The day before and through the nighttime hours leading to the opening day of what once was “buck season” in Pennsylvania is usually a time of anticipation and anxiety. Very often, it is also a time of reflecting and reminiscing.
For all the wrong reasons, many in the outdoors community got an early start on reflecting and reminiscing this June as the news spread that we had lost Pottsville native Barry Swanson. His health had been in a downward spiral since suffering a heart attack some five years ago, and it was only then he discovered he had contracted Lyme disease years earlier.
Just as he had in life, Swanson’s death touched outdoorsmen from high-profile celebrities such as “Uncle” Ted Nugent — who called him “My brother” when they met — to advise-seeking newbie hunters and trappers. And while bowhunting was his first love, remembering his smile, his laugh and his love of the deer woods on the eve of Monday’s opening of Pennsylvania’s two-week firearms deer season seems so fitting.
A 1968 graduate of Pottsville High, the 61-year-old Swanson studied at both Penn State and West Virginia to pursue a career as a forester. He oversaw the maintaining right of ways for Penn-Fuel Gas and later PPL Electric, and combined his vocation with his avocation of studying wildlife in general and predators — especially coyotes — in particular.
Always ready to share his knowledge, Swanson soon found himself in demand on the seminar circuit and as a guest on television programs such as “Call of the Outdoors,” “Pennsylvania Outdoor Life,” “Joe Henney’s Outdoors” and “PBS Outdoors.” In time he reached out to Mike Schmit, a Blue Mountain High School graduate who, at the time, was information specialist at the Southeast Region office of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and expressed his desire to present seminars to raise public awareness of predators.
Schmit eventually rose to the position of PGC assistant executive director before retiring, and through the years he and Swanson developed a lasting friendship. Over the years they often exchanged ideas and addressed topics at their too-infrequent informal breakfast meetings.
“Barry truly was the consummate educator, and anything he knew he wanted to share,” Schmit said. “That’s why when he gave a lecture he was so captivating, and that trait came across the first time he called me on the telephone.
“He truly became an authority on coyotes, and I knew we should use him for our seminar series at the Middlecreek Wildlife Management Area. His seminars were among the best we’ve ever had and among the best attended.”
Although Swanson presented seminars on the topics of hunting bear and deer, he specialized in educating the outdoors community on the do’s and don’ts of predator hunting. Swanson also developed a series of seminars entitled “Predator Hunting,” “Bowhunting for Predators” and “Understanding the Eastern Coyote and How to Hunt Them.” In addition, Swanson developed the Swanson True Scent Company and presented his “Common Scents Seminar” and “The Proper Use of Scents and Lures.”
Swanson’s reputation spread throughout the state and nation. He became a regional director for the United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania state director for Ted Nugent United Sportsmen of America and a member of the professional staff of Concept Archery. A member of the Pennsylvania Trappers Association, he was a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment and a life member of the National Rifle Association.
A no-frills, meat-and-potatoes guy, Swanson’s passion for the outdoors came across on his weekly, hour-long “Lure of The Outdoors “ radio program on WPAM, 1450-AM, Pottsville, before his failing health forced him to discontinue the broadcasts. And while he would talk optimistically about picking up a bow and rifle and getting back out into the woods, deep down he — and his friends — knew this was wishful thinking.
“Barry was a gentleman’s gentleman; always gracious, always kind, always a humble man,” Pennsylvania Bowhunters Festival director Sherwood Schoch said. “He spent many hours navigating the woodlands with neither gun nor bow in hand because he simply loved the out-of-doors and always had respect for his quarry.
“He especially enjoyed tracking down our elusive Eastern coyote and was expert at understanding their habits. As a musician earlier in his life he understood sounds and beats, and he used some of that innate skill in calling wild animals, especially the coyote.
“Barry was a dear friend to this old bowhunter and I know I will get to see him again in the Happy Hunting Grounds. I know he will be waiting with his usual warm and friendly nature, and I look forward to one day walking trails with my dear departed blood brother.”
Be assured, there will be a lot of people looking forward to sharing that walk on what will be very crowded trails.
(Dietz is outdoors editor)