September 2013
Herter’s Catalog
Herter’s Inc
Waseca, MN
1940s – 1970s
This month, my “Lure Of The Month” is a little unique. It is not about a lure…but more about a man, a catalog, a store and its rise and fall.
For many of us, the computer has changed how we shop. You can buy almost anything online from all around the world. Click and buy. Delivery or pickup. Simple with today’s computer network.
But, do you know where people went in the past to order anything, and I mean anything, for the outdoors and get it in the mail?
The Herter’s Catalog from Waseca, Minnesota, that’s where!
Want a set of “slaughterhouse knives”? How about a lamp made from a gunstock? How about the book “How To Make The Finest Wines At Home”? How about waders, a tennis racket, and a mini-bike on the same order? Made a good pair of “lumberjack boots”? Or, how about a gun and some ammo? Or, maybe you need a “World Famous Raccoon Death Cry Call”?
But, let’s say you don’t want to page through a catalog and want to pick out a must needed item in person. Image walking into a huge store and being amazed at all the displays of fishing, camping, and hunting items. The magnitude of items is outstanding, and you feel like a kid in a candy store. And then there is the taxidermy animals all around. Creatures you have never seen, only dreamed about. Many of these were shot by the store’s owner.
Big deal, you say?
Every Minnesotan has heard of Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops, and other sportsman warehouses. But, what most people don’t realize is that these places would not exist without Herter’s.
Herter’s was a Minnesotan institution that put the state on the map for many sportsmen across the world. Having all the sportsmen’s items you could dream of under one roof was revolutionary at the time. And, it wasn’t just the huge showroom, but it was the catalog too. In the mid 1940s and for decades later, who doesn’t remember looking through their fabulous catalog and dreaming about items they saw amongst the pages. Minnesota was promoted as the prime location for knowledge, products, and new innovations for sportsmen all across the planet.
George Leonard Herter (1911 – 1994) took over his father’s dry goods store (started in 1893) in 1937 at the age of 26. George’s interests were more towards hunting and fishing than dry goods, so he turned the business into a mail order and huge sports warehouse. Their motto was “Old World Craftsmanship, New World Production”. Thanks to many products being made overseas, Herter’s was able to offer good products at very reasonable prices.
George Herter came across as a big, gun-toting Minnesotan that seemed to proclaim “It is my way or the highway”. Why, he even said that he would take his own sandwiches to Disneyland because the restaurants there were “No damned good”. No Herter item was merely good, but it was WORLD FAMOUS. Or, as he said, they are “actually made far better than is necessary”.
He was an author, and his books gave the man a larger than life reputation. Advice books and cookbooks were his specialty. Where else can you find Hitler’s recipe for omelets? Or maybe you are more interested in Stonewall Jackson’s BBQ ribs recipe? How about a chapter called “Milking Scorpions Brings You $150 or More a Week”? Or “How to Kill a Wild Boar With a Shirt”? His writing has been described as an “artless charm”…such as this statement “Johannes Kepler was a well-known German astrologer…died in 1630…. His work on astronomy has long since been forgotten but his creating liverwurst will never be forgotten.”
But, those who worked and knew George Herter recall a quiet, soft-spoken man who did not like interviews or photographs to be taken of him. Some may describe him as looking a little “nerdy” and at times seem lost in his own ideas. And, even though his books had “manly” topics, he often listed his wife, Berthe, as a co-author.
Unlike the places of today, the Herter’s store was not so commercial. You could touch and try items and let your imagination go. And, that catalog…what a catalog! The catalog started right after World War II and was highly coveted by Sportsman and dreamers all around the world. So many were printed that is made Brown Printing of Waseca one of the country’s largest commercial printers. The catalog was so popular, about 500,000 copies were printed per run in its heyday and it could contain up to 750 pages of products, gadgets, and advice.
How about this piece of advice: “to deep fry fish, us only beef tallow. It will not go rancid if refrigerated after cooling down. Never use pork fat, because if the lard comes from a female hog during menstruation, the lard will be bitter. Peanut oil is used in the manufacturing of plastic products. It’s a pity that all peanut oil is not used for that purpose”.
His catalog was a marketing tool that worked wonders. While his products had extraordinary claims, it can be truly stated that his merchandise was pretty good for the most part along with being priced less than most everyone else.
Even Herter’s company logo (on the catalog above) was extreme. It was a coat of arms with a large buck, crossed muskets, a shield, duck, dagger, fish, sailing vessel, fish hooks, and a horse-mermaid-creature. “Since 1893” is proudly displayed under the emblem.
But, at the time, Herter’s was not loved by all. While many people approved of its innovative way of retail, the existing small sports stores did not. Herter’s was the start of a rapid decline of smaller, family owned stores.
Herter’s claimed to be a major manufacturer, but they basically were not. Herter’s was a retailer while other companies made his products and added the Herter’s name under contract. Many of these companies were overseas such as in Scotland, Japan, and Sweden…to name a few.
So, if Herter’s was so great…what happened to it? Why doesn’t the store and catalog still exist?
A number of things have been blamed for the end of the superstore….
First came the Gun Control Act of 1968. This hit Herter’s hard in a huge part of their business, guns and ammo. Herter’s could no longer sell guns, ammo, or even reloading equipment through the mail.
Then there is a story that Herter’s got in trouble when a species of bird was declared endangered. Herter’s continued to make flies from feathers that they had legally stockpiled before the species was declared endangered…but they still got in trouble and had to pay heavy fines from the Federal Government because of seizures and lawsuits.
For reasons unknown, Herter’s lost many European connections which was a massive loss of items and supplies. Customer service suffered and many frustrated customers took their business elsewhere.
But, probably the biggest reason was that, in the 1970s, Herter saw his business suffering from the above reasons. He decided the future lay in retail, not mail order. So, he opened several mega stores across the northeast of the country. Trouble stuck as the gas shortage and hard economic times hit the business hard. Stores closed, and Herter’s went bankrupt in 1981 amid rumors of millions in debt from borrowing large sums of money for his poorly timed expansion and many unfilled orders.
First, their operation in Mitchell, SD closed. Then the Waseca store was no more. In the end, the company sold for little, about $300,000, when he was offered $3,000,000 (ten times more) in the early 70s.
But, in a way, Herter’s lives on.
It lives on through the high quality products that still exist that people bought years ago.
It lives on through its name, which several companies have bought the rights to use over the years (to mixed reactions).
It lives on though the memories of its customers who remember the store and, of course, the catalog.
And, lastly, it lives on through today’s stores, such as Cabela’s, who admit that they model their store based on Herter’s.
In fact, Dennis Highby was hired by Cabela's from Herter's in 1976 when Herter's began having financial difficulties. Years later, he became president and CEO at Cabela's, and then the Herter's name was purchased in 2002 after being sold multiple times to multiple companies previously. Cabela's still has products under that name today.
Thank you, George Herter, for putting Minnesota on the map for sportsmen everywhere!
Do you have a Herter’s memory you wish to share? Please write me and tell me about it. Do you have a collection of Herter’s items? I would love to see it! (I met someone at a sportshow years ago that did…and stupid me…I lost his phone number!)
Here is a typical lure ad from one of Herter's catalog that boasts some pretty strong claims.
