mil
“Here’s a funny story from my childhood,” Simon Perkins,
the current COO of ORVIS recently shared. “I think it’s
the only time I’ve ever had the police called on me! … I
was about six or seven. And I called up my grandfather.
It was about 3 or 3:30 in the afternoon. He was working
at ORVIS and I said, ‘Hey, Grandpa, why don’t you come
take me fishing?’ And, you know, he thought fishing with
his grandson was more fun than the work he had in front
of him. So he said, ‘Sure, I’ll be there in a couple minutes.’
So he picked me up. We went fishing. We stayed out till 10
o’clock; way past my bedtime. But it was the summer, so it
was still light. Of course, I never told my mom about any
of this. So she was running around all afternoon looking
for her seven year old, whom she couldn’t find. She called
the state police. She called the local police. No one could
find us, until we showed up at dark, and she came outside.
And I could tell she was not happy with either of us. And
being an immature seven year old, I said, ‘Mom, what’s the
problem? I thought Grandpa was The Boss?’”
While Simon’s reply understandably did not humor his
mother, he wasn’t exactly wrong.
“Grandpa” is Leigh Perkins, now Chairman Emeritus of
The ORVIS Company. His son Perk (Simon’s
father) is now Chairman. Dave (Simon’s
uncle) is now Vice Chairman. Although first
established by Charles Orvis, it is the Perkins
family who have built The ORVIS Company
into the recognized industry leader that it is
today.
Charley and Simon Perkins
with their grandfather,
Leigh, looking over them.
In 1856, Charles F. Orvis opened
a tackle shop in Manchester.
Charles was infatuated with
fly fishing. He felt it not only
connected him intimately
with nature, but also made
his life healthier, happier,
and more enjoyable.
He wanted to share
his love of the sport
- and wanted to
inspire others -
so he started
manufacturing
bamboo fly rods.
Just over 100 years
later (in 1965), Leigh H.
Perkins bought ORVIS
and grew the company
by combining his own
15 VTMAG.com
VTMAG.com
11