Archery season for deer begins in less than a month. It seems fitting that we shine the spotlight once again on Sterling Harrell, a man who pioneered bow hunting in our part of the country.
Pine Bluff, Ark., native Ben Pearson, was a pioneer and innovator when it came to promoting the sport of archery way back when. Pearson started the first company in the U.S. to mass-produce archery sets and equipment which ultimately led him to be inducted into the Archery Hall of Fame.
The company Pearson started would eventually be sold to a large corporation and by 1988 had 360 employees with an annual payroll of $100 million…big time stuff.
There was another archery aficionado who became not only a fan of Pearson but a trusted friend. His name was Sterling Harrell and he lived in Ruston.
When Harrell passed away in 1995 at the age of 71, he had engaged the assistance of Pearson in a number of projects in Louisiana, the most notable of which was to try and convince the state Wildlife and Fisheries Commission to start a new program for hunters in Louisiana. When bow hunters climb into their stands in a few short weeks, they have Harrell to thank for his part in our state having an archery season for deer.
An internet search of Harrell’s name reveals some fascinating and interesting information. For one, the search revealed a tribute to Harrell by associates of Pearson in Pine Bluff. Watching the tribute, I learned that Harrell would often take busloads of kids to visit Pearson in Arkansas and later was instrumental in implementing a successful archery program at Louisiana Tech in 1960. Harrell was affectionately referred to in the tribute as “Mister Longbow.”
In order to gather more information on this area’s pioneer in archery, I visited with Harrell’s son, Van, who shared memories of growing up with a father consumed with the love for shooting a long bow.
“Before moving to Ruston, we lived in Shreveport in a heavily populated neighborhood but there was a golf course just down the street and dad would take us down there so we could shoot our bows,” said Harrell.
“After moving to Ruston in the 1950s, dad organized a group of youngsters and taught them how to shoot bows. They’d go out once a week and he’d let them pop balloons and other targets. Ben Pearson came down and helped him develop an archery range out on the east side of Ruston out past Woodland Park,” he said.
During my internet search, I found a fascinating clip of Sterling Harrell doing something he became known for around the area, “trick” shooting with his bow. He would roll discs out in front of him and would put an arrow through them as they rolled and incredibly, he would often shoot the rolling discs while holding the bow behind his back. Remarkable skills the man had.
However, Sterling Harrell was not perfect. I once stopped by his home for an interview and he invited me to shoot a long bow, something I had never done. He strapped the guard on my arm to protect me from injury when releasing the bow. However, he strapped it on the wrong arm – I didn’t know the difference – and when I shot, all the hide was peeled off my arm from elbow to wrist. A red faced Sterling apologized. I shoot right handed; Harrell shoots left handed.
When I visited Ruston’s new 3-D archery range at Lincoln Parish Park recently, my thoughts were on my friend Sterling Harrell and the impact he had on scores of kids, many of whom are now grandfathers who are likely to visit the new archery range.
Had such a range been available when he was still alive, there is no doubt that Harrell would be one of the first to give the new range a try. Thanks to Sterling Harrell for instilling the love for shooting bows and arrows to so many who are active archers today.
Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com
