Glenn St Charles

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" Many aspire, but few are chosen. A person becomes a Legend when the strength of his character causes a whole movement to become better and stronger until it rises to a higher philosophical plain. "  

Glenn St Charles ... Founder of the Pope and Young Club was such a person

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http://www.archeryhalloffame.com/images/Glenn%20mem%20final.pdf

The Man, The Legend, a poem written by Diane Miller of the Archery Hall of Fame honoring Glenn when he passed away in September of 2010.

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Dick Bolding, Keith " Clem " Clemmons, and Glenn St Charles ... Little Delta 1957

     


Glenn admiring Fred's ram, Little Delta 1958

   


High spike camp … pioneering the Little Delta in 1957

   


Getting arrows ready to hunt
 


All that scouting pays off … the entire 1958 hunting group, a very hardy and adventurous bunch

 


Little Delta 1959 … Fred Bear, Dick Bolding, Bob Kelly, Russ Wright, and Glenn St Charles … I have one of Glenn's arrows from that hunt

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Glenn in 1940 ....  " The days when hunters looked like people, acted like people, and smelled like people "

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Glenn also knew how to fish ... McKay Lake, Northwest Territories 1993 while on a Caribou hunt

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Nason Creek 1959  ... Glenn and his 9 year old son Jay

This mule deer that Glenn took in Nason Creek stood as the #1 mule deer in Washington State for many years and was the P&Y World record from 1959-1962, at a score of 182-6/8.

Nason Creek was an archery only game management unit for many years but sadly it is not any more.

 


All of these bucks came from Nason Creek in a half mile radius of one another. The area is between Thompson Ridge and McQue Ridge. I hunted there many times in the mid to late 70's and saw my biggest mule deer buck there I have ever seen … and buck fever got me !

 


Glenn had a saying " be a trophy hunter until something else comes along " … not all bucks were whoppers but even the young mule deer bucks were big

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Glenn hunting for sheep in the first Little Delta hunt, 1957

Note the back quiver, this was one of Glenn's many archery designs. Two of these have been sold in Trad Gangs St Judes auction the last few years !

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1957 ... Glenn with a fine 180 # Montana cougar

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In 1939 with Glenn's involvement, the Washington State Field Archery Association was formed to give archers " one voice" in trying to expand bowhunter opportunity in Washington. In 1940 the Mad River area was the second area granted to bowhunters, the first was an area called Eight-Mile. Glenn and his band of bowhunters were the Pioneers of bowhunting in Washington State.


 


1948 Bow and Arrow Reserve - a nice buck taken by California bowhunter " Wild Bill " Childs … from left to right, Orlin Lawson, Tommy Loveland, " Wild Bill " Childs and Glenn St Charles

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Glenn purchased this raw property in 1949 and began building Northwest Archery ... It would become their home, shop, and business.

     

 

   


   


West end of the Museum in Northwest Archery

 


East end of the Museum in Northwest Archery

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Glenn St Charle's Archery Journey and Resume ...

Glenn was born on 12-15-1911

1927 ... made his first bow from a commercial stave of Tennessee Cedar backed with Hickory for his Boy Scout merit badge.

1928-30 ... Bow fished for Sand Sharks in Puget Sound

1938 ... made his first Yew self bow

1939 ... became involved in field archery with a local Seattle club.

1939-40 ... Got into organizational aspect when National Field Archery Association broke away from the National Archery Association.

1940 ... Helped Kore Duryee and Burt Wallis form the Washington State Archery Association and affiliate it with the NFAA

1940's ... Served as WSAA President and Big Game Chairman
Marketed his Yew bows, his specialty was Yew backed with Whale bone, baleen

1944 ... established Northwest Archery Company

1945 ... designed, hand made, and sold the Thunderbolt Broadheads

1948-50 ... Was elected National Field Archery Vice President

1950-55 ... was the NFAA Northwestern Representative

1953 ... designed, manufactured, and marketed the Mickey Finn broadheads

1953 ... designed the St Charles Backquiver

1953-60 ... designed, manufactured, and marketed his Thunderbird glass and wood laminated recurve bows

1956 ... was appointed NFAA Bowhunting Activities Chairman by President Palmatier

1958 ... This committee, to gain respect for the bow as a hunting weapon, initiated the Boone and Crockett system of scoring trophy animals into the NFAA Hunting Program

1958 ... received NFAA highest award, The Compton Metal of Honor, which included a Life Time membership in NFAA

1958-60 ... was elected NFAA Vice President again, Glenn also served many years as Chairman of the Compton Award Committee

1960 ... As Vice President, argued successfully with NFAA Board of Directors for separation of trophy records from the NFAA to pave the way for the Pope & Young Club.

1961 ... Founded the Pope & Young Club at his home in Seattle, Washington on January 27th, 1961

1967 ... Served as Chairman under temporary by-laws until incorporation of the club in 1967

1967-72 ... was elected and served as first President of the Pope & Young Club, became an Honorary member of the Pope & Young Club

1991 ... elected to the Archery Hall of Fame

1991 ... was presented with a Special Ishi Award to become the first individual in Pope & Young history to earn that organizations highest honor of service.

1996 ... Glenn wrote an article in Traditional Bowhunter Magazine entitled " It's Time " encouraging traditional bowhunters to form their own organization to create a separate identity distinct from the modern bowhunter.

1999 ... On November 29, 1999 Compton Traditional Bowhunters officially came in to existence. Glenn St Charles played a large part along with a small group of other dedicated Traditional Archers to bring Compton into being.

many thanks to Joe St Charles for providing me with Glenn's resume

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Pope & Young organizational meeting in Grayling Michigan, June 29th 1960

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Bob Arvine and Glenn St Charles in front of the Chalet at Nason Creek, 1952

 


The snow gets pretty deep in the Cascade mountain range of Washington. When the deep snows come and the deer migrate is when hunting was at it's best. I found several old platform tree stands in the Nason Creek area that Glenn and crew hunted from during the migration.

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Joe St Charles, guide Bobby, Jay St Charles, Glenn St Charles ... McKay Lake NWT Canada 1993, a nice caribou taken by Joe


 

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Glenn, Jay, Joe standing in front of Inukshuks ... McKay Lake NWT Canada 1993

Inuit natives use the Inukshuks as land marks and to help herd Caribou

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Glenn St Charles harvested his first deer in 1942 and went on to harvest with a bow and arrow mule deer, blacktail deer, black bear, mountain goat, barren ground caribou, mountain caribou, Quebec Labrador caribou, cougar, antelope, Canada moose, Roosevelt elk, Yellowstone elk, turkey, bobcat, and don't forget the Sand Sharks of Puget Sound. Seven of his animals are in the Pope & Young record books.

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Glenn researched the antler configuration of the Roosevelt Elk, this provided criteria that led to it's acceptance into the Boone & Crockett record keeping lists as a separate species from the American or Yellowstone Elk.

       

A nice Roosevelt bull
     

Glenn with an Olympic rainforest Roosevelt

     


Three brave souls about to go floating down the Bogachieml River on the Olympic Penninsula in Washington state … that water is REALLY cold in the winter

   


Elk camp on the Olympic Pennisula at Matheny Creek … love the vintage transportation and tents

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From 1940 to 1994 Glenn wrote numerous articles for archery and outdoor magazines and newspapers to further the interests of bowhunting, including many on controversial subjects.

In 1985 he produced a video to save the art of making yew and osage bows for posterity. This professionally sixty one minute documentary was titled " Billets to Bow " It was also published as a book.

In 1997 "Bows on The Little Delta" was published. Written by Glenn, it is a fine story of a man with vision and the love of the outdoors and bowhunting.

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Advice and Wisdom from Glenn St Charles ...

1. Credibility comes from firsthand knowledge, whether writing or speaking. Assumption, rumors, hearsay won't do it.

2. Don't search for a profound justification for hunting. You hunt because the animals are where you want to be.

3. Hunt ethically and in fair chase. You'll know the feeling when you have done it right.

4. Don't let peer pressure make you a trophy hunter. Be a trophy hunter until something else comes along.

5. Respect the animals in life and in death. A boot in the rump won't do it. A little humility is better. You may be alone but remember there is a higher Presence.

6. If possible, find a home for all usable parts, the meat, hide, sinew, and hooves. It's called respect. A rack worthy of a mount deserves the best in taxidermy.

7. Don't get caught up in the numbers game. If asked how many animals you have killed, all you need to say is " enough."

8. Remember everyone is a VIP

9. You really don't know a person until you have hunted with him.

10. Leaders need credibility. Be an independent thinker. Never let anyone or any entity own you.


Taken from Glenn's epilogue in Bows on the Little Delta

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Margret and Glenn St Charles 1991 Glenn's induction to the Archery Hall of Fame

 


The St Charles Family … Margaret, Glenn, Rochelle, Joe, Suzanne, Jay, Linda