Fred Bear

Bear was born in a farmhouse in Franklin County, Pennsylvania on March 5, 1902, the second of three children. His heritage was English, Dutch, Swiss and German.

Early on, Bear worked as a glue maker for the Chrysler Company in Detroit. He also worked for the Ford Motor Company in Detroit as a wood carver, making cabinets for the radios/dashboards. In an interview, he mentioned operating a plant from 1929 to 1933, during the Great Depression, that caught fire, thus rendering him unemployed. With a partner named Chuck who had worked at the same plant, they put together $1,200 to open his bow business in a garage. Bear Archery was thus founded in 1933.

In 1947, Bear and his wife moved to Grayling, Michigan, where they lived in a tent along a river to keep their personal expenses down while trying to make a go of their bow business. Even as late as 1961, it was difficult making ends meet for Bear. The following years proved prosperous however, as more states permitted bow hunting and the sport's growth steadily increased.

Bear's interest in bowhunting was stimulated by another legend, Art Young of the Pope and Young Club, whom Bear met in Michigan in the late 1920s and often called his hero. Bear's first bowhunting trophy was a Michigan whitetail taken in 1935. In the ensuing years, he traveled the world with his bow and appeared before thousands of bowhunters promoting and teaching the sport. His television debut was made on Arthur Godfrey and His Friends, with later appearances on The American Sportsman and The Tonight Show. He also produced several films of bowhunting around the world and was a popular contributing author for magazines such as Outdoor Life and Archery Magazine.

Bear sold controlling interest in his company in 1968, but continued on with the title of chairman. In 1978, following a strike and continuing labor problems, the Bear Archery manufacturing operation was relocated to Gainesville, Florida.