November 2011 Archives - Outdoor Writers Association of America

November 2011 Portfolio: Cliff Shelby

owaa — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:20:23 +0000

Cliff Shelby’s Portfolio originally appeared in the November 2011 issue of Outdoors Unlimited. Here are few more pictures that didn’t make it into the magazine layout. Enjoy!

Editor’s note: Please be patient, it may take a few seconds to load the slideshow player.

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Product Review: Tamron 18-270mm Di II VC PZD

OWAA staff — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:12:04 +0000

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BY JON LAWTON
Wouldn’t it be great if you could capture the photographs you wanted without having to carry around a camera bag full of lenses? Well, Tamron, a Japanese Optics Manufacturer, has spent the past 20 years working to make that a reality. Tamron makes lenses of almost every size, focal length and category, but they are best known as the pioneer of the all-in-one zoom lens. Their new 18-270mm PZD lens is the world’s lightest and most compact 15X zoom.
The Tamron 18-270mm PZD lens is designed specifically for crop sensor Digital SLR’s and gives users a 28-419mm zoom range (35mm equivalent). The lens exterior is made of hardened plastic, keeping the weight down to an impressive 15.9 ounces. When zoomed to the 18mm mark, the lens is only 3.8 inches long. Tamron improved on their previous 18-270mm model by adding an ultrasonic piezo drive (PZD) auto-focus motor that provides faster and quieter autofocus operation. It also features an enhanced image stabilization mode (VC) that allows you to capture sharp images at shutter speeds as slow as 1/25th of a second. It is a variable aperture lens that ranges from f/3.5 at 18mm to f/6.3 at 270mm. While there is some barrel distortion visible at the wide-end, which is typical for lens with such a large focal range, the image quality is very good. For a lens that could realistically replace two or three lenses that you have in your camera bag, I think the Tamron 18-270mm PZD is a solid performer.
I see the Tamron 18-270mm PZD being a great lens for travel photography or for anyone needing a versatile one-lens kit that can handle nearly any photographic scenario without having to swap-out lenses. The Tamron 18-270mm PZD is currently available in the Canon EOS and Nikon F mount and sells for $649.99. It comes with a petal style lens hood and is covered by a six-year Tamron USA warranty.
—Jon Lawton is a sales associate at Hunt’s Photo and Video in Melrose, Mass. Contact him at jlawton@wbhunt.com or 800-221-183
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In Memoriam: Sylvia Bashline

OWAA staff — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:05:33 +0000

SYLVIA BASHLINE 1933-2011

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Sylvia G. Bashline, 78, of State College, Pa., died Sept. 20, 2011, at her residence.
She was born Aug. 13, 1933, in Port Allegheny, Pa., a daughter of the late Robert T. and Florence S. Grabe. She was married on Aug. 3, 1952, to L. James “Jim” Bashline who died June 6, 1995.
Bashline graduated from Coudersport High School and attended Grove City College. She was a prize winning outdoor writer and photographer, specializing in outdoor cooking. She authored three books on fish and game cookery.
She and her husband traveled extensively through the United States, Canada and Central America, taking photographs and gathering material for hundreds of outdoor articles. She was Food Editor for Field & Stream magazine from 1976 to 1990. From 1991 to 1996 she was Outdoor Life’s food columnist.
Bashline was a member and past president of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association. She also served on the board of directors and as secretary-treasurer of the Outdoor Writers Association of America before being hired as the executive director in 1984. She retired from that post in 1994.
She was an active member and supporter of the State College Red Brush Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society and enjoyed dove and grouse hunting, as well as trout and Atlantic salmon fishing.
She is survived by two daughters: Tina Bashline, wife of Robert Brownell of Wrightstown, Pa.; and Zoa B. Kile, wife of Terry C. Kile of Landisville, Pa. Bashline is also survived by her brother Ted Grabe of McCormick, S.C., four grandchildren: Meredith, Taylor, Alice and Leigh; and her dog, Finley. In accordance with Bashline’s wishes, a memorial service was held Oct. 2, 2011, at the Spruce Creek Rod and Gun Club.
Memorial contributions may be made to any of the following: the Sylvia and Jim Bashline Writers Fund, c/o OWAA, 615 Oak Street, Suite 201, Missoula, MT 59801; the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art, PO Box 33, 176 Water Company Road, Millersburg, PA 17061; or the Pennsylvania Fly Fishing Museum Association, 1240 North Mountain Road, Harrisburg, PA 17112.
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As kids, we felt the camaraderie that existed within the Outdoor Writers Association of America when we attended conferences with Mom and Dad.
As adults, we witnessed that bond once again when our mom, Sylvia Bashline, was nearing death.
She decided to let some friends from OWAA know about her diagnosis of lung cancer, mostly via email. She wanted to say “thanks” for all the good times. The many responses she received to these emails helped to fill her final days with laughter, a few tears and many good conversations about earlier adventures. She received cards, letters, emails and phone calls. She forwarded some of the emails to us, with notes attached saying, “More Love” and “They think I’m pretty okay.” She was so proud and pleased.
When Mom became too tired to read them herself, we and her grandchildren would read them to her — and that became another way that the kids were able to learn even more about their grandmother’s life and contributions to her field of endeavor.
We want to send our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported Mom during her tenure as executive director of OWAA as well as during the last month of her life. As a lover of the written word, she turned to writing to express her final thoughts and your words in return meant so much to her. What better tribute to an outdoor writer?
— Zoa Bashline Kile, Tina Bashline
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Bookshelf

OWAA staff — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 23:02:01 +0000

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Billy Barnstorm – The Birch Lake Bomber

By Joel M. Vance
October 2011, Five Valleys Press, Missoula, MT 59801, http://joelvance.com/book-store/, paperback, 182 pp., $15.99, e-book $9.99.
“Billy Barnstorm” is a collection of short stories which is a continuation of “Grandma and the Buck Deer,” as the characters move into their teenage years.
Vance’s hero negotiates his teenage years with usually hilarious and sometimes moving encounters with various girlfriends. Along the way he interacts with characters in Birch Lake, Wis., including his nemesis Scuz Olson, the town drunk, his high school coach, his best friends and even the president of the United States. Famed humorist Pat McManus finds a current of humor running through everything Vance writes, and “Billy Barnstorm” is no exception.
“It’s a wonderful trip back in time, and by no means to a simpler time, at least for a boy coming of age. The ending is powerful and perfect,” McManus said.
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New report: Conservation, recreation, preservation generate $1 trillion per year for US economy

OWAA staff — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:56:26 +0000

WASHINGTON — Officials looking for cost-effective ways to stimulate the economy should look no further than out their own windows. Authors of a new economic study say that the great outdoors and historic preservation generate a conservative estimate of more than $1 trillion in total economic activity and support 9.4 million jobs each year.
“As a former Secretary of the Interior, governor, senator and mayor, I have witnessed firsthand how historic preservation, conservation and outdoor recreation result in tremendous benefits to our nation’s economy,” Dirk Kempthorne said. “This study is a valuable tool for reaffirming and quantifying those benefits.”
“Sportsmen put billions of dollars of their own money annually into conservation through the licenses they buy and the excise taxes that they pay on hunting and fishing equipment,” added Lindsay Thomas, a former U.S. congressman and current chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. “This combined with the other taxes that are paid through activities associated with outdoor recreation and historic preservation total over $100 billion annually contributed to state and federal coffers.”
Conducted by Southwick Associates, the study is packed with highlights including:

In 2006, the total contribution from outdoor sports in the United States was nearly $730 billion per year, generating more than 6.4 million U.S. jobs and $99 billion in federal and state tax revenues. This includes hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, hiking, camping, skiing, paddle sports and bicycling.
In 2006, the combined spending effect of hunting, fishing and wildlife watching associated with National Forest Service land totaled $9.5 billion in annual retail sales, supported 189,400 jobs and provided $1.01 billion in annual federal tax revenues.
Every $1 million invested in residential historic rehabilitation generates approximately 36 jobs, $1.24 million in income and nearly $200,000 in state and local taxes.
In 2010, 15 million visitors to Civil War battlefields managed by the National Park Service in just five states (Missouri, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia) generated 7,700 jobs.

“The jobs that our public lands and cultural heritage create are jaw-dropping,” said William H. Meadows, president of The Wilderness Society and co-chair of America’s Voice for Conservation, Recreation and Preservation. “This study is yet more evidence that investing in the environment is good for the fiscal health of our country.”
Commissioned by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the study is being conducted as part of a larger ongoing effort by NFWF to determine the economics associated with natural resource conservation. For more information, visit NFWF’s website at www.nfwf.org.

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Ten tips for tighter, brighter writing

OWAA staff — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:45:15 +0000

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BY JIM LOW
The difference between sparkling prose and dull verbiage lies as much in what you don’t say as what you do say. Weak words choke otherwise good writing like rock snot in a trout stream. I doubt you will find anything you don’t already know in the following tips, but sometimes we need reminders.
1. Eliminate unnecessary “that’s.” It’s surprising how insidious this article is. This is partly because “that” is common in the spoken word, as in, “Harry says that that stream is one that he could live without.” Three “that’s” might go unnoticed in spoken language, but they stick out like rocks in a riffle in a printed sentence. You might get away with two “that’s” in print, but it’s much cleaner to write, “Harry says he could live without Cedar Creek.” My good friend and renowned catfish writer Keith Sutton hunts down and kills every “that” he finds in his writing. His aversion to this particular four-letter word seems extreme to me, but you won’t find unnecessary articles clogging up the spring branches of his prose.
2. Fire lazy verbs. Indolent verbs include “is,” “put,” “went,” “said,” and other passive or minimally active words. When you find one of these in your prose, reach down into your vocabulary and extract more active versions, such as “remains” for “is,” “plunked down” instead of “put,” “sashayed” for “went” and “hissed,” “barked,” “murmured” or “growled,” rather than listless old “said.”
3. Eradicate worthless adjectives and adverbs. Leading offenders include “good,” “bad,” “real,” “really,” “very,” “actually,” “truly.” “incredible” and “unbelievable,” Besides being painfully hackneyed, the last two invite readers not to believe what you are telling them. These days, you don’t even need a thesaurus to upgrade adjectives and adverbs. When you find a lazy modifier in your writing, Microsoft Word allows you to right-click on it and hover over “synonyms” to find alternatives.
4. Drive a stake through the heart of “literally.” The only legitimate use of this word is to avoid confusion. For example, you might say that the impact of a steelhead’s strike literally jerked the rod from your hands. This seldom occurs, so you might want to let readers know that it did happen in this case.
Such correct usage is nearly impossible to find in outdoor literature. Instead, “literally” almost always is misused, because it is false. An example would be: “I was literally electrified by the steelhead’s strike.” No. You were not. You were figuratively electrified. Or, “Joe literally bit my head off when I offered to tie on a new leader for him.” No. He did not. He metaphorically bit your head off.
In these examples, “literally” was added for emphasis, with flagrant disregard for factuality. Using “literally” this way is lazy and stupid. Worse, it dulls the tool — the English language — we all rely on for our living. “Actually” and “really” are nothing more than limp-wristed versions of “literally” and should be avoided, not only because they usually are false, but also because they only junk up your prose. “Literally” adds nothing to the two previous example sentences, so drop it.
5. Peruse passive passages. Constructions where the subject receives action are perfectly appropriate at times. However, too often they betray sneaky writing or failure to do your homework. Sneakiness is to blame when you twist language to hide the identity of the guilty, as in, “My dog was hit in the butt by several pellets from a low shot.” Man up. Admit that you injured your dog! Insufficient research is responsible for sentences like, “Smith was tackled at the 50-yard line.” The writer couldn’t be troubled to discover who made the tackle, so he turned the sentence around bass-ackwards to disguise his willful ignorance.
6. Change up sentence structure. We all know that variety is the spice of life. Nevertheless, it’s surprisingly easy to get into ruts that dull your writing. Several years ago, someone mercifully pointed out that I had fallen under the spell of participial phrases. They didn’t call it that. I wouldn’t have known what they meant if they had. They simply observed that I opened paragraph after paragraph with sentences, like this one: “Knowing that the wind would be out of the west the next morning, Joe placed his deer stand on the east side of the field he planned to hunt.” There’s nothing wrong with that construction…until you read it for the 10th time.
The lesson here is to go back through your work to ensure that you have used a variety of sentence types to keep things interesting. Using the same structures over and over isn’t a personal style. It’s lazy.
7. Pay attention to sentence lengths. Variety is just as important in sentence length as it is in sentence structure. If you don’t believe it, take Item No. 6 above and edit it two ways. First, break up every sentence into as many smaller sentences as you can.
Using the above example: “Joe knew the wind would be out of the west. He planned to hunt the field the next day. He placed his stand on the east side of the field.”
Set that draft aside and go back to the original. Splice together the paragraph’s eight sentences into two or three.
I guarantee that reading either the short- or the long-sentence version will drive you nuts. Writing with too many short sentences is easy to read, but it’s choppy and dull. Text becomes incomprehensible when sentences are too few and too long. It’s also dull.
Take a look at Item No. 4 above. It contains 197 words in 18 sentences, for an average sentence length of 10.9 words. The longest is 32 words, the shortest two are one word each. As a rule of thumb, you should try to keep the average sentence length below 20 words in articles for a general readership. But don’t make every sentence 20 words, don’t shy away from long sentences if the ideas they contain are best presented that way, and look for opportunities to use short punchy sentences. They work!
8. Break up large text blocks with subheads. Large blocks of unbroken gray type are daunting to readers. Give them courage by breaking long articles into sections with subheadings. Better yet, if practical…
9. Separate complex topics into digestible bites with sidebars. Sidebars have several benefits:

They enable you to divide lengthy, complex articles into sub-topics that readers can digest easily.
Sidebars multiply designers’ options for attractive layouts that present subject matter understandably.
Separating secondary topics from the main thread permits very different treatment of diverse subject matter. You can have an evocative, literary narrative that draws in readers and festoon that central stem with technical information, without diluting either approach.

Sidebars are not an option in most news stories and in many other publications. But they are oft-neglected magic arrows in magazine writers’ quivers.
10. Make lists readable with bullets. Let’s say you need to list several items, each of which has two or more components. For example, if you want to list the top 10 turkey-harvest counties, along with the number of turkeys checked in each one, you could put it all in one paragraph, separating each item with a semicolon. However, this list is far easier to read as bullets, like this:

Franklin County, 1,212
Texas County, 1,022
Macon County, 993
Dallas County, 854
Boone County, 853

Admittedly, this is not always desirable. Bullets take more space than a paragraph of text. Base your choice on what serves readers best and fits your publication’s design parameters.
Reader convenience is the most important consideration in popular writing. The easier you make your prose to read, the less likely it is to end up in the round file.
—Jefferson City, Mo., resident Jim Low has been a member since 1987. Low is news services coordinator for the Missouri Department of Conservation. Contact him at jimilow@aol.com.
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Be the best on radio – Part 2

OWAA staff — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:35:56 +0000

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BY DEB FERNS
When Deb Ferns, author of “Babes with Bullets,” released her book in early 2006, she wasn’t prepared for the numerous requests for radio interviews she received. With the experience of more than 500 radio interviews, plus hosting her own local talk radio show for several years, Ferns gives helpful hints on how to be an effective radio guest. To make digestion of these hints even easier, she divided them up in short learning lessons noted as Radio 101 to Radio 109. Previous lessons appeared in the October issues of Outdoors Unlimited and the final installment will be in the December issue.

RADIO 103

If you are nervous going into your first few radio interviews, even after you’ve done a bit of homework, that is to be expected. Set a timer equal to the number of minutes the show host estimates you will be on the air; this timeframe is usually referred to as a segment. With the timer in place, practice with a tape recorder, first acting as the host asking a question, then switching over to answering the question, keeping to short sound bites of information.
Play the tape you just recorded. Make sure you aren’t giving too much air time to the famous “um,” “huh,” “ah” and “OK” moments. If you hear that happening, come up with a momentary “stall” technique. Try something like, “Jim, I’m glad you asked me about … ” That beats a long pause and validates your host.
Too much dead air while you think about a question equates to you either not knowing your subject matter or nor being passionate about it. Though you can get away with it on television, there are no long pauses allowed on radio; within a few seconds of dead air you will have lost your audience.
If you sense the interview is languishing, make sure to have a few talking points that include your website. Believe it or not, many radio hosts are not good interviewers and they want you to make their job easier, not harder.

RADIO 104

Remember that the radio show belongs to your host and you are a guest. Let the host appear knowledgeable about your subject matter even if you have to “massage” a moment. For instance, if a show host incorrectly states a statistic you published in your book or magazine article, there is a gracious way to correct the error. For example, “The statistic you just mentioned is an interesting one and I appreciate you bringing it up. The real number in my book is … ”
If you are working with a host who you doubt has a good grasp on your subject and seems receptive to a “talk line,” then email them at least 48 hours in advance with a list of interview topics. Explain that the ideas you are presenting are what most people are interested in when they contact you, or are topics you get the most feedback on via email.
Do not take it personally if a show host does not cover the topics you suggested. Again, it’s their radio show and your job as a guest is to go with the flow and still figure out how to get your message across. Strong sound bites are imperative.
Radio time flies by, so keep the topics to something an audience, who can’t see you, can feel coming through the airwaves. This will be based on your energy plus the energy coming from the host back to you (so the host is your “reflector” of sorts).
Don’t get off into areas that are esoteric, you won’t have time to make a full case and you aren’t delivering a summation to a jury. Keep it to easily understood concepts about who you are, what you do and what your product or service will do for the audience.

RADIO 105

Mention your website and contact information at least a few times during the interview. I can’t begin to tell you how many radio interviewers forget to tell the audience anything other than my name, aside from one mention of my website address. Your website address should come up at least once every two to three minutes during a radio interview. Also, if your radio host will link their website to your website (some will, some won’t), that is a win-win situation.
A radio host might be able to get away with a toxic or inflammatory statement; you will not! Passion and energy for your subject must be projected in a positive fashion. No radio host wants to invite back a guest who comes across as toxic.
If a competitor in your field has been a previous guest on the same radio show, do not say anything derogatory. Even if the radio host tries to setup a competition of words between you and your competitor, refrain from the bait and take the high road. Just restate the question you are asked in a positive manner and give your answer in a way that leads into one of your sound bites, which leads back to your agenda.
Homework never ends. Make sure you do some of your own homework regarding the radio show you are a guest on. Try to figure out in advance what subjects make the radio host toxic and what subjects keep the show positive.

—Deb Ferns, of Tucson, Ariz., is co-founder of the women’s action shooting camps, Babes with Bullets, held across the country since 2004. She also writes a column, “Outside My Comfort Zone,” and is the executive producer of the Babes with Bullets webisodes hosted at OutdoorChannel.com. Contact her at dferns@earthlink.net.
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Big game hunting in Alaska

OWAA staff — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:27:15 +0000

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BY CHRISTOPHER BATIN
Two bull moose ambled in, side by side, stopping occasionally to tear up brush with their 50-inch antlers. I thrashed nearby brush with a scapula and bellowed out my very best cow call. The largest bull walked to within 20 yards and would have come closer, but my friend, Mike Citrone, took the shot. The next day, another bull walked within 12 yards of us.
While in Alaska for the 2012 OWAA conference, you will have access to hunting moose and a variety of other big game, including caribou, brown bear and deer.

MOOSE

Alaska do-it-yourself big game hunts are not cheap. Our hunt in September cost $1,900 per person for the fly-out, plus another $900 each to fly out about 560 pounds of boned-out quarters per moose. Other hunts go for about $3,900 per person, and you provide all the gear. A guided hunt for moose will run you $10,000 or more, including tip and license fees.
Moose hunting can be done via the road system, but the success rate is around 20 percent. Many areas are open to hunting, yet pressure is high, especially on weekends.
Your best bet for success is to arrange a fly-out hunt with an air-charter operator. Moose hunting success is best the last five days of the season, which usually runs anywhere from Sept. 15 to 25. However, success can be had at any time. Last year, we bagged a bull on Sept. 7, yet this year because of warmer-than-normal temperatures, they didn’t respond to calls until Sept. 16. Plan for a 7- to 10-day moose hunt, with 10 days being ideal.

CARIBOU

A caribou hunt usually has a greater success rate, although the price isn’t much cheaper. There is limited caribou hunting along the road system. But I’d advise against it if you are new to Alaska hunting; it’s too unpredictable and tough going.
For best success, choose a fly-out caribou hunt. Try a fly-out to the Mulchatna region or to the Central Arctic herd east of the Dalton Highway. Or you can spend a little more and try the largest herd in the state, the Western Arctic herd, out of Kotzebue. Caribou are often still in velvet in late August, so plan to hunt right after conference. Don’t wait to hunt caribou in late September. When the bulls go into rut, the meat becomes inedible.

BEARS, SHEEP, GOATS AND DEER

To hunt brown bear, Dall sheep or mountain goat, you are required to hire a registered guide. These hunts range from $9,000 to $15,000. Find a guide and negotiate a price. No discounts have been offered at the time of this writing and many bear guides are booked years in advance.
Enjoy black bear hunting along the road system, or via boat or air drop-off. Hunting is also good in the Chugach and Tongass national forests using U.S. Forest Service cabins that rent for about $35 a night. Bears can be found on the salmon streams, but most are in the high country feeding on berries. They are approachable if your stalking skills are good. You might also have a chance at a wolf.
The best blacktail deer hunting is located on Kodiak Island, with fair to good hunting on the islands of Prince William Sound or Southeast Alaska. You’ll have to climb high for the big bucks, but the effort is worth it.
A do-it-yourself fly-in hunt requires knowledge of wilderness hunting skills. On a recent hunt, the air charter operation restricted us to 50 pounds of gear per person for our 10-day hunt. That’s basic gear and not much more.
Air charter services are available out of Fairbanks and other larger cities in Alaska, but it is often cheaper to fly Alaska Airlines to a hunting area and then hire a charter from there.

ADVICE FOR ALL HUNTERS

Be in shape for hunting. I have packed out three of four moose hindquarters for a mile, at about 120 pounds each. Each moose requires about 10 separate trips. So, if you shoot a moose one mile from camp, expect to walk 20 miles just packing. I once bagged a moose three miles from camp. It took me four days, from sunup to sundown, to pack it all out.
Many hunts offer fair to good fishing and bird hunting, so remember to inquire about those opportunities.
Because of the limited number of big-game hunting preferences listed in our conference survey of members, and due to the complexity of big game hunting and personal fitness, areas, logistics and costs, Fairbanks CVB and I decided to work one-on-one with anyone wishing to plan a big-game hunt. Send me an email stating what you want to pursue, and we’ll correspond on what I feel is the best possible area and transportation option for your trip. If discounts become available, and they match your criteria, I’ll contact you. All hunts should be booked before early February or sooner, as the air-charter and boat operators quickly book the slots at national sports shows.
Author’s note: Alaska Hunter Publications (www.alaskahunter.com) offers several books and DVDs about float hunting and Alaska big and small-game hunting available to OWAA members at 50 percent off.
—Chris Batin has been a member since 1979. He is the 2012 conference local chair. He is also editor and publisher of Alaska Angler, and Alaska Hunter Productions and Video Productions. Contact him at ChrisBatin@AlaskaAngler.com.
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The serious side of humor

OWAA staff — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:19:08 +0000

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BY WIL MacALLISTER
“Humorous.”
This is what Karen Shelby says is the defining characteristic of her husband, Cliff Shelby. She says, “He just doesn’t see things like you or I do, he looks at everything differently.”
Luckily, we get to see glimpses of his perspective through his cartoons and illustrations.
Like many married outdoorsman, Shelby had a habit of leaving his toys and tools awry about the house, with his wife calling after him to put his stuff up.
After this continued for some time, Cliff Shelby showed Karen Shelby a new cartoon he created. It depicted a man relaxed in his favorite chair and watching TV, wearing a shirt that read, “hunt, fish, sleep… repeat.” Above him, attached to the ceiling were guns, fishing rods, backpacks and tackle boxes. The caption of the cartoon read, “Harold finally obeyed his wife’s demands to ‘PUT YOUR STUFF UP!’”
Shelby grew up in El Dorado, Ark., a town close to the state’s southern border. He and his wife now live on the northern border of Arkansas in Flippin, where they run C. Shelby Communications & Design, a design and art company focused on the outdoor industry. Shelby says that he has always enjoyed living in the South because there are great fishing options available all year long.
As a boy, Shelby would lay in bed with outdoor magazines dreaming about being on the adventures he would read about. Sometimes he would take his shotgun, place it over the handlebars of his bicycle and peddle out of town to live those adventures in the surrounding forests.
Cliff Shelby’s uncle Oscar was a big influence in his involvement with outdoor activities. To hone the young Shelby’s fishing skills, his uncle placed tin cans in the lawn
at different distances and had Shelby practice casting to the cans. Once his uncle was satisfied with the young Shelby’s progress, he agreed to take him fishing. It was set up that at 4:30 a.m., Shelby would be waiting on the curb outside his house, ready for his uncle to pick him up.
Saturday morning came and Shelby was inside with his rod and tackle box, waiting with the light on. His uncle pulled up and Shelby grabbed his things and headed for the door. By the time Shelby got outside, his uncle had already driven away.
Shelby was upset by this and his father later called the uncle to ask him what happened.
“Never treat an outdoorsman like that,” Shelby remembers his uncle saying. “If you tell someone you are going to be somewhere at a certain time you need to be there.” Shelby has never forgotten that lesson.
At 10, Shelby began working at a local sporting goods store and continued working there through his high school education. Starting as just a cleaning boy, it only took Shelby a few years to earn the owners’ confidence to open the store on his own on Saturdays.
Shelby developed an appreciation for the outdoorsmen customers and greatly enjoyed knowing that he was helping them enjoy and follow their passions.
After high school, Shelby joined the U.S. Air Force Strategic Command and was an airborne navigation systems technician for four years.
Shelby then studied at the School of Art Institute in Chicago, eventually receiving his bachelor’s degree in illustration and advertising design with a minor in marketing from Louisiana Technical Institute.
Shelby worked various jobs in different companies’ art departments and was a freelance cartoonist, illustrator and copy-writer, working for such companies as Bagley Bait Co. and Ranger Boat Co.
Shelby’s best known cartoon series ran in Bassmaster Magazine for 39 years, ending just two years ago. The cartoon series was called “Harry ‘N’ Charlie,” which featured two
fishing buddies and their comical lives. Shelby created the series with Don Wirth and the characters were loosely based off of Shelby and Wirth’s own adventures.
Shelby joined the Outdoor Writers Association of America in 1980 and was later elected to office in 1997, becoming president of OWAA from 2000-2001. As for Shelby’s time in office, he says, “The job was to try to make everyone happy but you just can’t, you have to do your best to make the majority of the people happy.”
Shelby says that what he has valued about being an OWAA member is being able to meet and connect with people in the field that he had admired so much throughout his life. Shelby developed mentoring relationships with other members and it inspired him to hope he would one day be a mentor for the following generations.
—Born and raised in New Hampshire, Wil MacAllister has been in Montana for five years while completing his bachelor’s degree in journalism. He is the fall semester intern at OWAA headquarters. Contact MacAllister at wmacallister@owaa.org
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Giving thanks

OWAA staff — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:12:38 +0000

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BY ROBIN GINER
While I’m often heard cursing the sea of Mason jars that flood my countertops this time of year, out of the other side of my mouth I’m also offering gratitude. Gratitude for the abundance that comes my way each and every fall. The mountains of western Montana provide multitudes of huckleberries for tart jam and my garden yields an amazing amount of produce that will line the walls of my pantry in glass jars. I also give thanks for the opportunity to sit in the sage brush of Montana’s Big Hole country glassing the hillsides for antelope. And I must not take for grated the wonder of wandering through a dripping wet forest that glows with the stunning gold of the changing larch, searching for turkey, elk and deer on cold autumn mornings.
We’ve reached the time of year where we pause to offer thanks for the people and the opportunities around us. As the saying goes, “No (wo)man is an island,” and the run-up to Thanksgiving and the winter holidays offers us the opportunity to acknowledge all that contributes good to our lives.
As most already know, former OWAA Executive Director Sylvia Bashline passed away in late September after a battle with cancer. There are many in our organization who hold the highest admiration and gratitude for Sylvia’s contributions to OWAA during the decade she spent at the association’s helm from 1984 to 1994.
As a whole, OWAA has another reason to continue our thanks to Sylvia and Jim Bashline. In the weeks prior to her passing, Past Presidents Rich Patterson and Tom Huggler, along with OWAA Treasurer Jack Ballard, worked with Sylvia and her family to establish the Sylvia and Jim Bashline Writers Fund. The Fund’s purpose is to recognize the great contributions by Sylvia and Jim in support of outdoor communicators and of OWAA, and to provide a vehicle for continuation of such support. Annually, the Endowment Trustees can disperse up to 5 percent of the Fund. Disbursements may support OWAA workshops and annual conferences, as well as the association’s operations and general budget, including publication costs, and staff salaries and training.
Sylvia was a beacon of light in OWAA’s history, and her family shared news of how honored she was by the establishment of the Fund. Please take time to read remembrances from several OWAA past presidents, as well as a letter of thanks from her daughters on page 15. If you wish to make a contribution to the Sylvia and Jim Bashline Writers Fund (or any of OWAA’s endowment funds), you may do so at www.owaa.org/store/voluntary-contributions, or send your contribution to OWAA, 615 Oak Street, Suite 201, Missoula, MT 59801. Please make checks payable to OWAA.
Sponsorships and donations to OWAA’s events and programs summon thanks throughout the year. In the Association Update on page 14, you’ll see the most recent list of donors from the past two months. But the extra contributions that help keep our home fires burning can never reap enough thanks. Not only do members’ and supporters’ annual dues go a long way toward financing OWAA’s programs, publications and overhead expenses, these donations really help drive home the feeling that the organization is making a difference in the lives of our members. Many, many thanks to those listed not only in this month’s issue of OU, but to all those who have written that extra check or clicked on that Voluntary Contributions link on the website this year.
Of course, donations and sponsorships are not the only reason we’re grateful. From the funny stories we listen to over the phone, to the emails and pictures we get in our inboxes, to the thank you cards we receive from McDowell Scholarship recipients and Norm Strung Youth Writing Award winners… More than anything else, we’re grateful for you, our members and supporters, who we serve throughout the year.
Thank you for supporting OWAA.
—OWAA Executive Director Robin Giner, rginer@owaa.org
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