By Tom Thoma Of The Globe-Gazette MASON CITY  June 21, 1992

Don Chipman wants Mohawk Archery Club members to know their heritage. So with the help of Joan Snell, he has begun the process of compiling the club's history.

Chipman and Snell are Mason City businesspeople. He's president of the archery club, and her grandfather, Bill Storer, was a founding member.

She provided four books Storer wrote, and he has drawn some interesting facts from them.

The club was started by five people in January 1956. Storer, the band director at Lincoln School, had been shooting in tournaments for several years and became the motivating force in forming the club.

His interest in archery extended even further. He had a feather business that processed turkey feathers for use on arrows, and became the main supplier for Bear Archery and Ben Pearson.

Other founding members were Ray Luehman, Emmet Johnson, Roy Bilyeu and Jim Fitzgerald.

``A lot of these guys started shooting right after World War II,'' Chipman said. ``The first deer season was in 1953, but they didn't have a club until '56.''

One year after the club was organized, membership grew to over 20, and there was a junior organization called the Robin Hood Club which grew to over 60 youngsters.

That tradition of teaching is alive today, as many of the adults were introduced to the sport through Parks and Recreation Department programs the club has kept going, according to Chipman.

``We teach a lot of kids,'' he said, ``and quite a few adults.''

Chipman said the club had 65 members last year, with many more associated through family memberships. Cost is $50 per person yearly or $75 per family, and that includes full use of club facilities -- both the indoor range and the Lime Creek area.

Chipman said technology makes archery equipment useable by everyone -- there even is a separate archery Olympics for people confined to wheelchairs.

Compound bows do not require a lot of muscle to shoot, he added.

Most of the club's members are hunters, ``but not everybody, and we try to appeal to everybody.''

``It's an archery club, not a hunting club.''

Chipman said he hopes past members will contact him with their stories (his phone number is 421-3673, or he can be contacted through the recreation department at 423- 7422).

``I'm hoping to bring people out of the rafters,'' he said. ``There have been hundreds of members of the club.''