Aldo, his wife Estella, and their son Starker were all accomplished archers. Aldo was also a talented bow maker and made a special bow for his friend Herb Stoddard.

“I cannot resist quoting in its entirety one of the many wonderful letters Aldo wrote to me over the years. This letter my most cherished one, concerns a yew bow that he made with his own hands and presented to me in 1934”. – Herbert Stoddard

“One cannot fashion a stave without indulging in fond hopes of its future……In fall I hope its shafts will sing in sunny glades where turkeys dwell and that one day some wily buck will live just long enough to startle at the twang of its speeding string”. – Aldo Leopold

This was reprinted in Archery World April/May 1978.

Great reading, thanks

Aldo Leopold is a member of the Wisconsin Bowhunting Hall Of Fame. He was inducted into the HOF in 2015. We have one of his bows along with one of his handmade arrows on display in our WI Bowhunting Museum in Clintonville.

A great read. Thank you, Senaca, for posting it. And the Sand County Almanac was a classic. Some of those old boys had it put together.

Wow! Beautiful words! It is a sad shame that proper English writing such as this no longer exists in the world today.

As good as poetry! Thanks for posting this.

Another great read, your on a roll Jim. Reading that was like listening to a good story teller. Thanks.

Awesome.

Thank you.

"One cannot fashion a stave without indulging in fond hopes of its future."

Well said, well said! And I agree - what a beautifully written letter!

Interesting,, Nice

Thanks for finding and posting this story.

I have yet to read Sand County Almanac but intend to do so. I had no idea Aldo was a devout archer. very interesting read. thanks for sharing.

Thanks for sharing. I was exposed to Aldo Leopold as young Wildlife Mgmt student at the University of Arizona. He is a legend for guys like me, for sure. Even more so now that I have learned about his affinity for archery.

He was dead wrong on land. We take better care of our own stuff than that belonging to the collective. Just ask the next rented mule you see.

Twostrings, that was Leopold’s point, or at least that we should take better care of our own stuff. He didn’t rail against big government, but he advocated that there can be as much value in the farmer’s hedgerow as in the public forest. He loved to point out the failings of “bureaus.”

I did my MS thesis in Madison where he taught, befriended his biographer, Curt Meine, and hosted his daughter Nina at a talk on campus. I also manage land for a public agency and can say that the quality of stewardship on public and private land is a mixed bag. By the way, A Sand County Almanac was written mainly on his private farm, not in a government office, which you can still visit today.

Enjoyed this very much.

A great read on Aldo Leopold. Shows his human side. He was my kind of guy...true enviromentalist, archer and shot a beautiful Fox XE 20 gauge on upland game. My hero!

SD

Excerpt from A Fierce Green Fire.....

Cool, thanks for posting! A dozen years or so ago, on one of those magical October evenings, I was with friends wandering around a leaf covered cemetery and found myself looking down at Aldo Leopolds grave stone. It gave me goosebumps. One of those special moments.

Thanks for sharing. That is great reading. In words like these you can taste the true joy and mystery of traditional archery.

Thanks for sharing. That is great reading. In words like these you can taste the true joy and mystery of traditional archery.

Thank you, that meant more to me than any crud printed today.

He was a true friend and knew the meaning of taking care of the lands and not abusing what we have. And he smoked a pipe, now you can't beat that.

That made my day!

It makes you want to go back to those days.

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here