Had the chance to spend some time this past week with a couple of good friends.I first met them in person last summer and it was the highlight of my year.Well,they did it again.Made my summer!Sharlene was one of the top female tournament archers back in the good old days and competed against and beat some of the top female archers,including Babe Bitzenberger.If that wasn't enough,she did much of it while still a teenager.She has won several N.F.A.A tournaments and has many trophies and medals to prove it.She personally knew many of the top male and female archers from the 1940's and later.Her father was good friends with Fred Bear and was with him from the very early days of Bear Archery.She is a delightful,wonderful lady.
Her husband Bruce,a mere 84 years old,is also quite an archer himself.He still goes out bowhunting and recently returned from a black bear hunt in Arizona with his daughter.Yes,she too is a seasoned archer and bowhunter herself and has even bowhunted Africa.It is so much fun to sit and talk to these two gems and listen to their stories and recollections of the good ol' days.So many of the archers that we as history buffs enjoy reading about in the old magazines are long gone.To have a chance to meet,and talk to folks like these two,that were there,is in my opinion priceless.I just thought I would post a few pictures from my recent visit with these two wonderful icons of the past.They are really an inspiration and remind me of why I love the history of archery so much.Enjoy.
This first pic is of both Sharlene and Bruce holding issues of "Archery" magazine that they just happen to be on the cover of.Both of the deer on these covers still grace the wall of their living room along with several other trophies.I had them each sign the cover of the magazine they were shown on.They have been on other covers as well.
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Sharlene with her cover shot of a huge mule deer she shot.It is shown above her on the wall behind her:
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Here's one of Sharlene with just some of her medals.Look at that smile!:
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Here's one of Bruce and the "trophy room".Quite impressive:
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I had to include one of myself with the champion archer:
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And of course,one with the master himself.I hope I'm still bowhunting at 84!:
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I thought I would add a couple more pics to this post.Here's one of a young,14 year old Sharlene Skanes with two of her more "senior" competitors,from a 1950 "Archery" magazine:
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And here's a cool old photo of her father Jack with another top female archer from the Detroit Archers Club,Daisy Olsen.Photo is from the early 1940's on the Detroit Archers field course.Jack is on the right:
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Nice, some rich archery history there! Thanks.
Johnny
Your a very lucky guy! What a lifetime experience you have here. Thanks for sharing this piece of Archery History.
Thats a true blessing, Thanks for sharing. :notworthy: :notworthy:
John,
Great pictures and story! Thanks
:clapper: :clapper:
Nice story John.
I'm glad you guys enjoyed the pics and story.We all love chasing down all these wonderful old bows and arrows,broadheads,catalogs,pictures,etc..,but I've come to discover a whole nother aspect of collecting over the years.The few times I've had the opportunity to sit and talk with some of those that were actually there have become some of my most treasured experiences since I first became interested in this stuff many years ago.Most of those participants are gone now.A few I have met and are gone now are Glenn St. Charles,Charlie Kroll,Cliff Coe,Erwin Ketzler,Art Linde,and several Bear employees,many that worked for Fred since the 1950's.The stories that they shared with me are priceless.
Another quick story about Bruce.Back in the 1950's I believe it was,he worked at an archery shop.There was an Outdoor Show going on at the Michigan State Fairgrounds,quite common back then.One of the Wilhelm brothers,Walt or Ken,I don't recall,was going to do an archery demonstration but for some reason,his bow and arrows didn't make the trip with him from out west.So Bruce was approached and asked if he could help this gentleman out with a bow and some arrows.When he heard who it was he got as excited as you would expect.Mr. Wilhelm came to his shop,pulled back a few bows and finally settled on one of the few heavy weight bows that he had.Bruce had to call up a friend to get some 3/8" shafts as he didn't have any heavy enough for Mr. Wihelm's draw weight.He got the shafts,some full length feathers and glue.Bruce asked him if he needed a fletching jig for the feathers and he said "what's that?" Bruce showed him a jig and he said "No,I won't need that".He asked for some straight pins so some were secured from a local store.Mr. Wilhelm proceeded to pin one end of the feather down with the straight pin,then apply some glue and pin the other end down.He did this on all of his arrows,let them dry and then was asked if he would like to use a feather burner to shape his feathers.Again he chose not to use this modern device but simply trimmed his feathers with some scissors.Bruce said the arrows were fantastic and Mr. Wilhelm,even though up in age,put on a fantastic show.He even gave Bruce one of his arrows but Bruce said somehow many years ago it got badly broken,so much so that he ended up throwing it away.Oh well,some times you win,sometimes you lose.Wish I could have added some pics of THAT arrow!
John,
WOW! What an awesome story! Thank you for sharing the story and pictures with us.
John -
Great story and truly wonderful photos. Again, thank you for sharing both with all of us.
Danny
Great story and pics...............I saw the magazine with Sharlene once before but was unaware of all her achievements and those of her husband. Quite the collection of trophies and medals. Johnny you're a lucky guy!
I am so glad that you guys enjoyed the story and pictures as much as I enjoyed sharing it.I knew it would be appreciated here by all of us old souls.
Bjorn- I really am a lucky guy to have met people like Sharlene and Bruce.They do keep me inspired.It makes one realize that it's not just about the material things we collect but the intangibles too,like the stories and memories and especially the people.
I've got another great picture to share of these two I will post as soon as possible.
:thumbsup: That's a great story! Thanks for sharing.
That's great John. Thanks for sharing.....Philip
That's too cool!I'm sure the tales those two could share would be amazing.Thanks for sharing John.
Thanks john,
I have those archery issues will have to get out and read stories. What great people. Dan
Thanks for sharing this piece of Archery History.
Thanks johnny for the great pictures of bow hunting greats!!!! Glad that you got to use one of my old letters, about her father. On your trip to them. I really love pepole like you who perserve bow hunting and archery heritage. Very nice and thanks for the stuff to get my dad's old super k. up and running. Jim
Jim- I'm glad you enjoyed the story and thanks very much for the letter from Fred about her father.I know she appreciated reading those kind words about her dad from Fred.And we'll find you that bow quiver,don't worry.
Thanks so much for sharing John. Always appreciate your posts.
I'm just glad that there is a place like this that pics and stories like this can be shared with others that enjoy the history too.I mentioned this thread to Sharlene and Bruce,thought they might like to see how the tradition they were involved in many years ago has been passed down to us and is still being appreciated.They are the nicest couple I've ever had the opportunity to meet.
I always enjoy reading your posts, Johnny. Thanks again.
Mike
Thanks Mike-I enjoy sharing them with you guys.