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 ...

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.

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.

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.

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.

Now 67, Bear is the Natty Bumppo of the bow to 7,500,000 U.S. archers. In his home town of Grayling, Mich., the chief industry is the Bear Archery Co.

A plaque in honor of Fred Bear, an American bow hunter, is pictured in Grayling, Mich., in this Sept. 4, 2024, photo. (UpNorthLive News) ...