Dick Tone Archery

Today this young lady and I have been married for 51 years. Last weekend we were together at the AHOF in Springfield, Mo where I was inducted into the AHOF. This award is just as much hers as it is mine. She has been by my side and encouraged me every step of the way. It wouldn't have happened without her.

Happy Anniversary to my wife Diane.

She makes a very good point!

Going through boxes of old photos you sometime find a gem. This one is from my birthday in 1979. I am holding my son Kevin who is 9 months old at the time. From our home in Pine Bluff Arkansas while I was working at Ben Pearson Archery.

These two photos are from Jim's 80th Birthday Party the day after they opened the Chula Vista Training Center. Diane and I were honored to have been invited and it was awesome to spend a little time with Jim. The individuals who spoke at his party were like who's who in the sporting goods industry. The video that was compiled of well wishers who could not attend included Warren Buffet singing happy birthday to Jim. Jim's influence in the world went way beyond arrow shafts, bats, and ski poles. A true legend.

The first time I met Jim Easton was at the 1965 World Championships in Sweden. He was filming the even for Easton and for FITA. Over the years, Jim and I became very good friends and shared many experiences together as we both progressed in our archery careers. Jim was always a big supporter of mine and someone I could always count on. The photo below is from the Seoul Olympics and he was more than instrumental in making sure I could be on the field to assist the two athletes I had on the team. I miss our conversations, I miss our golf outings and most of all I miss a truly great man. He did so much for archery and for sports in general and I will never forget the things he did for me. RIP Jim you will be missed but never forgotten.

Proud to be a Veteran and I want to thank all veterans and active military for their service.

The 1988 Australian Men's Olympic Team along with Don Rabska and Me. I still have that great Akubra Hat!!

Try Field Archery I said!! It will be fun!!! Travel the world and see fun places!!!

It seems that not much has changed over the years. The first photo is from the 1989 World Championships in Switzerland. Denise Parker had just won her individual Bronze Medal at age 15. She was coached by Tim Strickland who was there to watch his star perform. I was the team coach of the World Team at the time . The Second photo is of Casey Kaufhold (2019) after she won her second Senior National Title at age 15.

Just saw this on FB. I am very humbled!!

Charlie with his birthday cake!! Diane’s famous chocolate, chocolate chip cake.

Charlie Johnson is a real inspiration and it is a privilege to help him enjoy the sport of archery.

This is one of my favorite photos in my collection. This is from March of 2016. I had been working with Jackson for about two years at this point. I would meet Casey in May of 2016. Jackson has been on a 9 year journey and has definitely put in the work during that time. He is now one of the top 4 in this country and is getting better every year. It is truly fun to see all his hard work paying off. It will also be very rewarding to watch him compete in the future. Very proud of you Jackson, let’s keep it going!!

Charlie is one of a kind. Proud to know him.

101-year-old archer competes at the Vegas Shoot Archery is a sport for people of all ages and abilities to enjoy. That’s evident at this year’s Vegas Shoot as archers from seven to 101 years old, shoot side by side. Charles Johnson is a 101-year-old World War II veteran that’s competing in the compound flights. Johnson was 44 when the Vegas...

We launched a new product at the Lancaster Classic. The DXT Natural Tab. We have been working on 3D Printed prototypes since 2017 and we finally decided to pur it into production. One of our prototype testers has been Casey Kaufhold and she was using one of our production models for her win at the Classic this year. They are being marketed through Lancaster Archery and they will be in Vegas if you would like to stop by and check one out.

The cold weather in the Dakotas this morning reminded me of my time living there. My dad was with State Farm Insruance for over 35 years. He started as an agent here in the Phoenix area in 1950. This was a time when the population was very low in Arizona and there were very few agents. He eventually moved into the management role as the state director. In 1958 he was tapped to move to Toronto Canada and open State Farm Insurance in that country. He became the Vice President of Canadian Operations and our family lived up there for 6 years. During that time my parents had decided that I should spend my high school years in the United States. Ultimately they sent me to Augastana Academy in Canton, South Dakota. I was 13 when I started there and not very large in stature. There were good times and some not so good times during my time there.

I would go home for Christmas and for the summer and then return to South Dakota each year. I would get on a train in Toronto to start my journey. The train would go to Chicago where I would have a 12 hour layover before boarding another train to Souix Falls SD, where I would be picked up by someone from the Academy.

I would always hand carry my archery equipment to make sure nothing got lost or broken along the way. When I arrived a Grand Central Station in 1962 I checked my equipment into a locker and was just settling down on my favorite bench and thinking about a nap. However, someting caught my attention that made me change my plans. There was a man walking through the station carrying a bow and a back quiver full of arrows. Naturally I had to go meet this person.

It turned out that he was from South America and he had travelled to Chicago to participate in the US Target Nationals which were being held in Oak Brook, just outside of Chicago. After a brief conversation he asked if I had my equipment and if I would like to go with him to the tournament. Since I had 12 hours to burn, I accepted his invitation. We got on another train and headed to Oak Brook. The person picking us up at the station was a man named Julius W. Butler. It turned out that he owned almost all of Oak Brook and the neighboring town of Hinsdale. He was driving a volkswagon beetle and it was a tight fit to say the least.

The tournament was being held on one of his polo fields and he had his own archery club, Royal Archers Association. I ended up shooting the tournament that one day and I got to see some of the top archers at the time that I had been reading about in the archery magazines. It was the best layover that I ever had and as it turned out it was not the last time that I would shoot on one of his polo fields.

The US World Archery Team qualifier was held on his polo fields in 1965 and I was there and was able to make that team and participate in the World Championships in Sweden.

A few weeks after my exciting time in Oak Brook the attached letter showed up for me along with a small gold medal for shooting the highest score in the Junior Division that day. I was totally surprised and and overjoyed. The small medal has long ago disappeared but I still kept the letter as a fond memory of a unique archery experience.

The phone rang early that morning. I thought to myself, who could be calling me this early and why. The ID on the phone showed it was my daughter Erin. As a father you immediatly think of a dozen reasons why she should be calling this early, none of them good. Erin was in her first year at ASU on a Golf Scholarship and almost never called that early for any kind of good news. When I answered the phone she asked if I was watching TV. I said no, and that I don't watch TV in the morning. I don't remember what I was doing at the time, probably just reading the paper and having my first cup of coffee. Eirn replied with Turn on the TV!! I picked up the remote and asked what channel. She said, it doesn't matter.......

When the TV finally came on the second plane had just hit the second tower. My mind couldn't comprehend what was happening and it took me a few minutes to realize that the USA was being attacked. I spent the rest of that morning and most of the afternoon glued to the tv, switching channels and trying to find out everything I could from the reporters and the interviews. The images of the people fleeing the scene and the utter destruction of the buildings and the number of people we lost will stick in my mind forever.

This was a Tuesday morning and the Arizona Elk Season was going to open on Friday. My neighbor Bob and a couple of my friends had tags in Unit 8 up near the town of Williams, AZ. I had been preparing to help on this hunt and was looking forward to being in the high country chasing elk and enjoying a few campfires. I began to think that maybe this wasn't going to happen.

In the next couple of days I realized that what had happened was not going to change our plans and the hunt would go on as planned. All of the airlines had been shut down and everything on the news centered around the attacks. When we headed north on Thursday virtually every vehicle on the road was sporting an American Flag and we were no exception. When the wall tent was set up and the camp put together we attached a good sized American Flag to the top of the tent. It was the first time we had done that and we have done the same thing at every camp since that day.

I remember looking up at the night sky during that hunt and I couldn't believe how many bright stars there were. It was almost like you could reach out and touch them. As it turns out, when the shut down all the airline traffic, they also shut down all the polution caused by the planes and the sky was clearer than it had been in decades. Astronomers were able to see things that they never had before without having to look through the polution from the airline travel. It was truly an amazing experience.

I will never forget that day, the lives that were lost, the lives that were instantly changed, the realization that this world would never be the same. Radical Religious Terrorists had done these horrendous acts and the USA and the world would respond in kind.

The one absolutely good thing that I saw happen was how the American People came together as one nation to rebuke those that chose to attack us. Our political affiliations were put aside and everyone again became Americans that were united in their feelings. Hopefully it won't take this kind of senseless act to bring us together again.

God bless the USA and everything we stand for as a free nation!

This is a blast from the past. This was the first year that bowhunting for elk in Arizona was allowed. We had a record turnout at the Encanto Park Bandshell and everyone had a great time.

Diane and I had a great weekend at the SoCal Showdown in Chula Vista, Ca. The weather was fantastic with very manageable wind until the GM Matches on Sunday. I would like to congratulate some of the shooters that I work with that did and awesome job over there. Samantha Ensign took the Gold in the Recurve Cadet division and Laurel Anderson took the Bronze for her first USAT podium finish. The Recureve Cadet division was the largest division with 98 young ladies competing. Next I want to congratulate Casey Kaufhold for a stunning 676 qualification round and her second USAT GM in a row. She is amazing. Last but not least I would like to congratulate Jackson Murich for his 4th place finish in the Senior Men's Division. Jackson has put in a lot of hard work and it is paying off with a great 2022 season. Thank you to all the tournament organizers for all their hard work. Everything was run very well and I believe most everyone enjoyed their experience in Chula Vista.

A friend of mine, Paul Tunkis, was kind enough to draw this for me back in the 80's. I used it for my Christmas Card that year. It was meant to show the Eastern Bowhunters how we hunt Javelina out here in Arizona!! 😂😂

It was a pleasure having Samantha and her family here in Phoenix for a few warm days of training. Have a safe trip back to Pennslyvania! See you at the AZ Cup.

In 1958 I moved from Arizona with my family to Toronto Canada. My Dad was with State Farm and became Vice President of Canadian Operations. He was in charge of introducing State Farm Ins to Canada. At the time my interests in archery were simply bow hunting, stump shooting and field archery. I was introduced to Target Archery shortly after arriving in Canada and it did not take long for me to get involved in target archery tournaments. Within a year or so of shooting tournaments in Canada I met a young lady named Joan Gallie. She was a good shooter at the time and would do well in the tournaments. Little did I know that we would remain friends in archery for over 60 years. Joan Gallie became Joan McDonald and was one of the greatest shooters and coaches in Canadian history. Joan and I won the Canadian Nationals in 1964 and set many Canadian records along the way. She would go on to represent Canada in many World Championships and win many Canadian Championships. Joan dedicated her life to the sport of archery and was the Canadian Head Coach for 35+ years. Her support of Archery Canada in time and money is a true tribute to her love for the sport. Joan will be truly missed in Canada and around the world of International Archery.

Looking through some old photos and I came accross this Ben Pearson Photo that was used for promotions etc. Ben Pearson probably did more to promote the sport of archery and make affordable equipment available that anyone in our industry. His methods to mass produce bows and arrows was a breakthrough for the Archery business.

Most of the archery community is probably aware of some history that was made at this years World Archery Championship held in Yankton, South Dakota. 17 Year old Casey Kaufhold made it to the finals and was able to win the Silver World Archery Medal. This is the first individual World Championship Medal that has been won by a US Female Archer since 1989. That Medal was won by then 15 year old Denise Parker. Denise won the Bronze medal that year in a shoot off with a Korean lady. Denise was a member of the 1988 Olympic Team that won bronze in Korea. Denise, who was coached by Tim Strickland was definitely one of the best women shooters that this country has ever seen. Now it appears that Casey has assumed those reins and has finally broken the barrier to win her medal after a 32 year drought for the USA. I have posted a couple of photos of Casey and I have included a few from the World Championship in 1989. Notice the photo of me having a conversation with the then Korean Coach. Anybody recognize him?

After a long wait, today is the day that the Archery events start at the 2020/2021 Tokyo Olympics. I thought it appropriate to start the morning with some Tim Hortons coffee in a cup from the Rio Olympics! Go Team USA!!

Today was a special day! The man in the photos is Charlie Johnson. Charlie is a WWII Veteran and he turned 100 on June 28th and is a fixture out at the Papago Archery Range. He drives himself to the range, (about 1/2 hour each way) two or three times a week. He shoots for an hour or so and doesn't hesitate to tell stories about his life and about his time in the Pacific Theater! Kevin Ikigami runs a very good program here in Arizona and intruduced me to Charlie several years ago. Since he was in Oregon visiting his relatives during his birthday, we decided to have a small birthday celebration for Charlie today. We presented Charlie with a brand new bow all set up to his specs. He was more than surprised and just a little choked up. Rosy Austin supplied the cake and decorations and Charlie had to suffer through some very bad singing, but he didn't seem to mind. Happy Birthday Charlie Johnson and I hope to see you at Papago for years to come.

Thank you to Hoyt Archery, Archery Headuarters, Easton, The Papago Archers, Kevin Ikigami, Rosy Austin, and everyone else who contributed.