Medal, Commemorative
Object number2007.47.6
Date1987
MediumMetal; cotton
Credit LineGift of the Fowkes Family
DescriptionMetal medal in shape of upside-down pentagon with round sides and pointed tip. Embossed on one side: image of figure holding bow in shooting position, a target at the edge of the bow, and commemorative text. Connected to red, white, and blue cotton neckband; neckband comes to a point at connection with medal.Dimensions2.125 x 17 in. (5.4 x 43.2 cm)InscriptionsEmbossed on one side "USA / HERSHEY, PA. / IWAC / 1987".
Historical NotesMedal given to C.R. Fowkes from the IWAC (Injured Workers Action Committee [?]), in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Since 1920, Bud Fowkes was a resident of Verona; he graduated from Penn Hills High School in 1939. After service in WWII took him to Alaska, he returned to Western Pennsylvania in 1945 and went to work at Gulf Research as a master mechanic. Because a field artillery blast had damaged his hearing in 1944 and firing guns became painful for him, Fowkes, a hunter, took up archery in 1947. He competed in archery tournaments during the 1960s, but soon turned his interests to coaching, and designing and repairing bows. Fowkes coached numerous archers and archery teams both in the national and international circuit. He was selected to be the U.S. Olympic archery coach for the Munich games of 1972, where members of his team won the gold medal in both the men's and women's bracket. As his reputation grew, Fowkes was invited by nations around the world to coach and teach their archery teams. Fowkes died in December of 2006.
Previous owner
Clarence R. Fowkes
(died 2006)
Related institution
Penn Hills High School
Related institution
Gulf Research and Development Company
Related institution
Gulf Oil Corporation
(1907 - 1984)
Related institution
Injured Workers Action Committee
On View
Not on view
1972
c. 1950