Jeff Manes: Outdoorsman assists other outdoorsmen as customers, friends

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Updated: January 3, 2012 8:38AM

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less.”

— Rick Warren

Rodger Blythe, 50, is the youngest of Dick Blythe’s three sons. He manages Blythe’s Sporting Goods in Griffith.

Blythe lives in Griffith with his wife, Susan. They raised two adult children, Ryan and Tarin.

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Did you play sports for Griffith High School?

“Baseball and football.”

What position in baseball?

“Outfield.”

Left-handed?

“Yep.”

I usually can tell.

“Me, too. I can almost see by the way a guy does things or even how he walks and know he’s a lefty.”

College?

“Nope; right out of high school in the summer of ’79 is when we started building the store in Valparaiso. I actually worked with the construction crew that summer. Soon as the store was built, me being the youngest, I came back here and worked with my dad. My brothers, Mike and Les, ran the Valpo store.”

Do you have a certain department you specialize in, like fishing or archery?

“No, I float to all the departments. We’ve got some good guys who have been here a long time. Some of them specialize in one department or another. I try to know enough in every department where I can go to archery, guns or whatever.”

What’s your favorite type of hunting?

“Probably archery elk hunting.”

Why?

“The bulls are bugling; you’re calling. If you’re familiar with turkey hunting, it’s very similar; it’s a vocal thing. You’re going after the elk, not just sitting in a tree like deer hunting. It’s more of a physical hunt than waiting for a deer to come by.”

The bull elk assumes you’re a bull elk and wants to lock horns with you.

“Exactly.”

Where do you hunt elk?

“New Mexico and Wyoming are usually the two states I apply for.”

The store is packed today.

“It’s a Saturday in November; we should be.”

It’s probably tough for you to deer hunt around here because of that.

“Yeah, how can I justify being in a tree stand today when I have customers coming in? What I try to do is take my hunts when I can get away for a week, hunt hard, and not have to rush out of here and rush back.”

I know you’ve hunted big game in Africa, where prime hunting season is in July — its winter.

“July is the best time for me to get out of here.”

Tell me about Africa.

“I’ve only been there once. The main thing I went for was lion with the bow. I was there for 10 days.”

Did you get a lion?

“Yes. Jeff, something I’d like to add is that I’ve been fortunate enough to be on the same hunt with my father and my son. There’s a lot of camaraderie when you’re hunting with family or close friends. It sounds like a cliche, but it’s not necessarily the kill; it’s the whole experience of who you’re with and being outdoors.

“If anybody has the time and resources, like I have, they can be successful hunting. I’m no better than anyone else as far as going on a hunt. I enjoy doing it and I put in a lot of time practicing with the bow. I don’t want to come off as some guy who boasts, ‘I shot this and I shot that.’ ”

When your family sells shotguns, rifles, and bows and arrows, the odds are you’re going to hunt.

“It’s what we do. Unless you’re a star athlete and you’re going to become a pro, once you get out of high school or college, it’s over. When I played my last football game for Griffith High, I knew I was never gonna put on a football uniform again. Hunting is something you can keep doing; my dad is 77.”

Yeah, my dad will be 81 in January. I imagine he’s perched up in a tree as we speak.

“I respect your dad and Uncle Joe probably more than anybody in the area. I see how much they hunt and fish; they’re kinda like my heroes. Jim Manes was bow hunting 50 years ago.”

Rodger, I still consider this place a “mom-and-pop” shop. Your family business has continued to thrive, although you must compete with the heavy hitters.

“With Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops and the big-box stores coming in, we’ve found ways to do what they don’t do or we do it better than they do.

Obviously, we don’t have the space or attractions they have. We try to concentrate on our customers and give them the best service we can.”

You had a fundraiser for Tim Ispas, who has been paralyzed since ’94.

“Yeah, knowing Tim and how much he loves to hunt, we had a benefit for him. People really came out for that one. It wasn’t to pay for doctor bills, but to send him on a good hunt in Michigan.”

It’s quite an ordeal getting Tim set up in the woods, but you’ve taken him hunting several times.

“Jeff, I really didn’t want to be interviewed; that’s why I hooked you up with Tim; I was trying to get out of it. He has a lot more interesting story than I have. What a courageous guy Tim is.”

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Good man, Rodger Blythe.