The Bear of Grayling

Fred Bear remains an icon in this northern Michigan town

By Ross Boissoneau | Nov. 2, 2024

Fred Bear is a legendary figure in the history of bow hunting and bow manufacturing. Bear Archery, the company he began in 1933, is still manufacturing archery equipment, though it left the Great Lakes State in 1978. It first relocated from Grayling to Gainesville, Florida, before subsequently moving some operations to Evansville, Indiana.

Memories of Bear are still strong in Grayling and in the outdoor scene in Michigan. “He was a really big deal,” says Gail Thomas, president of the Crawford County Historical Museum, which has a display of Bear memorabilia.

“Fred Bear was my hero growing up. I can’t remember not shooting a bow,” says Tom Jenkins. When he moved to Grayling in 2002, he was surprised to not find any festivities commemorating the hunter and bowyer’s birthday.

So he eventually posted a note online asking if there was any interest in creating some sort of celebration. “The internet lit up,” Jenkins says. A group of about 70 met at the local archery club and had a 21-arrow salute.

Fred Bear Day is now celebrated each year on March 5, Bear’s birthday. The nonprofit of the same name has made the celebration bigger and better each year, from a casual lunch to a program including exhibits and an auction. It eventually raised funds for a statue of the legendary hunter located in Grayling’s city park.

From Grayling to Gainesville

Bear founded his company in 1933 as Bear Products with Charles Piper. Its initial focus was not on archery but on silk-screening and advertising support work for automotive companies. It wasn’t until 1938 that they branched out into making bows. Two years later Bear divested it from the advertising world and focused on archery, and in 1947 moved the company from Detroit to Grayling to be closer to the hunting and fishing areas he loved.

For the next 30 years the company grew, becoming Crawford County’s largest private employer. At its peak, it employed nearly 350 people, but rising employment costs and a crippling employee strike led to the company moving to Gainesville in 1978. Historical news coverage painted a picture of a vitriolic atmosphere surrounding the strike and subsequent move. “It was devastating for the community,” says Thomas.

The company has continued to produce archery products, while the memories of Bear and his legacy remain. State Senator Jon Bumstead is a lifelong outdoorsman and hunter. He recalls visiting Bear at age 12 on a family vacation to Grayling, the first of several encounters.

“I met him several times,” Bumstead recalls. “He was a wonderful storyteller. I have two books he signed for me. He’s one of my favorite outdoor writers. I could follow along in my mind as the story unfolded.”

Bumstead says whenever he encountered Bear, the interaction was always positive. “He was the grandpa you’d like to have—just a good person. A nice guy, down to earth.”

That seems to have been a universal impression he left with others. “I wrote letters to Fred Bear,” says Jenkins, “and he responded to every letter.”

Museums and Memories

Fred Eichler is another person who holds Bear in high esteem. Bear signed one of his books for him when he was a youngster, and then later signed Eichler’s bow (even though it was a nondescript, generic bow, not one of Bear’s). Eichler later encountered Bear when he was at a hospital being treated for emphysema and a heart attack, and he still took time to speak with Eichler. Bear died in Gainesville on April 27, 1988, at the age of 86.

Eichler has gone on to establish his own career as an outdoor personality, complete with TV shows and appearances, a social media presence with hundreds of thousands of followers, and a guide service. Before that, however, he worked for Bear Archery in Gainesville.

“My job right after [Bear] passed was to look after his mounts and clean them,” Eichler says. Beyond that, he led tours of the museum area at the Gainesville factory. “I’d take people on tour, tell people about how the cape buffalo hit the Land Cruiser after Fred shot him. It was really cool.”

Just as Gainesville wasn’t the original location of the manufacturing operation, neither was it the original location of the museum. The Fred Bear Museum opened in Grayling in 1967, eventually becoming the largest privately held collection of archery artifacts in the world.

Less than 20 years later, however, it followed the company’s move to Gainesville, opening at the Bear Archery plant in 1985. In 2003, it closed and the artifacts were sold to the Bass Pro Shops chain. Exhibits included the story of Fred Bear and bowhunting history, life-size animal mounts, bowhunting artifacts, trophies and memorabilia, and historical bows and arrows.

A Lasting Influence

Today, the Crawford County Historical Society and Museum has an area dedicated to Fred Bear and Bear Archery.

As it grew, the Fred Bear Day group looked for a way to honor Bear beyond a brief celebration and came up with the idea of a permanent display. The group, now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, approached the Grayling City Council with the idea and received approval to erect a statue in Bear’s honor.

After years of work to get permits, secure a sculptor and raise funds, the statue was unveiled earlier this year on Sept. 7.

“The statue unveiling was a tremendous affair,” says Jenkins, who is the vice-president of Fred Bear Day. “So many people joined in and helped.” He estimates a crowd of more than 3,500 was on hand.

Today, the company Bear built continues as one of the leading manufacturers of archery equipment. Eichler, who became the first person to complete the North American Super Slam with a recurve bow (harvesting all 29 North American big game animals), recently worked on a redesign of Bear’s classic Kodiak Bow.

“Bear Archery wanted to tweak it. We married new technology with tradition in keeping with the original design,” he says. “I made a few small changes to update it and breathe new life into it. It’s a highlight of my career, honoring my hero and mentor.”

Learn more about Fred Bear and the annual celebration in Grayling at fredbearday.org.