Thanks Robert. Fred was a wonderful man, humble, with a great sense of humor and willing to laugh at himself. I originally met him in Alabama when I was attending the Fred Bear Bowhunting School at Westervelt Lodge. He was there to film a seqment with Glen Lau (Sports Afield)- if memory serves, along with Hugh Blackburn of Bear Archery. Fred and Hugh served as our guest instructors. Both men spun tales of their work on the film Deliverance.
We kept in touch over the years and had some great visits. I was honored twice when asked to present several awards of recognition to Fred. One from my state bowhunting organization. Fred told me many hunting stories )including a few yarns,)and in more serious moments would relate his fears of where the "archery industry" was headed.
The last time I saw Fred was the day he burned the arrow in the photo. My wife and oldest daughter was with me and filmed a lot of the visit, including Fred spinning one of his famous Alaskan hunting yarns about himself and Bob Munger, who I also knew.
People ask "What impressed you the most about Fred Bear?" I always say, "Everytime I was with Fred or watched him interact with a new admirer - he was always the same; Fred had a way of making each person he met feel important . . . he would seem more interested in how their last hunt had gone than telling them about his latest adventure."
I think that says a lot about the man, considering many of the hunting "celebrities" of our time, it says a TON. As a kid, Fred was a bit of a hero to me, so my expectations were pretty darn high when I first met him. Guys, he surpassed my expectations whenever I realized what a truly nice fellow he was.
Topic: Burning Feathers Like Fred Bear!! (Read 2124 times)
