Club History

In the late 1940s there was a Native American named Henry Lange who was an avid archer.  He worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).  Henry had constructed a little archery range on the “North Hill” (Edgewood area).  He also organized target archery shoots at Sun Field, the Pierce County Airport site.

 

Henry was able to  get a number of other greater Puyallup area sportsmen interested in archery.  In 1951, Henry, Ed Arnold, Frank Marcoe, and William Stoner, a local sporting goods store owner (and later Mayor of Puyallup), established Skookum Archers.  In 1959 the Club was incorporated as a nonprofit corporation. 

 

Shortly thereafter, the club began eyeing a 35 acre site off Shaw Road in Puyallup for their club and range.  The site had  BPA lines already running through it, so the area was not suitable for residential or commercial development.  However, the club had little money.  Several founding members loaned the club the money to buy the land at 11209 Shaw Road East, which has now hosted Skookum Archers for more than 50 years. 

 

Around 1960, the flat range and walk-through courses A and B were developed.  In 1961, the club held a general open house to acquaint the community with “one of Puyallup’s newest recreation facilities”.  The open house featured archery demonstrations and tours of the new range.

 

In 1965 the Club held a “Mortgage Burning” ceremony celebrating the final payment on the 35 acre site.  The founding fathers had been reimbursed for their loan and the club now owned the current site free and clear.  The club had about 50 members at that time.

 

In the early years, the Club also hosted a Daffodil target archery tournament at the Fife High School Football Field in conjunction with the annual Daffodil Festival.

 

The initial club house, which was built on site by member volunteers, caught fire and burned down one weekend, and was later replaced with the current club house, which was eventually expanded.  In 2000-2001, under the leadership of President Dave Freiheit, the site was fenced, the parking lot paved, and the current Pro Shop built.