Honoring Memories
Editor’s Note: Non-resident member and bamboo rod craftsman, Dr. Barry Mayer, reached out to me after Ross sent the request for Flyline submissions. Barry has the gift of the pen and appreciates the rich literary history of our Club. He also remembers members who have passed and have left their mark on the Club from their writings and other contributions to our history. Here is an excerpt from one of Barry’s emails along with a poem written by fellow FCO member and bamboo rod maker, Ed Hartzell. Thank you Barry for reading the Flyline and continuing your contributions to the FCO! LKH
Email from Dr. Barry Mayer 7/22/19: “I came across a tribute I had written about Ed Hartzell shortly after he died. It is quite lengthy and there probably aren’t more than a handful of members any more who will remember him for who he was. I elected not to send the whole thing unless you’d like to look it over for yourself. At the end of the piece I included a poem Ed wrote that I hope will help fill the space for you.
This poem by Ed Hartzell is a reflection of the man. He would have been 63 when he wrote it.”
Si et Non
I write lean words
(trying to make sense)
and send them to friends
who write.
Sometimes words come back,
looking glass words,
words that pulse like a quail dying in your hand.
Words like grasses bent by love.
You are too kind.
Let’s cook that quail.
Age doesn’t mean brittleness.
I can stand the bending.
It’s being not meaning,
isn’t It?
I feel I understand.
EWH February, 1985
Ed Hartzell with fellow bamboo rod maker Walton Powell
And more . . . .
This story from Devanie Angel ran in the 2001 Chico News Review. It speaks of Walton Powell’s life, the Powell bamboo rod company (and how he lost it), along with several contributions from our departed FCO member, John Eustice. If any members have stories about their E.C. Powell, Walton Powell, or Ed Hartzell bamboo rods, please send them to your Flyline Editor. Thank you!
