Jack O'Connor Center

[Len Backus]

A few weeks ago I visited the Jack O'Connor Center in Lewiston, Idaho on the east bank of the Snake River.

The outdoor writer, Jack O'Connor, had quite an influence on me as a young hunter. Each month I would devour the latest edition of Sports Afield and a couple other magazines. Jack was my favorite author back then. He had a unique way of spiriting me away with him on his hunting adventures around the world.

I kept large stacks of magazines under my bed and over those youthful years I would pull them out often and search the table of contents anew for the latest hunt topic of interest to me.

You may remember my reference to him in the article I wrote about my 2011 high country mule deer hunt in Wyoming with Mule Creek Outfitting. I felt a special kinship with him on that trip, using the same techniques he did in those many magazine articles.

In the picture below I sit hoping Jack's writing abilities will rub off this chair at the Jack O'Connor Center and onto the place where part of my "writing brain" resides.

I know I used to own a couple of his books, though they are now gone. While at the Jack O'Connor Center I bought a coffee table sized book with a compilation of stories he actually chose himself for the book.

I strongly suggest you find time for a detour to the Jack O'Connor Center. You'll be glad you did. The folks who run it are hunters like you and me and they are very friendly. Please say hello for me.

 

[Nimrodmar10]

Len
I, like you, really enjoyed Jack O'Connor's writing when I was growing up. I looked for anything written by him and still own most if not all of his books. He was my favorite outdoor writer. At the first opportunity, I bought a Winchester Model 70 in the Featherweight .270 Winchester he liked so well. To his way of thinking, the 270 was the perfect cartridge for the game he hunted.

I wrote him a letter when I was in Vietnam, not expecting an answer. But I was very pleased when he answered my letter. We exchanged letters for quite some time. I was always happy to see one of the red, white and blue all-in-one Air Mail envelope/letters. He fixed me up with a friend of his name Jack Atchenson to arrange an elk hunt for me when I returned to the states. He arranged all of Mr. O'Connor's hunts for him. I think his son still has the booking service.

We owe a great debt of gratitude to the "Old Men" of hunting such as Jack O'Connor, Ben Pearson, Howard Hill, Jim Carmichael, Elmer Keith, Fred Bear and many more like them. They were our heros and roll models at a time when the only way we had to learn about hunting or fishing was from our Dads or from the monthly hunting/fishing magazines. If you get a chance, try to find some of the old videos that were made of these early pioneers of the sport. They are well worth watching.