George Leonard Herter

Can anyone tell me something about George Leonard Herter and his catalog compnay?

I can't tell you much about George Leonard Herter except that he had a unique sense of humor, adventure, and marketing skill. The "Herter's" company was purchased by Cabela's. Cabela's maintains a link to the "Herter's" products on their website.

Someone in George Leonard Herter's family should get off of their dead butt and write a history of this man! If even one quater of his exploits are true then he is the stuff of legend. Where is Jaquis when you need him? Mr. Herter was an integral part of my childhood. His catalogues and books were very good company for a boy who lived for the outdoors!

I have very fond memories of the Herter's Store that was in Waseca. Lie a Cabela's, but BETTER because back then everything was not so commercial and packaged up. You could touch the pretty feathers, pet the rabbit skins, marvel at the big stuffed brown bear and best of all use your imagination in regards to all those items and artifacts on display. My dad would take us there on the weekends and we would spend hours exploring while he shopped for ammo or tackle or whatever. In regards to George, he had a very unique house here in Waseca that was quite secluded and he was a unique and eccentric man. Rumor was the family was very well off, the son that I graduated with, Joe, was a nice guy, smart, a little offbeat. When they had the sale at the house it was fascinating to do a walk through and see some of the artifacts and mementos that were for sale.

I would love to see a history piece done on George Herters.

I would love to see a place LIKE Herter's again in Waseca....

I too am a big fan of GLHerter. I saw my first Herter's catalog in 1961--and ordered from it at once. My first visit-and tour-of the Waseca store was in 1963 to pick up a Herter's World Famous Durachrome fiberglass canoe. 17 foot long-square sterned-and still going strong today. I am now retired and sort of by accident have started collecting Herter products & memoribilia. The crown jewel in my collection is a mint Herter .401 PowerMag single action revolver I acquired this summer--magnificient!
The man was a visionary & we could use some like him in todays world--uncompromising & unapollogetic.

If anyone knows of any GLH history, I'd love to hear about it.

Like Joe, Herter's and George L Herter was an integral part of my early teen years (early 60's). I still have a couple of catalogs that I used to order parts to make lures, rods, flies, etc. I also have several of his books which I was very fortunate to get signed by Mr. Herter, through a mutual friend, who used to deliver Mr Herter's newspaper many, many years ago. I also have a bunch of Herter's stuff: bottles, hooks, lures, spoons, blades, etc., etc. left over from many years ago that have never been used. All this stuff brings back a rush of very nice memories of a youth spent fishing and hunting and having been influenced by a VERY unique man with a love of the outdoors that may have been equalled by his love for people and a writing style that will never be equalled. What a guy.

I am a huge fan of Herters . My favorite Bow of all time is the 46 inch Herters recurve which I Have,along witn an unused St Albans bamboo fly Rod ( some one stole my first one ) and both Fly and spiining reels made by Rolls of England that they use to sell. I also have a few of their old catologs and some of their books . I recently repurchased SECRET FRESH AND SALT WATER FISHING TRICKS OF THE WORLDS FIFTY BEST PROFESIONAL FISHERMAN . I reread the description in the old 1968 catolg of all the top secrets of they day for a long list of fish . I remember having a fishing book from them with all kind of interesting tricks , but when I got this one I was disapointed . On the cover in very small print, under tha above BOLD headline it also says "plus the profesional secrets of fishing rods and how fishing rods are made . BUT , in the copy I got from ebay about 184 pages are on rod making andONLY about 12 are on fishing .THE OPOSITE OF HOW IT IS ADVERTISED IS THIS NORMAL FOR THIS BOOK ? I dont remember my one like that I used to have and in the Herters catolog it describes far more FISHING tips and it shows the book as very thick , where as mine looks thin . Is their a better edition to get the fishing tips ? This one says it is the 10th edition copyright 1961 . my email is willsanders@earthlink if some one has an explanation . Thanks

I lived for many years in Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada on the south end of Lake Winnipeg. Herters was a very important part of my life there. duck hunting, goose hunting in Nettlys Marsh and deer hunting in the Kola, Manitoba and Maryfield Sask. area required many hours of study of Herters Catalogue. loading shells, sighting scopes, all things out doors were done against the backdrop of Herters information and with the equipment so vividly described as the best in the world. I still retain items from those days especially the memories.

Yeah Herter's was a big part of my younger years too...still sorta collect Herter items...nothing major...but what I can find and afford..

Hey William Sanders, my 1965 Herter catalog lists that bamboo rod at $19.97...I'll give you forty bucks for it...how 'bout that? Double the list price..can't beat that, right?

We have a 16'fiberglass Herters boat with the high wings in the back. We believe it is a 1957, it has been in our family for about 30 years. We want to restore it but need to know something about the original colors, it appears to be white on the bottom and blue and red on the top, the seats are red.The color is molded in to the fiberglass, but has been painted over. What we can see is the colors are light, we are curious if the color was darker and faded alot or the colors were originally that light.It has places for tail lights in the back of the fins molded in the aluminum and it has a aluminum vent on the nose. It also has a spillway that the 1957 Duofoil flying fish delux model does not have. Any help in identifying the year and model would be appreciated. Thanks

Rye Whiskey Joe wrote:

I too am a big fan of GLHerter. I saw my first Herter's catalog in 1961--and ordered from it at once. My first visit-and tour-of the Waseca store was in 1963 to pick up a Herter's World Famous Durachrome fiberglass canoe. 17 foot long-square sterned-and still going strong today. I am now retired and sort of by accident have started collecting Herter products & memoribilia. The crown jewel in my collection is a mint Herter .401 PowerMag single action revolver I acquired this summer--magnificient!
The man was a visionary & we could use some like him in todays world--uncompromising & unapollogetic.
If anyone knows of any GLH history, I'd love to hear about it.

Please help me to place a value on my Herter's 18 foot double end canoe I purchased at the Waseca store in 1971.

As a small child in the 70's, I went to Herters often with dad. It was heaven on earth to see this place, so full of stuffed animals like the polar bear which was in front of the main entrance for most of my memory.(which is now at the Owatonna Cabelas) Or the huge concrete jackalope which started out in the back room by the tank full of crayfish and ended up outside by the totom pole. I remember the piranahs way up high along the back wall where I could barely see them being so short. I remember the bear mounted with a fish, salmon if I recall correctly, in its mouth with slobber drooling down. As you walked in the door, to the right you could head over to where there were rocks dyed colors and jewelery made with turquoise and silver. In this area were also ceramic dinosaures which dad actually bought a t-rex for me which we ended up glueing back together numerous times because I broke it while playing with it all of the time.

This place holds some of the best memories of my childhood for me. Once in a while I look at the Herters catalogs I have from then (which I will not sell) and remember all of the cool stuff I remember.

From Faribault, not Austin.

I ordered a .357 "double action" revolver from Herters around 1964. I still have it and enjoy reloading/shooting it. There is much info on their single action PowerMags, but nothing on the doubles. Can anyone provide me with a photocopy of ads for these from the 1960's era catalogs. It would be much appreciated. My e-mail is erommy@atmc.net

my cousin bought a 46in.herters bush bow new in the mid 70s and still has it today.I really like that little bow a lot.A 65# pull @ a 28in.draw made one bad hunter.he has bagged many dear with it.I watched him shoot sitting down with his legs crossed.Anyway I have been out of touch longer than I thought.I was looking for a new recurve and was really let down when I found herters was not around any more.what a shame.and yes I remember that catalog.oh what memories. jaminjim50@verizon.net

Rye Whiskey Joe wrote:

I too am a big fan of GLHerter. I saw my first Herter's catalog in 1961--and ordered from it at once. My first visit-and tour-of the Waseca store was in 1963 to pick up a Herter's World Famous Durachrome fiberglass canoe. 17 foot long-square sterned-and still going strong today. I am now retired and sort of by accident have started collecting Herter products & memoribilia. The crown jewel in my collection is a mint Herter .401 PowerMag single action revolver I acquired this summer--magnificient!
The man was a visionary & we could use some like him in todays world--uncompromising & unapollogetic.
If anyone knows of any GLH history, I'd love to hear about it.

In case you're interested, Joe, I'm currently selling a fine 17' Herter's squareback canoe, just like the one you own. I'm about 65 miles southeast of Wheaton, in the Duneland region of NW Indiana. You can see the full description on the Chicago craigslist (the Northwest Indiana section), or drop me an email at bizcoach2000 (at) email.com . I'm 72 years old, and it's been a superb boat for me, but my fishin' buddy developed a heart problem and it's a challenge to hoist that big canoe on top of the SUV by myself. BTW, I discovered that Old Town's similar top-of-the-line model--a 17-foot "wilderness" canoe of almost exactly the same weight as the Herter's--sells for about $2,000, yet lacks that wonderfully stabilizing rolled-aluminum keel, the sturdy cast-aluminum prow and corners, and all that HISTORY!! Mine is advertised at $575.

Don't know how this site put me in "Cornell, IL"--I don't even know where that is!! I'm actually in Miller Beach, IN, on the lakefront about 8 miles east of Gary and 3 miles west of Ogden Dunes.

Neil wrote:

We have a 16'fiberglass Herters boat with the high wings in the back. We believe it is a 1957, it has been in our family for about 30 years. We want to restore it but need to know something about the original colors, it appears to be white on the bottom and blue and red on the top, the seats are red.The color is molded in to the fiberglass, but has been painted over. What we can see is the colors are light, we are curious if the color was darker and faded alot or the colors were originally that light.It has places for tail lights in the back of the fins molded in the aluminum and it has a aluminum vent on the nose. It also has a spillway that the 1957 Duofoil flying fish delux model does not have. Any help in identifying the year and model would be appreciated. Thanks

I have a 1957 Herters ElDorado rocketThat we restored last summer I may be able to assist you. Jon