Orvis is a brand known throughout the land, historically prominent among a segment of the fishing community. Leigh H. Perkins, who died at age 93 this month, probably wasn’t as well known as the company he led.
Nonetheless, it was Perkins, a native of Cleveland, who transformed Orvis after buying the century-old Massachusetts-based company in 1965. Perkins essentially expanded Orvis’s niche from a maker of high-end rods and reels to the purveyor of additional product that includes clothing, footwear, home goods and luggage, among sundry offerings.
Orvis opened a scattering of retail stores, including one in Worthington, one in Cincinnati and two in affluent suburbs of Cleveland. Mad River Outfitters in Columbus is one of a handful of Ohio dealers.
Call what Orvis does a form of mass merchandising, but the status purchase of $79 polos, $98 short-sleeve shirts, $500 reels and $3,000 fly rods requires everyday pockets deeper than most.
A Perkins innovation was the establishment of fly-fishing schools, which served the purpose of expanding the demand for product while bestowing an appreciation among participants for the natural world. Orvis schools train about 15,000 prospective fly fishers a year for free.
Conservation efforts played a large role in Perkins’ legacy. He donated millions of dollars to organizations that work to protect land and water.
“It wasn’t a cynical business decision,” said Tom Rosenbauer, a longtime colleague. “Leigh did it because he wanted to be a steward of this world he loved.”
Among numerous accolades, Perkins was awarded about 20 years ago an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Minnesota for helping “some of the most prominent and important conservation organizations in the world to modernize their practices, create scientific research programs and achieve their potential for service.”
Even into his 90s and long retired from the business now run by his sons, Perkins reportedly still hunted and fished 250 days of the year.
The scion of a wealthy family learned hunting, fishing and a “reverence for nature” from his mother. A photo at the Web site, orvis.com, shows Leigh, then about 3, looking on as his mother, Katharine, holds a gun while admiring two alligators hanging on a rack after she’d shot them.
Perkins, by all published accounts a fine fellow who didn’t take himself too seriously, reportedly once told an interviewer he most wanted to be remembered for his duck soup recipe.
Turkey update
Time flies along with wild turkeys. The 30-day spring turkey season concludes at sunset a week from today in Central Ohio. The hunt in the five-county Northeast Zone began a week later than in the 83-county South Zone and concludes May 30.
Foul weather, particularly last Sunday, might’ve contributed to the diminished results compared with a year ago. Counting two additional days of hunting that resulted from starting the season on a Saturday for the first time, hunters during the opening 16 days checked 11,783 bearded birds.
That number includes 1,473 turkeys reported during the two-day youth season in mid-April.
Last year’s take during the first 14 days — the season began on a Monday in both south and north zones — totaled 14,215. The shortfall of 2,432 birds compared with a year ago represents a decline of about 17.1 percent.
Columbiana led Ohio counties with 385 bearded turkeys checked during the season’s first 16 days, followed by Meigs with 372, Belmont with 370, Monroe 359 and Tuscarawas 348.
Licking led central Ohio counties with 226, followed by Delaware with 71, Fairfield 68, Union 25, Franklin 15, Pickaway 12 and Madison four.
outdoors@dispatch.com
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