In his quest to become a better fisherman, Fred Arbogast began to design his own lures. He then began selling his lures to pay for his casting competitions, and eventually started making lures full time. From this humble beginning, the Fred Arbogast Co. became one of the largest suppliers of bass lures in the world. The company was sold in 1997 and now the Akron, Ohio, factory stands silent, but thanks to PRADCO (Plastic Research and Development Group), several of Fred s original lures live on. The values of the many discontinued lures and colors have climbed rapidly over the last ten years. This book contains over 800 photos and three color charts which take the reader through the company s history. Current values have been given as a guide to help sellers and collectors reach fair prices. 2007 values.

"This book tells the history of the Fred Arbogast Company, Incorporated. It highlights inventions that were connected with the firm, as well as adds new insight into some products including the Jitterbug, Hula Popper, and many more. Throughout this book, former company employees are highlighted. Their stories are told as related to the business and their significance is noted throughout this volume"--Back cover.

Two years after Sam Venable became the outdoor editor for the Knoxville News-Sentinel, he began receiving photographs of fish marked with only a phone number and the mysterious words "top-water Hubbard." Curious, Venable called the number and reached Ray Hubbard, a lay preacher, sewing machine repairman, and top-notch bass fisherman. Thus began an extraordinary twenty-seven-year friendship between two men who had little in common but a serious love of fishing and the outdoors. Venable wrote a story about Hubbard for the newspaper and began joining him for more fishing trips. Armed with unusual homemade lures and a friendly smile, Hubbard taught Venable the art of buzzbaiting, the joys of fishing pungent "slop holes," and the secrets of a bass-catching technique Hubbard called "mesmerizing." Soon the two men were subjecting one another to practical jokes and merciless teasing, but according to Venable, attempting to best his buddy was "like trying to argue with the captain of an international championship debating team." They also developed an intricate verbal shorthand for the launch ramps, restaurants, and fishing spots they encountered. Venable soon discovered that the upstanding reverend was not averse to telling an occasional white lie, especially if it protected a prized location or coveted angling secret. Over the years, the size of their catches ceased to matter. Hubbard, a straitlaced country preacher, and Venable, a veteran journalist fluent in the language of the newsroom, simply enjoyed each other's company, overcoming differences in age, educational background, and vocational calling. (It was Hubbard who continually suggested that Venable say "rock-elephant" in place of saltier expressions.) What they experienced together, Venable believes, was best understood by Henry David Thoreau, who observed that "many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after." The Author: Sam Venable is an award-winning columnist for the Knoxville News-Sentinel and a contributor to such publications as Outdoor Life, Sports Afield, and Waterfowler's World. His books include Mountain Hands: A Portrait of Southern Appalachia and From Ridgetops to Riverbottoms: Celebrating the Outdoor Life in Tennessee.

Boys' Life is the official youth magazine for the Boy Scouts of America. Published since 1911, it contains a proven mix of news, nature, sports, history, fiction, science, comics, and Scouting.

Boys' Life is the official youth magazine for the Boy Scouts of America. Published since 1911, it contains a proven mix of news, nature, sports, history, fiction, science, comics, and Scouting.

"Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter ... was an architect and interior designer who spent virtually her entire career working simultaneously for the Fred Harvey Company and the Santa Fe Railway."--p. 9.