Ring-necked pheasants from China had been introduced to the area around Lebanon as a game bird in 1882 and had flourished. When pheasant hunting opened for the first time in Oregon in 1892, ten years later, it is reported that 50,000 birds were taken on the first day. So, yes, pheasants took to the area well.

The photo below was taken just thirty or so years after that first pheasant hunting season. Evidently Great Grandpa Hammell liked to hunt pheasants. Here he is after a hunt.

This photo is quite blurry, so it’s tough, but you can see that Great Grandpa Hammell is holding some pheasants in his left hand (it looks almost like they’ve been plucked already). Whatever he is holding in his right hand is so unclear that one can only guess what it might be. The dog in front of him may be Penny. That’s Great Grandpa Hammell’s big car behind him.

Were it not for Mom’s caption, though, I would have had little idea of this hunter’s identity—or that he was holding pheasants