In October 2017, three large crates of elk meat were dropped off on Michael Klein’s front lawn.
The problem was, Klein was away on business and his wife, Maureen, couldn’t lift the massive 50-pound containers.
“All she could do with this thing, because I wasn’t home, was drag it behind the bushes,” said Klein, managing director at Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc.
Luckily, the meat was on ice. But Klein’s logistical issues were just beginning. He didn’t have nearly enough space to store that amount of meat, or enough people in his household to eat it in a timely manner.
So he enlisted the help of the Milwaukee Athletic Club, where he’s a member, to store the meat in its freezer while he distributed it to family and friends.
The whole thing started when a friend
planned a trip to an elk lodge and invited Klein along. But then the friend broke his arm and Klein, an elk-hunting newbie, ended up at Wyoming’s Three Forks Ranch solo. On his fourth day, Klein shot a 660-pound elk.
“It was the prime week to go, when all the elk are bugling,” Klein said.
He sent 100 pounds of meat to his son’s college basketball team in Indiana and figured there would be a little bit left to send to his house.
“I just didn’t realize how much meat was left over,” he said. “I was a little naïve in understanding the quantity part of the whole adventure.”
Klein loves hunting because it gives him quality time to disconnect.
“It is the solitude of it. The amount of time you spend hiking and tracking is very relaxing and rewarding,” he said.
