SDA History Archives - Page 15 of 22

Letter from Rube Powell Regarding Balboa Park Field Range Targets, 1977

Rube Powell ARCHERY
136 BROADWAY CHULA VISTA CALIFORNIA 92010

September 26, 1977

PHONES: BUS: 422-3118 RES: 420-0759

Mr. Jack Krasnovich
Recreation Superintendent
Conference Building
Balboa Park
San Diego California 92101

Re: Condition of target butts on Balboa Park field range

Dear Mr. Krasnovich,

The San Diego Archers who have maintained the field archery range in Balboa Park for many years find the new permanent target butts completely unusable. The filler material contains rocks and debris which are extremely damaging to arrows. This condition is contrary to the specifications for the filler material which was to consist of sand and/or dirt screened to a degree which would ensure no damage to the archers’ equipment.

As a result of this problem, the San Diego Archers have been unable to hold their regularly scheduled tournaments; in fact, there has been no shoot on the range since March 1977 when the King Arthur’s Day Annual was held and the club placed straw bales throughout the entire range for the one-day shoot.

You doubtless can perceive that this situation is a severe detriment to the club’s welfare and membership. What has always been the best, most beautiful, and challenging field range in California has become a source of frustration and embarrassment to not only the club members but to the general public for whom the club maintained a fine recreation facility free of charge for so many years.

When we learned that the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of San Diego had allotted the funds for construction of the permanent butts, the restrooms, and the storage building, our joy knew no bounds. It was truly a dream come true. Everyone keenly anticipated shooting the fine new range with butts that wouldn’t need replacing every few months and wouldn’t “leak” arrows. It was a crushing blow, a bitter disappointment when we discovered the rocks and that the original design of the target structures had been altered which would require much adjustment and installation of protective material by the San Diego Archers.

The club membership has fallen alarmingly. The San Diego Archers is one of the oldest field archery clubs in the United States, going back to 1935. My wife Mary and I, as well as our now-grown children, are Life Members of both the San Diego Archers and the National Field Archery Association having joined in 1950 when the range was located in Gold Gulch. We have many fond memories of hundreds and hundreds of pleasant weekends spent shooting on the range in Balboa Park.

Archery equipment has become very sophisticated and expensive. The aluminum arrows cost around $65 per dozen; so you can understand why an archer gets so upset when an arrow is ruined by one of those rocks hidden in the filler material. We respectfully submit that this faulty material be brought up to specification so that the City’s investment in this outstanding recreation facility not be lost.

The Balboa Park field range is a great asset to the community. It has been used and admired by thousands of people. Its terrain and location are ideal, and it has always been a source of pride to every club member. The hours and hours many of us have spent working to keep it in good condition were donated willingly to the City as well as to the sport.

We earnestly solicit your assistance in getting the range back into shoot-ability. It is as though some of us were standing helplessly by watching an old friend die. It means a tremendous lot to hundreds of archers in San Diego and surrounding areas.

Your concern and interest in this matter are much appreciated, and all the members pledge their cooperation in helping remedy this most unfortunate situation.

If you need further information, call me at 422-3118 from 9:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. or at home – 420-0759. Or call the club secretary Betty Stirling at (work) 583-9656 or (home) 298-9243.

We certainly want to get the range back into shooting condition.

Sincerely,

Reuben A. “Rube” Powell
(Hall of Champions
Hall of Fame)

C.c. SDA Secretary

Posted on March 4, 2024 by SDA.

Roy Dill History, Convairiety, 1957

Roy Dill, Former Champ Bowman, Returns to National Competition

Roy Dill, Convair San Diego bow-and-arrow artist who was national champion archer in 1948, was in Watkins Glen, N. Y., last week in an effort to regain the U. S. title after more than three years absence from competition.
Dill won the national championship in 1948, only two years after leaving the Army, and held the California state championship four years, 1947, ’48, ’50, and ’53. The following year he retired from competition when he married and started raising a family.
“Lately my wife has been insisting I return to competition,” Dill said before he left, “and naturally I didn’t try too hard to hold out against it.”
The former national champion had “kept his eye” even in retirement by hunting in the Lagunas and around San Diego with bow and arrow. He has bagged numerous deer on expeditions to the Lagunas. He also shot with and conducted clinics for the CRA Archery Club at SD, and was president one term.
Deciding to return to target shooting, Dill entered and won the annual Silver Arrow Shoot at Reno, Nev., bringing home a handsome silver trophy valued at $150.
Dill joined Convair San Diego in 1947 and worked in the factory as an assembler for several years. During this time he took numerous leaves of absence to make national archery exhibition tours, covering 36 of the 48 states. In 1950 he left Convair briefly, returned to the factory as assembler, and became a supervisor a few months later.
For a time he was attached to training section in the training of new hires. March 8 of this year Dill moved into long range planning as Model 880 change representative, the post he presently holds.

Citation: Full text of “Convairiety San Diego Edition 1957“, page 119, regarding Convair SD Archers

Posted on March 4, 2024 by SDA.

Closing of Gold Gulch Archery Range as well as the target range at Sixth and Laurel St., 1957

‘Dispossessed’ Archery Club Finds New Site, 1957

Temporarily  stymied  by  en- 
forcement  of  an  old  city  ordi- 
nance  which  forbids  “dischai-ging 
arrows  within  the  city  limits,” 
Convair  SD’s  Archery  Club  has 
obtained  a  new  location  —  from 
which  it’s  certain  not  to  be  evict- 
ed — and  will  hold  the  July  shoot 
this  Sunday  (July  14). 

The  ancient  ordinance,  invoked 
by  the  City  of  San  Diego  in  con¬ 
nection  with  a  realignment  of 
Balboa  Park  areas  and  activities, 
forced  the  closing  of  Gold  Gulch 
archery  range,  as  well  as  the  tar- 
get  range  at  Sixth  and  Laurel 
Sts.,  and  the  club  canceled  its 
June  shoot. 

Thanks  to  arrangements  made 
with  J.  R.  “Dick”  Mitchell,  em¬ 
ployée  services  chief  for  Convair 
Astronautics,  the  shoot  this 
weekend  will  be  held  on  Kearny 
Mesa,  east  of  the  Astronautics 
plant.  The  range  is  south  of  the 
Convair  access  road  leading  off 
U.  S.  395  to  the  plant. 

A  work  party  is  scheduled  to 
préparé  the  site  this  Saturday 
(July  13),  said  Al  Phipps,  Dept. 
401,  target  captain,  and  A.  D. 
Stone,  Dept.  709,  club  president. 

Adult  registration  for  Sunday’s 
shoot  will  be  at  9:30  a.m.,  with 
shooting  to  start  at  10.  Children 
will  register  at  12:30  p.m.,  start 
at  1.  The  meet  will  be  a  target 
single  American  type,  scoring  to 
be  announced  at  start. 

The  archery  event  is  open  to 
ail  Convair  employées  and  their 
families,  said  Stone.  The  club 
hopes  to  develop  a  field  range 
near  the  same  location,  which 
will  be  in  a  portion  of  the  area 
set  aside  for  CRA  activities  near 
the  Astronautics  plant. 

Other  information  on  club 
activities  may  be  obtained  from 
Gil  Crosthwaite,  CRA  commis¬ 
sioner,  at  ext.  1245,  Plant  1.

Citation: Full text of “Convairiety San Diego Edition 1957“, page 95, regarding Convair SD Archers

Posted on March 4, 2024 by SDA.