Trad Gang

mmm....right-click...save picture as...I am SO glad someone taught me how to use this mousie thingie!  :bigsmyl:

I wasn't planning on putting   THAT  picture in the book    :readit:     :o          :banghead: ....

  :biglaugh:

Killie,

You're a naughty girl!!!  :D

I dood it!  :D  
Ron, your honor is safe with me. I  was  gonna say that it was in good hands, but I am a good proofreader.  :bigsmyl:  
Killdeer  :archer:

Yup, you gotta love her.

Or else...  :p

I need reading glasses these days, but sacrifices can be made. What if we build a big campfire, invite Ron, all bring Basil Haydens and some A. Fuentes and listen/critique the rough draft as a starting point?

Great idea Richard.   :thumbsup:

Roger, you and Shep handle the wood toting and  :campfire:  duties, while Killy and I watch over the table where everyone drops off the Basil Hayden and Fuente's (maduro wrap please).   :D

Throw in lotsa pictures too!  I think I've got every pic Ron has posted saved on my hard drive....they are so cool/classic!

Ooh! maduros are good! Butcha know what I can't find? Those 8-5-8s in Claro. That is one fine cigar for a summer evening!

Killdeer

Come on let ole "WALKIN EAGLE" get ta writing  :knothead:  

We want the book for he's to old ta remember things right  :biglaugh:    :biglaugh:

"WALKIN EAGLE"    :confused:    :saywhat:     what's that mean?...  too heavy to fly?...had his wings clipped?...clarify please...   :D  

As for my memory... my minds like a steel trap    :banghead: ....the springs may be getting a little weak but nothin's got away from me yet.     :goldtooth:

SIR RON......To "OLD to FLY" way to many past crashes   :wavey:

Turkeys gobble, Penguins wobble

Parrots talk but Eagles don't walk

 THEY SOAR!

  :bigsmyl:

OK OK  "SOAR" But please wear a helmet we want the BOOK  :readit:    :readit:  

And don't forget a "TIPI CREEPIN" chapter or TWO  :thumbsup:   :notworthy:    :goldtooth:

Hey Ron -How's the book comin'?

We're waiting.  :campfire:

yipper  - some good stuff there

Jer Bear

:smileystooges:  has all the makings of a  best seller so far  :thumbsup:

Count me in.

Whoes Ron Laclair sounds french.

I have never had the honor of meeting you Mr. Ron but I would love to have chance to sit around a campire and listen to some of the great stories that you have lived; PLEASE sign me up for a copy of the book....  :campfire:

Oh, sure... NOW y'all think of this!!   :saywhat:  

Last year, after being involved in our favorite branch of this sport for 15 years, I figured I needed to take in another bit of the archery panorama, and ordered a Shrew Classic Hunter so I could feel like I'd walked a few steps in Ron's formidable shoes.

I have to believe the soon-to-be-released(?!?!?) book could have scratched that itch to some extent, and I might even have saved a few $$$!

Well, more's the pity... I guess I'll just have to TRY to enjoy shooting the bow, and take massive amounts of game with it while we all wait for the book.  It's a dirty, dirty job, but SOMEBODY'S got to do it!!    :thumbsup:  

Daryl

Put me on the list for 1 book and a copy of the DVD!!   ;)    :coffee:

Yes, I would love to see that done!

I'll take 2 copies.............

I bought a new Stormy Kromer bowhunting cap this winter and was surprised to find that our own Ron LaClair was one of the people responsible for the design. It is called the Northwoods Stormy Kromer and has a shorter brim.  http://www.northwoodsoutfitters.com/Pages/GenInfo/Kromer.htm   It is now one of my favorite hunting caps. I would like to find out other things that Ron has done that I do not know about and hear more details on the things I do know about.

Allan

I would. no question about it.

If my addition to the list would help Ron get ta writing, Please add me as someone who would love to read it.

Count me in

I'd love to!

Ron is definitely someone I would like to share a campfire with.   :thumbsup:

Ron who? Just kidding. I'd go out and buy a brand new pair of readin' glasses just to read that book.  :thumbsup:

Big R is my hero   :thumbsup:   , I would love to see a video made of just him and his Shrew bows .

Mike

I would even learn to read for Ron's story.

Put me down, that wil be a great read!!

Yup, From what I have seen, Ron has his feet planted firmly on the ground, would be an interesting read. I too would love to share a campfire with this man.

Sign me up for a copy of the completed book!!!

I would sit and read it non stop in one sitting!

I would, interesting guy for sure!

Ron doesn't know me from Adam, but he's been a bad, bad influence on me since the early 80s.

I was shooting 110 pound compound bows back then, and happened to walk through a Doctor's lounge in the hospital I was working at when something caught my eye on the table.

Seems there were three issues of a magazine called THE LONGBOW SHOOTER'S DIGEST laying there. I'd never heard of such a thing. . . A longbow magazine. What'll they think of next?

Well, I picked up one of the issues, thumbed through the pages, and saw an article about some guy named Ron winning the national longbow championship with a 100-pound longbow.

"Well heck, I could do THAT" I said to myself as I carried away all three issues laying on the table, and thus began my long descent into total longbow addiction.

That was almost 30 years ago, and I still catch a lot of guff from guys because I hunt with heavy longbows. Well it's all Ron's fault, every bit of it, and if he doesn't write a book that will finally set me straight, I may be tempted to sue!

Heck, if it weren't for Ron and that photo in THE LONGBOW SHOOTER'S DIGEST, I would still be happily shooting 110-pound compound bows and be a lot saner!

Write the book man, write the book!

me, me, me...  :wavey:

Elksong, WOW...how'd you dig up this old thread?

I'd forgotten about it and frankly I've been pretty lax on working on the "book". Thanks to it coming back to my attention and all of the encouraging things said, I've started typing on it again. I pledge to set aside some time to work on it a little every day if possible until it's done. It's  fun reliving all of those times again. Nancy was reading over my shoulder this morning and said that she thought I was going into too much detail. I could could get it done faster if I just skimmed over but I gotta tell it like it was...   :readit:

Thanks all for the kind comments and encouragement...   :wavey:

Count me in!! I would love to read about the "Shining Times" of  Ron LaClair.  :readit:    :bigsmyl:  

I love detail, thats how I learn best, makes a better picture in my "minds eye" as I read.

Raven >>>>------->

PS Love the throwing knives I ordered from ya! I will have to send a pic or two of the beer bottle cap I hit at a two spin distance.  :eek:    :bigsmyl:

Ron,  Just keeping an eye on one of the all time coolest men still planted on TOP of the dirt!  :biglaugh:

Tell it like it was.


This is going to be a good read.

Yep......be a good read!

Ron,
I look forward to your writing and hope that not only is the bow a big part of it, but also would like to hear about some of the flinklock experiences to.

Sounds like a good excuse for Ron to exercise another of his talents(writing). Count me in !!

yes-me too

Wow Ron looks like you better get busy.  These guys are relentless.  And I would definatly be interested in reading your book!!    :thumbsup:

Let me know when you get to the part where I banged on the gate with the sledge hammer!

I can think of no finer present for Mason when it comes off the presses..... Get to dippin the quill in the ink well Ron ! It will of course need to be a signed copy as well. Sure wish we could come up to Compton and visit with ya on your turf. Hug "Redbird" for us !

nocams

I think it would be an instant classic...PR

We're waiting.  :bigsmyl:

Thanks for the inspiration and motivation guys. It was just the push I needed to get going again on the project.    :readit:

Can't wait to read it Ron.

Did I sign up for this yet.....don't remember, so put on too.

I would love too!! I heard a couple stories around the campfire at Comptons but I bet there are many more great untold ones.

I would stand in a long line for a copy!

Just keeping this alive, Ron. Any progress on the book.....?   :)

I don't know how I missed this topic, missed it more than once. I have enjoyed reading any experiences Ron has shared on the forums. I would love to read his book when he gets it ready.

I would buy it....has he started one yet ?

:archer:

David

Should I send a case of pencils or pens Ron ???  :pray:  

nocams

Thanks guys, it's started but I need a little nudge now and then...     :readit:    
When you've lived as long as I have, it takes awhile to tell about it..   :goldtooth:

nudge     :campfire:

It it gets written,, I want a copy..

John III

Write the subject line, then tell the story. You be amazed at how fast it will go....

I think Ron has some valuable information, knowledge, and great adventures he could share.  Ron to many is looked upon as the link between the golden time (years of archery) and the resuggent as now.  I would love to read and purchase a book like this.

Yes definitely will have a copy of this! so nudging Ron!!!!   ;)    ;)    ;)    :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:    :thumbsup:

Yes!  I would get a copy!  I always love his pictures and stories!

I get editing rights on any stories told that involve a sledge hammer!!!

Yeah, Ron !!!  

Do it before you forget all the good stories like I've done..

Come on Roger you would take all the good stuff out of a story!!    :bigsmyl:

:wavey:  I'm not sure...but I think I have already raised my hand.  :goldtooth:

Here's a little of "The Early Years"
           
 

The early years


Being a breech birth baby, I backed into this world on March 22 1936 in Lansing, Michigan. The son of William and Edith LaClair. French Canadian and Native American  on my fathers side, Scotch and Irish on my Mothers side.

My Dad was a broad shouldered barrel chested man about 5'9", dark complected with black hair. My Mother was tall and fair with blond hair. My Sister who is 10 years younger and my only sibling favors my dad's side of the family. She's tall but has the darker completion of our French and Indian blood.   Both of my parents family's resided in northern Michigan and at various times worked in the lumber camps that were prevalent in Michigan in those days. My grandfather on my Mothers side was a big rawboned Irishman of great strength. One story of him was that he once won a bet in lumber camp by squatting under a horse and lifting it off the ground. My Dad was also a powerful man. He liked to frequent the "Beer Gardens" as he called them and would usually end up arm wrestling all comers for beers. He'd take them on one after another and I never saw him lose. Even though my dad liked his beer I never saw him  inebriated.

The Woman in my family were also strong and aggressive. My Mother used to shoot pheasants off the back porch of the house when they got in her garden using my Dad's single shot 12ga that kicked like a mule. Her Mother, my grandma Flossie cooked in the lumber camps and she took no guff from the rough lumberjacks who feared her temper and the long wooden spoon she freely wielded. My Great Great Grandma Mary on my Dad's side once killed a bear that was trying to get one of their pigs. That exploit was written of in a book about the early settlers of Antrim County Michigan.  

The years just before and just after my birth were tough times in America. The Great Depression began in 1929 with the Stock Market crash and lasted until 1941 with beginning of World War II. I was born right in the middle of those times. During the war years I remember the occasional Black Out's at night when absolutely no lights were allowed for  short periods of time. The Black Out's were practice for Air Raids in case of enemy bombings. Most able bodied men enlisted in the service or were drafted. All of my Uncles went in the Army, my Dad was color blind so it kept him out of the regular Army but he was in the National Guard. Part of the Guards duty was to guard plants and warehouses at night against enemy saboteurs. People saved aluminum foil from their empty cigarette packs and rolled it into balls to turn in for the war effort. I remember my older cousin and I picked milkweed pods for their silky contents which were used to make parachutes for the war. We got a penny for an onion sack full.  

One of my Aunts lived with us for awhile during the war. She had two small children a little younger than me. I remember one particular time when she was writing to my Uncle, my mothers brother who was fighting in the Philippines and she ask me if there was anything I wanted to say to him in her letter. I had heard somewhere about the Natives on the Islands making "Bolo" knives out of the propeller blades of crashed fighter planes, so I ask my Uncle if he would send me one of those Bolo knives. I remember being disappointed in my Uncle because he never did send me that knife.  

From a very early age I had an adventurous spirit and a love for the outdoors . As a youngster I was always in the woods behind the house, building brush huts and playing Tarzan. I was the only five year old in the area that wore a home made loin cloth that my mother made from an old sheet and a wooden knife that my Dad made for me. At six or seven I was hunting frogs along the creek with a sharpened lance. When I proudly brought home several frogs one day my dad said, OK now you've got to clean them and eat them. I eagerly followed my dads direction, cutting off the plump rear legs, skinning them and putting them in a hot skillet. I remember being surprised when the frog legs twitched and jerked in the pan. I also remember how I felt when I ate the little bit of meat from those frog legs that I had killed and cooked....a feeling of satisfaction and pride that hunters for thousands of years before me must have felt. There have been hundreds maybe thousands of cook fires with pans and kettles of wild game since that time many years ago but I'll never forget that first hunters ritual that I shared with my dad.   I cherish the times hunting with my dad. I didn't know that those times would be so limited, he died of lung cancer at the age of 53. Thirty five years of smoking a couple packs a day of unfiltered Camel cigarettes was his undoing. I was 23 years old when he died.  

I had great parents who let me be the Wild Boy of the forest. They didn't discourage me in any way, they let me play out my youthful  fantasies to my hearts content. If I wanted a loin cloth, a wooden knife a wooden gun or a wooden bow, my mom or dad would make it for me.  Both of my parents had gone through the Great Depression so their thinking was that their son would not go without. Pretty much anything I wanted if it was within their means, I got it. Not to say I was totally spoiled and didn't get punished when I did something wrong. In that way they were old fashioned...spare the rod...spoil the child. My dad had a leather razor strap hanging behind the bathroom door (that was later after we got indoor pluming) and he wouldn't hesitate to use it if he thought it would help me see the error of my ways.  

I think some of my love for the woods was inspired by the books my mother read to me. In the days before television people listened to the radio and read books. Every night at bedtime my mother would read to me, stories about the early settlers and pioneers. When she read  the book of Robin Hood to me  I was fascinated with the idea of the bow and arrow. That influence stayed with me all through my childhood and adult years.  When I was about 6 or 7 years old I got a BB gun, probably because I wanted one but also probably because my dad thought it would be a good teaching aid . I was too young to be given BB's to shoot out of it but my dad showed me how the big wooden "kitchen matches" would propel with pretty good force at short ranges. We lived in the country where my dad was a part time farmer. He also worked in town at a GM car plant. My mother was a beauty operator who worked part time at a beauty shop in town. When my mother went in to work she sometimes had to take me along with her.  I'd amuse myself playing in the alley behind the beauty shop. The shop was at the north end of town, a pretty rough side of Lansing that was noted  for it's rough characters. One particular day when I was playing behind the shop shooting match sticks at rats with my BB gun and not being very successful at it. Someone hollered at me and I looked up to see a couple rough looking kids with their heads sticking up over the high board fence behind the alley. They taunted me with comments that made me mad and I  flung insults back at them. I didn't realize that they were trying to distract me while another "bully" was sneaking around to jump me from behind  with the idea of stealing my precious Red Ryder BB gun. I'd like to say it was my keen senses from my hours in the woods that alerted me to his presence behind me but he probably just made some kind of noise that made me turn around when he was about ten feet away. As I spun around I must have had the BB gun leveled at him and when he lunged towards me my instinct was to pull the trigger. At the range of just a few feet  the match didn't do anything more than sting him but it made him turn and run thinking he'd been shot by a BB.  

I went in the back door of the beauty shop and set my gun in the corner of the back room. It wasn't long before a big cop came in the front door of the shop. The gang of little thugs had gone to the cop on the beat to tell them of being shot. When my mother told the cop I had no BB's to shoot out of the gun, he left. When we got home that day my dad took my gun away for two weeks. I remember feeling that wasn't fair because I was only defending myself.  

As a youngster I thought of school as a big waste of time. I would much rather be roaming the woods and fields with my BB gun or bow.  The small 40 acre farm where we lived  had a creek on the back side and a wonderful woods full of all kinds of critters of interest to a young boy. I had a pinto pony named Scout and a faithful little dog named lady. That was the beginning of my trapping experience. I set traps in the woods for any critter that might wander by. I found out how hard it was to kill a big fox squirrel in a steel trap with a BB gun. My dog Lady also found out that a trapped woodchuck can still deliver a pretty painful bite.  

The school I went to at the time was a one room brick school house with one teacher and kids from 1st to 8th grade all in the same room. There was only one other kid in my 3rd grade class, a girl named Olive, and I hated her. She was always trying to make me look bad by outdoing me in our homework assignments. I remember one bad winter, I think it was the winter of 1945. We had a big snow storm that plugged the roads and no one could get to school. The farmers had to pour their milk on the ground because the milk trucks couldn't get in to pick up the milk. My mother helped me with my school work while we were snowed in and I got way ahead in my assigned work in my school books. When the roads finely opened up and we went back to school, I remember walking up to the teachers desk to turn in all the work I had done. Olive was ahead of me with her work and the teacher was telling her that she had done a good job and that she'd have to wait until Ron "me" got caught up. When I turned in my work the teacher was shocked that I'd done so much and she said to Olive that she now would have to catch up to me. The look on Olives face was priceless.That was one of the most satisfying experiences of my young life.  

The school room had a big coal furnace in one side of the room, away from everyone and away from the windows. As I said earlier I thought school was a waste of time and I spent a lot of time staring out the windows longing to be outside. The teacher had my desk moved behind the furnace so I couldn't see out the windows. I thought she was awfully mean for doing that but if she hadn't I probably wouldn't have passed on to the 4th grade.  

I wanted a .410 shotgun so bad  in those days that I could taste it. A friend and I use to send coded messages to each other on our Captain Midnight badges with the secret code dial on them. All we could talk about was if we had a .410 shotgun we could kill just about anything in the world with it. My Dad in all his wisdom got me a shotgun but it was a 16gauge. I was pretty disappointed that it wasn't a .410  plus the little single shot 16 kicked like a mule for a 10 year old.    

My Dad had a smart way to get me to buckle down and do my school work. Back in the 40's in Michigan the Ringneck Pheasant population was very high. Every field was full of them. We hunted them on our farm with our little Cocker Spaniels and they did a great job of putting the beautiful birds in the air in front of our shotguns. My Dad's way to get me to do my school work was I had to have all A's and B's on my report card or no Pheasant hunting in the fall. It was a cruel thing to do to a kid that loved hunting as much as I did but it worked beautifully. For a short time every fall I was one of the smartest hard working kids in school.  

One of my more fond memories of that one room school was occasionally if I was running late and didn't have time to make it by walking to school I was allowed to ride Scout my pinto pony. When I got to school which was only a mile straight down the road, I'd turn Scout loose and he would head for home.  That old brick school house is still standing and has been converted into a small house. I've talked to the occupants and promised to bring them a picture of all the kids including me standing against the side of the building in 1945  

Another memorable experience was in 1947. when my folks decided to send me to summer camp in northern Michigan. Camp Fairwood on Torch Lake. It was where rich people sent their kids in the summer to get them out of their hair. My folks weren't rich by a long shot but they wanted me to have all the advantages they could afford. The Camp provided a curriculum of daily classes such as horse back riding, rifle shooting, archery, woodcraft, canoeing, swimming and so on. The regular time period to be at camp was eight weeks. My folks couldn't afford to send me for that long so they made a deal to send me for just four weeks. I think there was only one other kid that was signed up for the four week period. Of coarse the fact that my parents weren't rich enough to send me for the full eight weeks gave the rich snobby kids a reason to tease the poor kid. That only lasted until the teasing caused a couple of bloody noses...one of them being mine.  After that  the teasing slacked off.  

My interest in archery at that time was at an all time high.  I had received a lemon wood bow and arrow set from the Montgomery Wards catalog earlier in the year and I was bitten hard by the archery bug. The archery class at camp was taught by a man named Scott. As I remember he looked a lot like Howard Hill although I didn't know of Howard at the time. The targets we shot at were the big 48" round multiple colored matts which we shot at 20 yards. The classes were an hour long after which we were supposed to go on to the next class on our individual schedule. I enjoyed the archery class so much that after the hour was up I refused to leave for the next class. The instructors couldn't persuade me to go to the other classes so I stayed in the archery class all day and shot with each group as the came in. I didn't realize it at the time but the Camp Director called my Dad long distance, ( a big deal in those days) to tell him they were having trouble with his son. My Dad expected the worst but after he found out that I only wanted to stay in the archery class all day he told them, "If all the boy wants to do is shoot the bow and arrow, then let him shoot the bow and arrow"  

I had a favorite bow that I used all of the time. I don't remember what poundage it was, probably somewhere in the 20# range. It was a long round English style of  dark wood, maybe osage.   I went on to become the Camp Archery Champion of Camp Fairwood that year in 1947, I was eleven years old. That was the beginning of my life long love affair with the bow and arrow.  

When I was about 12 years old we moved off the farm into a quiet neighborhood in a nice part of town. That was a big transition for me. No more horse to ride through the fields and woods, no more being able to shoot my bow or gun at anything that looked like a good target. There was an empty lot on our street where we played ball. I got a new three fingered  mitt and because I was left handed the position I played most of the time was first base. The city kids in the neighborhood called me a "hick" and I called them "city slickers". Thus began the next faze of my life.

Here's me and Scout around 1945.

   (http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/Ron_Scout.jpg)

My first archery award in 1947

  (http://www.shrewbows.com/rons_linkpics/First%20Archery%20award.jpg)

What a great story, can't wait for more.

Thank you Sir for sharing your memories  :thumbsup:    :campfire:  

F-Manny

I'm accustomed to government leaks, but this leak of inside information takes the cake.

Alright Ron, maybe one more leak between now and when you send the final copy to press, until then---get back to writing (but man, this was great!).

P.S. Suggestion  >>>>--------------> Two versions, one deluxe limited edition leather bound version for those of us country-raised longbow types who will order way ahead of time, and one paper-bound for the city slickers who find out what they are missing and order theirs long after I have read mine way back in my solo, high-country elk camp several times. Yep, that's the ticket!

Thanks Ron, I'm ready for more!

I'm glad to see this finally get some traction.  I talked briefly to Ron about this a couple Kalamazoo's ago.  He has so many photographs and many cool stories to share.

Way to go Ron!  Keep it coming and get it down on "paper" for the book...

todd

Awesome Ron!  I agree with Rik, put me down for the Leather Bound Limited Edition!!   :bigsmyl:    :thumbsup:

I'd buy that one for sure.  :thumbsup:

I do a bit of driving back and forth to work and like to listen to audio books to pass the time. It's kind of neat when the author reads the book as well and thought it would be cool if Ron did this too.

So if you get that book done Ron, consider doing an audio book as well!

Thanks!

I'm in I would love that.I think he should do more youtube videos as well.

I'll do,he has walked a long trail,lot of memories and knowledge.He is a Great Lefty too!(Fred,Glenn,Ron,me...)