Beka Garris It was bittersweet to send the bow away, but knowing I was a small chapter in its story helped make up for it. Like Fred Bear, the bow has connected many archers who would have been ...

CRAWFORD COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) — The Grayling City Council has decided not to proceed, at least for now, with a proposal to rename the city park after Fred Bear, a bow hunting pioneer.

An undated photo of Fred Bear, an American bow hunter, is pictured on a sign in Grayling, Mich., in this March 3, 2024, photo. (UpNorthLive News) ...

Pope also wrote a book "Hunting with Bow and Arrow," still in print today thanks to Joe St. Charles. Fred Bear is considered the grandfather of modern archery hunting.

That bow was handmade by Fred Bear himself, sometime between the founding of his first factory in Detroit in 1933 and when he moved his manufacturing facility to Grayling in 1947.

Fred Bear began making bows for friends in 1933 and within six years, he left the automotive industry to pursue the archery business fulltime. Fred Bear was born in Waynesboro, Pa., in 1902.

An original Fred Bear bow — at least 60 years old, George BeDen estimates — was collecting dust in the Nixa resident's garage until it recently caught the eye of his great grandson.

In Cranney's case, it is no surprise. The first time she ever pulled back a bow was in the arms of Bear. She recalls his big hands, with long, square fingers, helping her draw her bow back. She was 3.