Bad postcard of the week: Deer hunting in Michigan, when the law catches up to the Doe Gang

Just another November day in Michigan

Well, the law finally did catch up to the Doe Gang.

Their crime: Looking all graceful while frolicking through the fields and eating the tomato plants in Mrs. Anderson’s garden.

So the law decided it was finally time to bring this gang to justice. The boys in orange set out a trap, leaving a bait pile of apples can carrots, the climbed up in their tree blinds with “The Enforcer,” ammo and a six of Bud Lite.

The sun had barely risen before the gang moseyed on over and started nibbling on their last meal. The law unleashed a rain of lead not seen since Bonnie and Clyde’s fateful day.

With much fanfare, their bullet-riddled carcasses were thrown in the back of Buck’s pick-up before being taken into town and strung up for all to see – especially the other gang members, presumably hiding out in the woods. “The Enforcer” was positioned there next to their swinging bodies as a not-so-subtle warning to the others. Stay the heck out of the tomatoes.

This carnage-inspired postcard is from 1954 and was sent from nearby Newaygo, where deer might outnumber people.

The back reads: “A day’s kill for three lucky hunters. Vacationland scene.”

Michigan’s firearm deer season kicks off this week, Nov. 15. This is a Very Big Deal. Not so much on this side of the state, but when I worked in Flint there everything came to a virtual halt as the men headed into the woods.

Best I could tell, the procedure then was to strap the deer to the roof of the car and drive around until it started to spoil. Bonus points if the tongue was seen flapping in the breeze as you sped down I-75.

OK, maybe it wasn't that bad. But this was all culture shock for me. As a New Yorker, my hunting is limited to parking spaces at the mall and Topps 1982 high-numbers in bargain bins.