By Renee Worthing
Register Reporter
   Not only did Shapleigh residents Nate and Lisa Fenderson make dreams come true, they also made life-long friends with two special people.
   The Fenderson’s recently helped two young people diagnosed with life threatening illnesses, fulfill a wish to participate in a “Hunt of a Lifetime.”
   The Fendersons and their hunting entourage took Philip Aiken, 13, of Tennessee and Aubrey Olson, 20, of Minnesota on a guided moose hunt.
   “Hunt of a Lifetime,” is a non-profit organization that grants hunting and fishing trips for people age 21 and younger that have been diagnosed with a life-threatening disease.
   Nate, raised by his grandparents, has hunted since he was just a tot at his grandfather’s side. By the age of 21, he earned a Maine Master Guide license for guided hunts.
   Nate and Lisa’s passion for hunting is evident from the many deer mounts that line their living room wall. The walls of another room sport a moose head, two full turkey mounts, more deer heads, a fox pelt and many other animals that aren’t found in Maine.
   Even the head of the legendary jack-a-lope is displayed.
   Nate said he was unaware of the “Hunt of a Lifetime” program when he received a call from New Jersey Hunt of a Lifetime State Ambassador David Drexel.
   “He asked if I was interested in taking someone out on a Hunt of a Lifetime. He said my name kept coming up regarding moose,” Nate said. “I didn’t know what it was, but I said we would do it.”
   The more Drexel talked about it, the more certain Nate was that he wanted to be a part of making a hunting dream come true.
   “My grandfather always told me to give back more than you take,” Nate said, and he saw the opportunity to grant a “Hunt of a Lifetime” wish as a chance to do just that.
   Nate, Lisa, and Nate’s partners in Northwoods Adventures TV began preparing for the hunt. They arranged for lodging at Jayson Allain’s lodge at Sebec Lake. Lisa began to tell others about the hunt and inquired about donations from local businesses.
   Enough food was donated to feed 20 people for a week, she said. Miller Ford, Arundel Ford and Weirs Motors donated gas cards for the drive up Rangely.
   “A ton of people helped out, including an anonymous $350 donation from a bank,” Lisa said.
   Nate and Lisa began e-mailing the parents of Olson. Nate said he wanted to be certain he had the right accommodations for Olson, including food, medications and doctors nearby.
   They learned Olson was wheelchair bound, but it didn’t deter the Fendersons.
   Two weeks later, the Fendersons received another call from Drexel who wanted to know if Nate could refer an additional “Hunt of a Lifetime” recipient to another hunting guide.
   Without hesitation, Nate offered to take Philip Aiken along as well.
   “David (Drexel) asked if I was sure and I told him I was,” Nate said, noting Aiken recently went into remission from a rare form of cancer.
   Nate said he was so certain he could help both young people bag a moose, he didn’t want to send either of them to another guide.
   Aiken, in remission from Ewing’s sarcoma, and Olson, diagnosed with Friedreich’s ataxia, an inherited and progressive disease that causes degeneration of the nerve tissue in the spinal cord, arrived by airplane in Portland three weeks after the first call from Drexel.
   Their fathers, Wyatt Aiken and Bruce Olson, accompanied both young people.
   From the airport, the group headed for Augusta to pick up a custom-made trailer built specifically for the young hunters by CargoPro.
   The 10-foot-long camouflage trailer included a wheelchair lift to the roof, which also served as a hunting blind, Nate said.
   “They (CargoPlus) really stepped up to the plate,” he said. “The wheelchair even locked into place.”
   Nate said he was determined that Aiken and Olson were both going to get their moose.
   “Philip had cancer. It could be the last thing he did,” Nate said.
   Nate also wanted to be certain the hunting trip was preserved in photos as well as movies. The film crew he uses for his TV show, Northwoods Adventures TV, was on hand to film every moment of the hunt, but he instructed the film crew to film from a distance.
   “I wanted to let them be normal kids, but I wanted to capture it all for the families,” Nate said.
   He said it was really important to him to not only give Aiken and Olson the hunt of a lifetime, but also to give their families a record of the trip in the event the diseases claimed the lives of Aiken and Olson.
   “We took more than 800 (still) pictures,” Nate said, thumbing through piles of photos.
   With three cameramen per team, the hunting parties broke up into two groups.
   Nate’s group took Olson, and while they didn’t get bag the first moose they saw, he said they saw a bull moose walk across the road in front of them and amble up the mountain.
   “This was a predicament,” Nate said. “We had a girl in a wheelchair and the moose went up the mountain.”
   It wasn’t long before a solution was found. Nate said Allain scooped Olson out of the wheelchair and carried her 500 yards up the mountain.
   When the moose came into view again, Olson was unable to sight in on it because she needed a fairly still-standing target.
   “We lugged her back down the mountain,” Nate said.
   He said it wasn’t long before another bull moose appeared. Olson’s two shots dropped the 855-pound moose with a 54.5-inch-spread set of antlers.
   “We took her in (the woods) to her moose,” Nate said. “I had tears in my eyes. It was such an inspiration. She thanked us, but I said, ‘Thank you for letting us be part of your special moment.’”
   Olson and her father left two days later, but Aiken still had not bagged his moose and Nate was not willing to let Aiken go home empty-handed.
   Out in the woods, Nate said, a bull moose came within 50 yards of Aiken.
   “He took a shot and that moose figured out where the shot came from and it charged,” Nate said.
   Aiken’s second shot dropped the 576-pound moose a mere 15 feet from where Aiken was hunkered down.
   Having bagged the promised moose, Aiken’s father was ready to take his son home.
   “I told him he didn’t have to do that. He had all week to hunt,” Nate said.
   They decided to let Aiken hunt pheasant.
   “What was amazing was the dog. It had cancer, too and had undergone radiation. It wasn’t a hunting dog anymore. But, that dog went over and put his head in Philip’s lap,” Nate said.
   Nate said as soon as the dog’s owner said the word “hunting,” the dogs head lifted.
   Together, the dog and boy hunted pheasants. The dog “put the birds up” and Aiken pulled off the shots.
   Nate said it just happened that Saturday was the first day of fall shotgun turkey season. Once again, Aiken was taken out on another hunting excursion, this time for a turkey. His hunt was successful with the bagging of a 13-pound hen turkey.
   “Philip also got his first Maine lobster from Weathervane,” Lisa joked.
   The Fenderson’s 7-year-old son, Tyler, was also a part of the Hunt of a Lifetime.
   “He formed a good bond with them. He didn’t treat Aubrey differently,” Nate said.
   But, it was Philip with whom Tyler made fast friends.
   “They wrestled, they played. Tyler didn’t see the disabilities,” Nate said.
   Tyler talked to Aiken and Olson about their diseases and learned that what he can do without a thought often took Aiken and Olson an hour.
   It wasn’t just Olson and Aiken who learned to hunt and it wasn’t young Tyler who learned what it’s like to have disabilities.
   Nate said he learned something, too.
   “I have nothing to complain about,” Nate said. “When I saw what they do, I just can’t complain.”
   He said Olson called him on his birthday. She told Nate she hoped his birthday was as nice as he made her hunting experience.
   The Fenderson’s recently received a thank you card from Aiken.
   “I know that this trip will be above all others that I take and that I will remember it forever,” Aiken wrote. “But, not only because I killed a moose, but because I made friends for life. I hope that I will get to see you again, whether in Maine or Memphis.”
   Plans are already underway for Aiken to return to Maine for the summer.
   “He’ll be a part of our life forever,” Lisa said. “I love that kid.”
   The Fenderson’s said they hope to grant another Hunt of a Lifetime, whether through that particular organization or just to take a Maine child on a hunt of lifetime.
   For more information, visit Nate’s website at www.northwoodsoutdoortv.com or call 632-0832.