On September 15th, my wife and I, left home on a 30 day road trip from San Diego to New England with a bunch of stuff in between.
During our multiple state trip, I tried to find walking ranges along the way, but had little luck, as most are restricted to members, were closed for the year, or we found them too late in the day.
However, I had a few archery related "appointments" scheduled along the way that I'd like to share.
The first, was a stop north of Detroit to visit former San Diego resident, Jerry Amster. In the late 50's, while living in Michigan, Jerry had recently been crowned a Jr., National Indoor Champion, and was recruited by archery legend Hugh Rich to relocate to Glendale, California as an employee. Not long after, Uncle Sam came knocking and Jerry found himself stationed in Washington State in the Air Force. He soon became a State Champion there, and after his discharge, he relocated to San Diego where he worked for Frank Eicholtz and Gordon Plastics. He was instrumental in Browning Arms acquiring Gordon Plastics in 1961. Later, he worked as a regional sales rep for Ben Pearson where the "Amster Training Bow" was produced based on his design. Jerry was a great host. He shared a number of great stories and I hated to leave when the time came.
My second stop was in Madison, WI., with Bill McCrary who wrote, The History of Wisconsin Bowhunting: 1930-2016. Bill is a lifelong bowhunter, the state’s unofficial bowhunting historian, the official director of the Wisconsin Bowhunting Heritage Foundation and a WBH director. Bill has nothing to do with my San Diego archery history project except for his love of archery and the history therein. Bill assists me with constructive criticism and advice regarding my project and is just a great guy. My life will be richer for knowing him; I highly recommend possessing one of his books!
After leaving Wisconsin, my wife and I were wandering the back roads of Iowa when we saw a sign for the Dubuque Field Archers Range. I made a quick u-turn and followed the sign down a long lane that I wasn't sure I should be driving I found a few fella's in the clubhouse shooting the breeze. I walked up and introduced myself as a member of the San Diego Archers. They welcomed me in and explained how they'd just finished "winterizing" their range and clubhouse. We talked until the sun went down and the bugs got thick before I hit the road again. I can tell from my short time talking with them that these are great guys with a great club. Look them up and stop by if you're in the area.
My next stop took me to Denver, Colorado. Prior to my arrival there, I had been contacted by Dave Gordon Jr., who informed me that Gordon Composites, formerly Gordon Plastics Inc., of San Diego, had been sold to a parent company and wanted the bow collection there removed. He asked if I might assist in finding a new home for the collection. I contacted the Museum of San Diego History and they agreed to accept the collection.
Dave arranged for me to pick up the collection from his cousin Mike Gordon at the new location of Gordon Plastics. Mike immediately gave me a tour of the new facility with its reincarnated name that will soon be turning out a new type of carbon arrow. Afterwards, Mike helped me load up 20 bows and a few other historical items that are now destined for the museum in Balboa Park, San Diego.
The next day, we drove a few more hours where I met with Dave Gordon at his home. We looked over the collection and talked at length about the original Gordon Plastics and San Diego. As I prepared to leave, Dave gave me a signed Graphlex arrow shaft, produced by GPI in the 70's. Stupidly, I forgot to get a picture of us, before I left.
