1. Fred Bear was an American bow hunter and manufacturer.
17 Facts About Fred Bear
1. 2.
Fred Bear died in Gainesville, Florida and is inducted in the Bowhunters Hall of Fame.
3.
Fred Bear was born in a farmhouse in Franklin County, Pennsylvania on March 5,1902, the second of three children.
4.
Early on, Fred Bear worked as a glue maker for the Chrysler Company in Detroit.
5.
Fred Bear's first bowhunting trophy was a Michigan whitetail taken in 1935.
6.
Fred Bear produced several films of bowhunting around the world and was a popular contributing author for magazines such as Outdoor Life and Archery Magazine.
7.
Fred Bear sold controlling interest in his company in 1968, but continued on with the title of chairman.
8.
Fred Bear remained in the hospital for a month, and died after another heart attack on April 27,1988.
9.
Fred Bear's body was cremated, and his ashes spread near the Au Sable River in Northern Lower Michigan, where Bear had liked to flyfish.
10.
Grayling, Michigan, was home to Fred Bear and Bear Archery Company.
11.
Since 1999, Fred Bear Day is celebrated annually on March 5th in Grayling, MI.
12.
The artist, Ben Watts, is responsible for the 11-foot statue of Fred Bear located in the Wonders of Wildlife Museum in Springfield, MO, in the Archery Hall of Fame.
13.
Fred Bear is known for his wildlife, western, and figurative sculptures and has created works for notable figures such as NFL legend Walter Payton and US Senator Howell Heflin.
14.
The Fred Bear Museum originated in Grayling, Michigan in 1967.
15.
Since then, the Fred Bear Museum was displayed at the headquarters store of Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Missouri.
16.
Artifacts from the Fred Bear Museum have now been incorporated into the Archery Hall of Fame and Museum on the upper floor of the Bass Pro Shop Outdoor World.
17.
Fred Bear was the first president of Michigan's oldest archery club, Detroit Archers.