Penn Del Archery

Seems a group of archers in the mid 1950"s looked around for a place to shoot just bows & arrows and found an old farm on Naamans Creek Rd owned by Charles Palmer. So it was that Penn-Del was formed in Bethel Township, PA  The club leased the property in the beginning. Then in 1959, they had the opportunity to buy the land. With the help of 12 members putting up the amount needed to purchased the 51 acres now known as Penn Del Archers a non-profit corporation.  The 12 members are on the plaque at the club. They had shoots about twice a month, alternating with neighboring archery club, Field & Stream. The Penn Del Archers practice field consisted of targets on mounds of sand as back stops. The targets were animal pictures & National field targets. The club had around 100 members in those days, most shot bare bow, recurves with no sights.  Tournaments usually drew about 75 archers. There were only 5 women members who shot in those days. Some of the guys who where the innovators in doing all the work in the beginning to make this happen were: Vern Winkle, Bob & Dick Kaufman, Len Tabacchi, Bob Warner, Jay Jenkins, Pat Patterson, Joe Ariza, Don Herb, Don McCue, Dan Becker, George Ferrell, John Imburgia, Des Jones, Mel Brooks, Jim Saunders, Charlie Butz, Axle Williams, Jack Fleemoor, Ed Campell, Ray Hall, The Dimpter Family, Bill Shepard, Jerry, Betty & son Bobby Gregg, Joe Bail just to name some.   While most of these people have passed on,   Bill Shepard is still an active member.  A few others are around but do not shoot.   We have 3-D Animal tournaments on shoot days and we still have FITA and JOAD Rounds, NFAA Field & Hunter Rounds and Wednesday night shoots on a lighted course.

The property use to have a farm house, a barn and spring house......barn & springhouse are still there. They once had a "running deer target" in the practice field...a motorized picture of a deer on a clothes line. The poles from the line was on were still there in the mid 80's.  the original club house was a little shack structure. They built the club house and heated it with a pot belly coal stove. At one time all of the property had ranges on it for  5-6 years...then not enough workers to maintain them and thats when they went to using just the front half of the course.

Board Of Directors



President: Mike Farren

 Secretary: Patty Greager

Grounds Keeper: Bill Masters

Vice President: Jim McGrath

Treasurer: Jim Greager 

Eddie Albright: Range Captain