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Category B - Bowhunters
who have shown Excellence in the Design and Manufacturing of Archery
Equipment
A quick review of my life in archery discloses that I have dedicated
most of my efforts to designing and patenting a large assortment of
archery arrow rests for bowhunting and target use. What may not be known
is that I started out as a bowhunter and field archer who hunted for the
purpose of augmenting the family table fare.
My initial start in archery occurred
during 1938 after viewing one of Howard Hill's short subject movies on
bow hunting with a long bow. At the age of 12, I harvested my first deer
and have since taken several deer, elk and a variety of predators with a
bow and arrow. I became interested in target archery when I taught my
wife Eva and her brother how to shoot a bow. To my surprise they both
became champions while I struggled in a futile attempt to rid myself of
deeply ingrained bad habits.
Eventually, my efforts led to the
development of several noteworthy items that were destined to command
the attention of bowhunters and archers throughout the world. During
1961, I met Roy Hoff who was the founding editor of Archery Magazine.
Mr. Hoff encouraged me to market my ideas and to write a technical
column for his popular archery publication. I specifically recall Mr.
Hoff saying: "If you come up with a better arrow rest, the world will
beat a path to your door."
From experimenting and marketing rope
release devices, I focused on designing and experimenting with my own
original diving board launcher arrow rest concepts for center shot bow.
When compound bows became popular during the early seventies, I designed
the very first bolt-on no-drill mount mounting bracket for arrow rests
that is currently seen and used by every arrow rest manufacturer today.
During the same time span, I patented and improved launcher rest for
standard recurve and compound bows.
As an archery coach and lecturer, I was
fortunate to have toured Europe through the courtesy and sponsorship of
Easton Seminars during 1991. The highlight of my bowhunting career is
being inducted into the Bowhunters Hall of Fame. I personally take this
opportunity to thank Doug and Betty Walker for their untiring efforts
toward founding this prestigious organization.
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