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Remembering a True Gentleman and Legend

Fletch

Senior Member
Supporting Member
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Back in my early years of turkey hunting I became fond of Penns Woods diaphrams and could not find them here in New Jersey.. Seemed everywhere you went you found the shelves stocked with "Quaker Boy" calls..

Then one opening day of buck season in Bradford County Pa. I was sitting on my tailgate taking off my boot's when I noticed an SUV parked near me with a Penns Woods decal on the window.. Shortly thereafter a guy comes walking out of the woods to the vehicle and we exchanged hello's, So in our small talk I inquire about the Penns Woods decal in his window.. At this point he introduces himself as Frank Piper the owner of Penns Woods Products.. So I explain my problem finding his calls where I live, at this point he takes out a pen and asks for my address and says he would mail me some diaphrams...

Less than a week later I come home to find a huge box in front of my garage door.. Ok what did the wife order now?? It's addressed TOO me and has a Penns Woods return address on it... Like a kid at Christmas I open up the box to find: NOT ONLY DIAPHRAMS but EVERY CALL PENNS WOODS MADE!!! In the box were 2 of everything.. I mean 2 of each box call they made, 2 owl hooters, 2 of the big gobbler calls they made. Diaphrams were packed 12 to a box, yup... 2 boxes of each diaphragm. PW1,PW2,PW3 and others.That totaled over 100 diaphragm calls alone.. THE BOX WAS FILLED TO THE TOP WITH GOODIES.... ONLY THING NOT IN THE BOX WAS AN INVOICE!!!! Like Huh?? Theres a lot of $$$$$$$$ in product in this box.... So I pick up the phone and call Frank... He gets on the phone and I say Frank, I needed a diaphram or two.. NOT THE WHOLE STORE.. Like... What do I owe you??? He says: YOU DON'T OWE ME A PENNY!!! I was stunned...

So I gotta show him my appreciation... So I ask for some invoices and catalogs and told him I'd try and get him in some stores here in Jersey. A week later I get more call's (to use as demos,earlier calls he sent me were for my own use). So I hit the ground running and got him about 15 stores and sold a ton of call's... HE WAS SHOCKED... I ended up becoming a field rep and did some shows and a few seminars for them..

Unfortunately Frank Piper passed on back in 2009... He truly touched on many lives and was one of the fore fathers for what the turkey call industry is today.... Frank was truly that special guy you wanted to share a campfire with and share hunting stories....

RIP... Frank Piper
 

Fletch

Senior Member
Supporting Member
6,078
118
They don't make em like that much anymore.

No they don't.... Frank truly was a class act.. I remember one time they were having a dinner and he asked me to attend.. Air Fare to Pittsburg and top notch hotel accomodations all paid for by him... Truly one of a kind...
 

Fletch

Senior Member
Supporting Member
6,078
118
PW1,PW2,PW3 diahrams were great IMO the latex skirt conformed to the roof of my mouth great.. Funny story: One time I was in a store discussing diaphrams with the store owner behind the counter. In walks a guy with his wife or girlfriend... They are looking at guns behind the counter while the owner and I are discussing diaphrams "and how the skirt conforms to the roof of your mouth".. OK diaphrams conforming to the roof of your mouth.. What looks we were getting from this young lady.. Finally I showed her what we were talking about and "this form of diaphram is a turkey call"... She burst out laughing.. God only knows what she was thinking....rotflmao
 

Fletch

Senior Member
Supporting Member
6,078
118
The PW"s is what i learned on. I remember they came with a Brown plastic squeeze holder.

Yup.... The brown holders looked like those little change holders people would keep their loose change in.. Still have a few lying around..