Tom Kolisch, owner of John’s Butcher Shoppee in Festus, gave the best speech ever by a winner of the Share the Harvest Partner of the Year award at the annual Conservation Achievement Awards March 1.
As part of the Conservation Federation of Missouri Convention at the Lodge of the Four Seasons at Lake of the Ozarks, awards were presented for soil, water, and forest conservationists of the year, along with recognition for conservation educator, communicator and legislator. Fifteen awards were presented, including – for the first time ever – the plaque given to Kolisch and his brother Mike.
“I was just in awe – the whole event was a big deal, (with) a lot of big shots,” Tom said, perhaps underestimating how well his business fits the bill as a major contributor to conservation efforts in the state.
With their store, founded in 1974 by John Kolisch, Tom and Mike are carrying on a tradition their father established in the St. Louis County community of Overland. Now at that original location and the store on Mill Street in Festus, the brothers and their staffs of butchers process hundreds of deer each year, some for donation to area food pantries.
The state Department of Conservation requires meat processors to be certified for participation in the Share the Harvest Program. John’s Butcher Shoppee has been involved since the program’s inception in 1992 and is the only Share the Harvest processor in Jefferson County.
“Steve Lenz was our (local state conservation) agent then (in 1992),” Tom said. “He came in and talked it up. He called it a ‘win, win, win’ program. We used that in our (convention) speech.” Hunters donate surplus deer, food pantries receive high-quality protein for families in need, and processors get the extra business and the opportunity to help out their communities.
“We have five food pantries that pick up the donated venison from us,” Tom said. “The first couple of years we did 10 or 15 deer. This year we processed 55 whole-deer donations during the season.”
John’s also provides butchering services for deer harvested in chronic wasting disease areas during post-season targeted culling and population-control efforts conducted by the department in areas where deer densities are too high, like the suburbs of west St. Louis County.
“Whenever they have a new program, they ask us to help out. We say, ‘We’ll do it,’” Tom said. He estimated that they have processed more than 400 deer for the department outside of the regular season. Any deer harvested in the CWD zone must be tested before it can be donated to the food pantries.
The shop in Festus provides custom butchering service for deer hunters in addition to the Share the Harvest donations. From the initial skinning to finished products like tenderloin steaks, summer sausage, salami, bologna, snack sticks, bratwursts and more, hunters can select from a full menu of options.
“We did about 700 deer here for the regular season,” Tom said, adding that his father and mother, Judy, helped out at the store again this past year. “He retired about 18 years ago, but they still like to get involved. We don’t turn down any help during the season.”
While deer hunters keep the place buzzing in the fall, the local meat market stays busy all year long with custom cuts and prime quality beef, pork and more.
“We were raised in the business,” Tom said about him and Mike. “It’s a dying breed, but we still do 250 different bratwurst flavors. I love when the kids – 20- and 25-year-olds – come in and say, ‘I used to come in here with my grandparents or mom and dad.’”
Conservation Federation of Missouri executive director Tyler Schwarze said the new award will be presented annually. Donations and sponsorships pay for the Share the Harvest processing, so hunters can have their deer processed at no charge. For more information on how to support the organization, visit confedmo.org.
John’s Butcher Shoppee celebrates its 50th anniversary next month, but the party already started with the award celebration by Tom and his wife Kelly along with Mike and sister-in-law Joan.
John Winkelman has been writing about outdoors news and issues in Jefferson County for more than 30 years and was the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine. If you have story ideas for the Leader outdoor news page, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com, and you can find more outdoor news and updates at johnjwink.com.