired mathematics teacher and an outdoor educator at both the high school and the Manitoba Wildlife Federation levels. During his career he developed Manitoba curriculum which earned him the Stu Seim Award from the Manitoba Outdoor Educators Association for excellence in school programs at Vincent Massey Collegiate. His students, who were the motivation behind the revival of this story of his childhood pet, encouraged him to share it more widely. Mickey is a conservationist involved with eco-tourism and is a member of Ducks Unlimited Canada, Delta Waterfowl, and the Manitoba Wildlife Federation. He still owns his great grandparents’ farm which includes a 100 acre Ducks Unlimited Canada site. He divides his time between the farm and his residence in Winnipeg.

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Mickey Hersak

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