At Backwoods

July 11, Backwoods Bait & Tackle, 7 miles south of Toronto, KS

Meet Andy and Andrea Hilyard, owners of Backwoods Bait & Tackle. They possess two of the most generous hearts I know. And they practice a ferocious philosophy of “what goes around, comes around.” I wasn’t in a particularly pleasant mood when they opened their welcoming arms.

My night in Cassoday had been basically a sleepless one. Every 20 minutes a Burlington-Northern train clickity-clacked through town. That might have been bearable, but each train had to cross two roads and the engineers leaned long and hard on their whistles at each. In the morning, the lady at the general store said a man had been killed at one of the crossings 4 months ago so the railroad was being particularly cautious.

Adding to my foul mood was the very high humidity and a temperature in the low 90s. I was forced me to seek relief far from the goal I had set. Looking to buy a cool drink and inquire about camping in the area, I hauled into Backwoods Bait & Tackle, not an establishment I would normally stop at when driving past at 50 m.p.h.

As I approached the store door, Andy, a bearish man, came out of the house next door and welcomed me into the oh so cooling store. I asked about camping and Andy said I could camp free on the grounds. “And the first drink--beer, pop, juice, whatever--is on us,” he said. That’ll change a body’s mood real quick! As I finished showering in the Hilyard’s home, California John showed up. He got the same treatment.

Andy had his first heart attack in 1992 and now has 9 stents in him. He smokes. And he’ll occasionally kick up a glass of pop with a splash of bourbon. Five years ago he bought five acres with a small ramshackle building on it and decided that he was going to open a bait and tackle shop to service the folks who enjoy nearby Lake Toronto State Park.

The reconstruction of the building turned into something of a community barn building. Friends, family and strangers helped with construction. At the grand opening Andy and Andrea offered free food. Some local musicians played. People danced. They had a great time. And they continue to.

Backwoods has become a local gathering place where weekly BBQs, dances and concerts take place. Soon after the building was finished a local man wanted a bigger area for dancing. “He came back the next day and threw $500 on the table and told me to build a proper dance area. So, we did,” said Andy.

He said it was a shame we didn’t arrive the night before because they had cooked free BBQ for everybody and that it was a great party. We climbed into his pickup for a tour of the lake and best places to catch the biggest flathead catfish. The store sported pictures of fishermen struggling to lift 45-pounders for pictures.

By the time we got back to the store Andrea and a friend had grilled some burgers and brauts. “You guys timed it just right. Come on, let’s eat,” said Andrea. As tree frogs began their nightly chorus outside, we sat in coolness next to burbling bait tanks, coolers filled with chilled beer and pop and at a table spread with as many burgers and brauts as we wanted to stuff down.

Serendipity indeed.