The first person that came up to me was an older gentleman by the name of James Hosford. He had my attention from the word go and we sat down and chatted. I was immediately enthralled about the history archery knowledge this man possessed. I had no idea who Jim was but all older people deserve respect and should get that attention. Jim came from back east and was actually living in the east when I first started archery. He even knew who I was back then so when he read I was in A, he came to the Austin shoot to meet me. You talk about being honored, I was extremely humbled that day to have this couple, well into their 70’s to come visit a person they never met before. One of the highlights of my career.

I kept in touch with the Hosford’s from then on and made it a point to visit them in Kerrville at least once a year. While they were able to travel, they came to tournaments, just to watch and I delighted in talking with them on every occasion. After a few years, Jim made a very generous donation to the A State Archery Association to the tune of five thousand dollars. I accepted the offer readily and purchased a trailer that is used to store enough equipment to stage a medium sized tournament. We stocked the trailer with target matts and stands and accessories for hosting archery tournaments. The trailer has been driven to Houston several times, Kerrville, San Antonio, Eagle Lake and a few other places. A big round of thanks goes out to Jim and Mildred for that donation and I took photos of the trailer and its contents and hand delivered those photos on one of my trips to Kerrville.

Over the years, Jim’s health deteriorated and was no longer able to travel but his spirits were still high in regards to archery and his mind was still sharp. Long before the Archival Archery had any newsletter to speak of, I documented every event I went to and sent him a detailed report. He often commented that if he hadn’t received those reports, he would have never known what went on in archery.

Jim passed away 12/17/1997. He was born 7/22/1911. I had last seen him just six months before that. Mildred called me to give me the bad news. I was not able to attend the funeral as she called me the day of the funeral and I felt bad about that but I drove down there within a few weekends to chat with her and console her. They had no children so other than Mr. Derwin Kim, they had no relatives to speak of.

I go to Kerrville each year to work with the disabled at a camp sponsored by the Lions Club. A delightful bunch of people who never dwell on their misfortunes but speak on of their abilities. We should learn valuable lessons from the less fortunate. Like we did in 2001 when Larry Townes graced us with his presence. Larry has the use of only one arm and draws the bow with his teeth. Remember - we are never better than those less fortunate, only physically not mentally because they have found a way to overcome their misfortune.

When I am at the Lions camp, I venture over to the nursing home to chat with Mildred every chance I get. In the last couple of years, her health was okay but her memory was slipping. On my last visit in May of 2001, she no longer remembered who I was. She thought I just lived down the hall and was looking forward to seeing me everyday. It was sad to leave her but she was happy and always had a smile on her face. That was my last visit, she passed away a month later on 6/25/2001. She was born 8/2/1910. I was glad to have been there such a short time before her departure.

Both the Hosford’s will be missed. Archery lost some great history with those two.

Jim & Millie were first and foremost interested in archery and anyone who shared that interest. That's how as kids my brother Boris and I first got to know them. We had one bow between us, a few arrows and not a clue as to how to shoot. I learned to shoot and a lot more from the Hosford's. I'm not a writer, but in the next week or two I'll try to give you a rough chronology and some highlights of the almost 50 years that I knew them.
Derwin Kim

Rick I hope this is of some use. Jim & Millie were originally from Nebraska and Oklahoma respectively. They were married in the early 40's and move to Wash, DC and got federal government jobs. Jim worked for the Navy Hydrographic Office in Suitland, MD (they made charts and things). Millie worked downtown for the Dept. of Interior. I don't know many specifics about what they actually did in their jobs, but I do know that for many years Jim, who was a calligrapher, was detailed from his regular job to the White House Social Office. He worked there during the Roosevelt and Johnson era's handwriting announcements, invitations, placards, etc., for all sorts of White House functions.

I met them because of their interest in archery. My brother and I were introduced to Jim by a childhood friend, Bill (Butch) Wheeler. The Hosford's had no children of their own and the three of us were the first in a large group of kids who were taught to shoot by Jim & Millie. Depending of their interest, these kids came and went (most went), but I stayed in close touch until college. During those years, Jim taught us to shoot, took us to archery tournaments in the Maryland-Virginia-Pennsylvania area, and kept us occupied in worthwhile endeavors. With the help of his "kids" he built two 14-target field ranges, one which was a part of the recreational facilities of the government offices in Suitland, MD, and one on his own land in Cheltenham, MD. He was a hunter, but not big time. He was comfortable shooting "instinctive" in the field or with a sight on a target range and taught both methods.

He and Millie were also very active in camp archery. He was associated with the Teela Wooket Archery camp in Vermont which I went to as a kid, and spent winters in Florida camps and summers in New York camps during their retirement years.

They retired to Kerrville in 1967-8 and I didn't see much of them after that, but kept in touch by mail, until he called me in 1994 to help him out when his and Millie's health was failing. In those 7 years I was often surprised by the number of people I ran into in stores and Doctor's offices who knew of the Hosford's and their interest in archery.

Also, mistakes happen and they are inevitable UNLESS you do nothing. The only way you can avoid mistakes is to do nothing. So, get out there and do something, even if it is wrong, you will still learn something from what you did.

"The biggest risk in life is not taking one!"

I want the successor to remember one important thing: delegate as much as possible. There are plenty of people out there who want to help out, they just need to be asked and be directed. Over the years, much work has been farmed out to many different people whether they know it or not. Tom Barker, Jim Krueger and Ben Dybala have handled the 4-H program down south extremely well and have brought many kids into the Archival Archery fold. All three of these gentlemen have been tournament directors of JOAD leaders and are highly reliable.

Ben Dybala has taken care of our awards and are very nice awards for a very reasonable price. This is an important feature or archery: balancing the cost of awards. You can't give out 'nothing' and you can't give out elaborate awards. You give nothing, you get nothing in return. You give out too nice of awards and you lose all your profit. You have to make the people understand they are there for the competition and camaraderie and any decent award to show them they participated is enough to bring them back, that and the overall warmth of the Archival Archery archery community. We have had many out-of-state guests come to events in A and give us high marks.

We have a highly recognized collegiate program thanks to Tom Parrish, Frank Thomas and Kathy Eissinger. They are easily putting A archery on the national scene and there is hardly anyone in archery that hasn't heard of the success of the college program in A. This due in part to the highly successful A Shootout that draws top archers from all over the country. Without being bias, one of the best archery events in the country. Mainly dues to two things: a large contingent of Aggie archers to do the work and the organization of two highly skilled organizers - Kathy and Frank.

The key is organization and without the use of e-mail, this is much harder to do. The internationally known Archival Archery webpage gets high marks for the diversification and organization of materials to promote an already successful AA. Event calendars, results, profiles, stories, photos, how-to-do descriptions and electronic registration are a major reason for the AA's success. Those kudos go to Ron Carmichael.

The biggest round of applause always goes to the archers themselves and the family that supports them. Please always remember this is your sport and you are a major part of its success. I always have and always will give someone the dirty looks if they come to a tournament, shoot and leave. You know who you are. You are part of the tournament and the tournament is a part of you. Help out, even if it is only five minutes. If everyone worked just five minutes, the work would get done in rapid time. The new Archival Archery tents always bring me to mind. Archers and others put them up and along come squatters who use the shade the entire time and disappear right after the shooting is over. Never lifting a single finger to help out. I firmly believe that what goes around comes around and if lighting ever struck our tent, I hope the free loaders are the ones that it falls one. Just joking there…………slightly……………..but that is me, I try to tell it like it is - deal with it? Archery is what you put it in…always has been that way…always will be that way. You get out what you put in. So, GIVE and don't always TAKE.

It has been fun. Thank you for allowing me to run this fine organization and if I have been too much of a pain in the butt, then you must be one of the ones I chatted about in the last paragraph. On the other hand, thanks to all those good people out there who have always helped out when asked, you have made the organization what it is and I appreciate it. You will be remembered.