Bowhunting legend
July 2nd, 2006 by Administrator
Bowhunting legend stays accessible
I recently attended the Compton Traditional Rendezvous in Berrien Springs, Mich. and it was quite an eye-opener. The event proved worth the near 590-mile trip, although I must confess that driving through Chicago made me consider that point carefully.
Despite very warm weather, the event drew an estimated 4,000 archers to the east side of Lake Michigan, all of whom were toting traditional recurves or longbows. They congregated for many reasons, but one of the highlights was the appearance of 94-year-old bowhunting pioneer Glenn St. Charles as well as many other legends of the sport.
According to his excellent book, “Bows on the Little Delta”, St. Charles watched bowhunting come to Washington State in 1938 and the man has been a fervent participant and vocal watchdog ever since.
A man with more than one connection to Nebraska, St. Charles remains one of the most accessible leaders of the sport, even as the rest of the old guard has passed on.
It was St. Charles who took the highly-regarded Fred Bear up to the Little Delta River in Alaska, early events which helped pave the way for Bear Archery to become the industry leader and also put bowhunting in a more visible spot for the country’s outdoorsmen.
St. Charles founded the Pope and Young Club, the recordkeeping and conservation organization synonymous with bowhunting everywhere. At Berrien Springs, though confined largely to a wheelchair, the patriarch spent his time signing books and posing for pictures with adoring hunters of all ages. In the evening, he and other legends sat around a campfire with hundreds in attendance, retelling stories that were older than many in attendance.
Other heavy hitters included whitetail experts Gene and Barry Wensel (the moving force behind the highly-acclaimed Primal Dreams video), longtime Pope and Young kingpin G. Fred Asbell, and Traditional Bowhunter Magazine editor T.J. Conrads.
But I think many realized that opportunities to talk to St. Charles may be fast disappearing for he was a center of attention during the weekend. Too often we take for granted the elder statesmen in any venture, and then after their death regret not having gleaned more from their knowledge and experience while they were here. In many ways it is similar to our families and our grandparents and great-grandparents.
As a lover of history, I will be returning to that field at Fremont High this fall and am looking forward to rekindling a stronger connection with the past. It certainly appeared to me that a similar affection for the days of old were evident among the thousands attending the Compton shoot as the age-old bow designs were just one indication; leather back-quivers, flint-knapping, brain-tanning, tipis and other reaches back to the past were everywhere.
I already have a signed photo of myself and St. Charles in my den (from the ‘96 North American Longbow Shoot in Montana), but it was rewarding to speak to him again and laud him on all he’s done for the sport, even though the vast majority of archers sport the fanciest compounds and have no idea who he is.
The manner in which he’s carried himself for nearly a century is exemplary, and a polar opposite to the ridiculous World Hunting Association I panned in last week’s column. The world and our outdoor sports could certainly use more men and women like him.
As Billy Ellis, a fine bowhunter in his own right, opined, “There have never been many legends in bowhunting circles. Many aspire, but few are chosen. A person becomes a legend when the strength of his character causes a whole movement to become better and stronger until it rises to a higher philosophical plain.”
Anyone wanting to learn more might want to track down a copy of “Bows on the Little Delta”, which has several stories of Nebraska hunts. It’s over 400 pages of trips down Memory Lane to a simpler time when osage bows and cedar arrows ruled the day, and fancy camouflage hadn’t been invented and wool plaids seemed to do the trick just fine.
By Bryce Lambley/Platte Valley Outdoors