He's Got Game

In September 1990, Nicholas P. Orenstein ’05 went on a run-of-the-mill hunting trip with his dad. Clad in camouflage gear, he took his self-described .410-gauge “little kid gun” to southern Texas for a perfect male bonding experience and came back with a prize. While other seven-year-olds won prizes for shooting water guns into bull’s-eyes at amusement parks, Orenstein’s game and prize were unique. As he matter-of-factly puts it: “I shot the largest turkey in Texas.”

Based on the turkey’s weight, the size of its beard and the length of the spurs on its feet, a Texas state-wide hunting agency let Orenstein and his family know that, according to their calculations, Orenstein’s turkey was in fact the biggest turkey caught in the state. Despite the enormity of his accomplishment, Orenstein received little recognition besides being listed in a hunting journal. “All I got was a fake trophy my dad made,” Orenstein says.

But the turkey’s memory lives on. The now-stuffed animal has found a home with the Orenstein family in Dallas. “For most of my life it was the centerpiece of our living room,” he says. The stuffed turkey has been displayed along with his parents’ eclectic art collection of original works from the ’40s and ’50s. Also included in the room’s décor is a bed made from a bear his dad caught.

“It’s a weird juxtaposition of art and hunting,” Orenstein says of his living room.

Orenstein didn’t name the turkey, but his mother did dress it up. Unfortunately, the turkey’s beak has not survived the harsh conditions of Orenstein’s home. His dog Hank bit it off.

Though Orenstein is proud of his childhood accomplishment, the turkey, which now sits in his bedroom along with his fake trophy, is just a reminder of his prize-winning past.

“It’s a good conversation piece,” he says.