Larry Chesney’s piece Remembering Remington made me reflect about the venerable company that has fallen on hard times. Times have changed, and the people have, too. Here’s a story about a group of former and retired Remington employees who have created life-long friendships brought about during their tenure at Big Green. Not surprisingly this group loves shooting and hunting. We’re particularly fond of chasing grouse, thus the name the Old Pat’s Society.
And we shoot Parker shotguns.
According to Art Wheaton who enjoyed a 41-year career with Big Green, “What bound together many of us Remington men was that we shared the same values about life, work, hunting, dogs, rifles and shotguns. We worked and hunted together, and a half-century later, my friends Ken Berger, Ken Waite Jr., Ken Waite III, Tom Larson, Randy Havel, Jerry Havel, Jon Foster, Kurt Nelson, Pete Jackson, Scott Hanes, Jim Ryan, Chuck Mosher, Tim McCormack and Vic Romano Jr. still get together. Part of our commonality is that we revere our elders as we value tradition and quality. Those unique bonds transcend time and place.”
The memories of a hunt with life-long friends are included in this photo tucked in a gun cabinet.
But wait a minute; isn’t a Remington employee shooting a Parker like a Chevy employee driving a Ford? Not so says Wheaton. “Remington bought Parker in 1934 so the classic American side-by-side was considered to have Remington DNA. Of course, we shot a variety of Remington firearms, and it was with the company’s de facto approval that a number of us took to shooting and hunting with Parkers as our side-by-side of choice.
“Remington values institutional knowledge and employees,” he said. “My first job at Big Green was as a junior engineer and shift foreman of Rimfire Load and Pack in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After a while I moved into marketing and then to field sales in Pittsburgh. Other promotions required me to relocate, and I ultimately returned to the Dupont Headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware as the Vice President of Marketing and Sales. I helped Remington move to Madison, North Carolina in 1995 and retired as Vice President General Manager-Worldwide Sales in 2001. I remained on as a consultant for five years. It was a wonderful career full of accomplishment, innovation and long-lasting friendships.”
Art Wheaton and Randy Havel share their friendship in the woods.
Chuck Mosher is another member of the Old Pat’s Society. The New Hampshirite joined Remington in 1968. “Little did I know that when I started working for Remington I would pledge a fraternity of the highest order. I’ve always believed that the best friends are made before you’re 40-years old, and the Old Pats Society represent some of mine. We were cut from the same cloth, and believed in strong, meaningful and deeply-connecting personal relationships. We each had those shared beliefs long before we met at Remington, and we treated everyone accordingly. We treated our wives, our families and our friends that way, and when we arrived at the company from our different regions and backgrounds it was as if we were coming home. Remember that Remington was founded in 1816, so 1966 marked our 150th Anniversary. It was a tremendously optimistic time to be working for a hallowed company, and there was no surprise that we all bled Remington Green.
“My interview process was interesting for during it I spoke with people who represented four generations of employees. That significance struck me, and it reminded me of advice my father gave me. He said, ‘you should work with people in companies of which you can be proud.’ It was clear as a bell that Remington was one such company. While I had other job offers, I chose my field sales position when it was offered.
“My colleagues introduced me to Parker shotguns, too. Those Meriden, Connecticut shotguns represented America’s best, and they were right in line with our principals. They appealed to us because Parkers represent many of our core values: tradition, American craftsmanship, quality, ingenuity, and integrity. The friendships that grew in the Old Pats Society are strong and cross region and time. I suspect it comes as no surprise that Corey Ford is my favorite upland writer, and he, too, was a Parker man.”
Leroy Mosher with a brace of grouse, and a Parker.
Not surprisingly Ohio’s Randy Havel’s path to Parker mirrored Wheaton’s. Following his 1971 discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps Havel was looking for a job. The logical career for a fisherman, hunter and Marine was as a hardware wholesaler as most hardware stores carried sporting goods complete with gun departments. He learned of a Remington Field Representative position covering Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota and applied for the job. Little did he know that his fate as an Old Pats member was sealed when he accepted the offered position.
“When I got my field sales representative job I moved to an area more centrally located within my territory. The fact that I love to fish and hunt made Minnesota a perfect fit. It was a tough sales region, though, so I probably worked much more than I fished and hunted. Federal Premium Ammunition is headquartered in Minnesota, so selling Remington shotshells in their backyard was like selling Pepsi in Atlanta. I was on the road non-stop, participated in consumer and trade shows, and shot both competitively and recreationally. I worked for Art and that’s probably how I first learned about Parker shotguns. I’ve shot a lot of guns over the years, but nothing has shot better for me than a Parker.”
Provenance comes from the affinity for anything that is passed down. In this instance, it relates to people, too. How these men feel about the company and how they contributed to the current generation I believe that Big Green will emerge strong and refocused. Any company focused on tradition, legacy, perseverance, loyalty, and dedication has deep roots. And they are the strongest ones indeed.