Hello I just got a copy of "The Road To Yesterday" great book on trapshooting, I only wish I would of got the book sooner when Dick Baldwin was still alive, like to ask him on the shotguns he used for trap, and have him sign a copy of his book for me.
I too wish our friend Dick Baldwin was still with us. Sometimes we talked 1 to 3 times a week and occasionally 3 times in one day. I was fortunate to have him sign my book. I drove to Danbury, Connecticut to attend his wake and funeral. Sang every song at church with tears rolling down my face. A heavy drizzle met us during the funeral. Dick was buried on a hill overlooking a pond where several ducks were enjoying a swim. I thought how befitting this was. Many of us placed empty hulls on his casket before leaving. Regarding his great book : At the end of page 167 and top of 168 Dick wrote about a fellow and said he could not remember his name "but I watched all this happen and never forgot it." I've been told that Dick's reporting had all the signs of a story that never happened. After Dick's death, I researched this for quite sometime and finally found the truth. I recall looking up to the heavens and calling out "Dick, I found it, his name was Dr. Ray E. Clark, a dentist but he was from Cincinnati not Dayton." The newspapers called it a precedent setting day. Sportsmen's Review did list his name among the shooters. Dr. Clark was one of only 14 shooters handicapped to the maximum 25 yards. He broke 16-18-18-19 for a score of 71x100. His name and registered target count never appeared in the Average Book. Enjoy The Wonderful Book ! Enjoy Our History ! HB
Dick and I met at the Virginia State Shoot some years ago to discuss the disposition of his collection of Parker and Parker-Remington literature he had put together during his years as the unofficial historian at Remington. Years of correspondence led Dick to agree that I was the proper custodian of this great paper collection. We met in his hotel room and I examined the extensive grouping. It included extensive internal memos regarding the last days of the Parker Brothers company and the acquisition by Remington. As a Parker gun collector of many decades, I was impressed that my friend, Dick, thought that I deserved to own this great collection. Dick also assisted me in locating a very important Parker shotgun that I had been searching for for many years, putting me in touch with its owner.
