I ran across this on another site. The clipping is from around 1934.
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Anybody Know Who Nels Gumley Was
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Originally posted by M.E.B. View PostHe was Fred Bear's bowyer.
I thought the same about the cat. As punishment or as meat replenishment.
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YUP, quite a neat history with Mr Grumley and Mr. Bear and Bear archery. I got a call from a friend who lives in Kentucky who asked me to keep an eye out for a "couple" of Grumley bows to add for his bow collection. He thinks because I live in Michigan that Grumleys can be found at yard sales. Of course that's not the case.
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Interesting history on Grumley. Since there was no internet back then, he was probably only fined at most for the cat-killing. Couldn't locate info on a trial.
However, trying to learn more about him led me to also learn more about Fred Bear. Didn't know that Bear became interested in archery from seeing a movie about Art Young bow hunting in Alaska; subsequently he met Young and learned about bow making. Most surprising was -- if I understood the information correctly -- that it took Fred Bear six years of trying before killing a whitetail deer with a bow.
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Yes, I know about Nelson (Nels) Grumley. I watched one of his bows sell for $1800, if my memory serves me correctly, on Ebay about a year ago. Nels parted ways with Fred when Fred insisted on using fiberglass as a backing material. Fred made a good decision on that. Nels went on to build some more all wood bows but was not successful enough to stay in business. Times change and those that do not keep up get left behind.
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Originally posted by 60 Deluxe View PostYes, I know about Nelson (Nels) Grumley. I watched one of his bows sell for $1800, if my memory serves me correctly, on Ebay about a year ago. Nels parted ways with Fred when Fred insisted on using fiberglass as a backing material. Fred made a good decision on that. Nels went on to build some more all wood bows but was not successful enough to stay in business. Times change and those that do not keep up get left behind.
Nels left Bear in 1948 when Fred made the decision to begin mass production of bows at the new factory in Grayling. Nels felt strongly that bows should be individually crafted, and not made by machine. So Nels left, even though Fred tried to convince him to stay with some handsome financial offers, and struck out on his own to make bows. However, his private venture into the bow making business lasted only two years before he took a job in an appliance manufacturer as a model maker. These "Grumley by Grumley" bows are marked with a simple stamped signature "Grumley" either on the limb or on the riser, and are very scarce and excellent collector items.[/I]
Last edited by Phillip Fields; 12-19-2017, 07:17 AM.
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