| As
the son of an ardent outdoorsman, Bayou Bill began his hunting and fishing
lessons on the Muscatatuck River at the age of four, had his first rifle
at age seven and his first bait-casting rod and reel at age eight. When
ten, he began to hunt and fish alone or with some older men of the area. |
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Born at Crothersville,
Indiana, prolific Hoosier author Bill Scifres wrote thousands of
newspaper and magazine articles as well as two books, Bayou
Bill's Best Stories and Indiana
Outdoors. After more than 36 years
as sports and outdoor writer for the Indianapolis Star, he
retired in 1990 but continued to publish his outdoor-oriented Lines
and Shots column there until 1999. Bill also did free-lance
writing for magazines and produced the popular All
Outdoors column which regularly appeared in numerous newspapers
throughout the state. At the time of his death in October 2009 he had nearly
completed a third book and was also cooking up a fourth (the latter a cookbook he
planned to title Just Add Heat: Bayou Bill's Simple
Little Cook Book).
He received many awards for his
writing and conservation work, among them Hanover College's Lifetime
Achievement Award, Sagamore of the Wabash from Purdue University, the Conservation
Communications Award from the National Wildlife Federation, Conservationist
of the Year from the Indiana Wildlife Federation, and was elected to the
Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. [Two years after his
death, Bill was posthumously inducted into the Indiana Conservation Hall of
Fame in October 2011.]
Memorial
contributions in Bill’s honor may be made to the Indiana Wildlife Federation,
4715 W. 106th St., Zionsville, IN 46077, Phone: 1-800-347-3445 or
317-875-9453(WILD).
"Bill is truly a naturalist.
His knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of the outdoors extends far
beyond hunting and fishing. His enthusiasm is invigorating. He speaks to
the outdoors literally and it seems to speak back to him. . . . I have
never been with someone who enjoyed the outdoors as much as Bill seems
to."
-- Jon
Marshall, Natural Science Manager - Public Affairs, Indiana Division of
Fish and Wildlife, Department of Natural Resources, Focus on Fish &
Wildlife |
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