Being lucky enough to be raised in Waseca during the 50's, Herter's was
one of our favorite places to shop because we could purchase gunpowder
in handy canister containers. Each canister had enough powder to launch
several home made rockets into the blue.
Back in those days, if you had the bucks and could reach the counter,
you could get anything you wanted; guns, ammo, powder, no questions asked.
Other part of the trip to the showroom was looking at all of the dead
animals that were mounted around the walls. George and Jackie (Jaques to
you catalog readers) tried to kill anything that might look good under
Jaques Model Hudson Bay Perfect Boot.
Still remember my dad building his own spinning rod from one of
Herter's kits. Pretty good stuff. That and their duck hunting gear.
The "world famous" catalog was later overrun with crap from Korea
(brass drinking mugs made from artillery shells), diamonds from Africa
(Archie Lortis, "a Lutheran", who ran a local gas station and bait shop
was the "diamond buyer").
Herter's factory/showroom was situated just on the outskirts of town
and when the city fathers decided to annex the place, George pulled out
everything and moved the whole operation to Brookings, SD.
As somebody noted earlier, he was busted for importing some prohibited
monkey skins.
Somebody brought George out and moved the hunting apparel to Wisconsin
which was, in turn, brought out by Cabelas.
Herters was the Cabelas of their day, and that is no hokum.