THE GREATEST BOWHUNTER I EVER KNEW was born 121 years ago today. We shook hands for the first time in 1972 at the Pope and Young Club Convention and Awards Banquet in Denver, and our paths crossed frequently thereafter until his death in 1988. And like millions of other archers and bowhunters of that era, I was a big Fred Bear fan and longtime supporter of the legendary man in the Borsalino hat. Special personal memories include visits to the Bear Archery plant and Fred Bear Museum in Grayling, Michigan, before the company's production facility relocated to Florida; the annual Anderson Archery clinics and seminar stage we shared each June in front of large and appreciative crowds in Grand Ledge; and his final appearance at the P&Y gathering in Tulsa when we said our goodbyes one last time the year before his passing. Still, I'm eternally thankful that I could work with Pope and Young founder Glenn St. Charles, Papa Bear, and other club officers as Editor of the very first P&Y record book, published in 1975 with Fred's financial assistance. I also give thanks for eventually being elected President of the P&Y Club and in 2003 voted into the Archery Hall of Fame where true giants of the sport -- including Fred Bear and Glenn St. Charles and Howard Hill -- were enshrined for their roles in sparking the worldwide growth of 20th Century archery/bowhunting. My biggest regret was I never accepted Fred's invitation to join him and other friends at his Grousehaven deer hunting camp in central Michigan. My work as BOWHUNTER Magazine Editor/Founder had always seemed to get in the way, and I could rationalize there was always next year -- until there wasn't. Regardless, I feel eternally blessed to have played an active role in documenting a great sport that has had millions of participants and remains popular with men, women, boys, and girls across much of our 21st Century world. To have known Papa Bear, Glenn St. Charles, Jim Dougherty, Earl and Ann Hoyt, Gail Martin, Tom Jennings, and Bill Wadsworth was a pleasure. And to have spread the gospel beside my BOWHUNTER contemporaries -- Fred Asbell, Dwight Schuh, Chuck Adams, Dr. Dave Samuel, and Len Cardinale --has been a true privilege. #