I was going through some old videotapes the other day. That’s quite a job since I have several hundred of them from the past twenty five years or so.
Anyway, I want to get some of the more important ones transferred to a digital format before the tape deteriorates any more than it already has.
I found some very interesting old shows and excerpts from newscasts when I was the outdoor reporter at WNEM TV5 in Saginaw, Michigan. It seemed kind of strange…even somewhat surreal, to watch a young, skinny, dark haired Mike Avery in those early days.
It’s also interesting to see how the show has changed and evolved over the years. Early on it was a broad based outdoor show designed to appeal to a generic broadcast television audience. Now it’s morphed into more of a hard core hunting and fishing show suitable for a specific cable and satellite market.
Dixie Dave Minar was in those early shows. So was a concept well ahead of it’s time. Way back twenty years ago I started a “home outdoor video” segment that featured hunting and fishing vhs video submitted by viewers.
Eventually I had to drop that feature because not enough people carried camcorders at that time and I ran out of material. These days, several national shows feature viewer video and some even use it for their entire content.
Had I known then what I know now, I never would have dropped that segment.
Without a doubt the most exciting video I’ve found so far is the raw (unedited) interview I did with bowhunting great Fred Bear back in 1986. The conversation was recorded at the famous Grouse Haven hunting lodge in northern Michigan on one of Fred’s last visits there.
To watch that tape and listen to Fred talk about his thoughts on bowhunting and why he loved archery so much gave me goosebumps. Fred explained how he got started in the business, why bowhunters are usually the best hunters and why the word “retirement” wasn’t in his vocabulary.
Then, to make it even more special, Fred picked up his recurve and shot several arrows while the video camera captured every second.
I’m not quite sure what to do with that video. I will certainly use it on an upcoming Jay’s Outdoor Magazine show. I’d also like to get it out on the internet, but I’m afraid it will get stolen and used without my permission.
I suspect that Fred Bear video will be the highlight of what my archives hold, but I’m going to keep looking and I’ll let you know if anything else of interest turns up.
Stay tuned.