February 9, 1967
Page 3269
TRIBUTE TO MR. L. L. BEAN, OF FREEPORT, MAINE
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, Mr. Leon L. Bean of Freeport, Maine, returned from hunting one day 55 years ago with wet and blistered feet. In a stroke of Maine inventiveness, he had a cobbler sew a pair of rubbers to the tops of his leather hunting boots. The result proved so satisfactory out in the woods that Mr. Bean had a few pairs made for friends. They praised the boots so highly that Mr. Bean was encouraged to manufacture the boots.
Mr. Bean died this week, leaving behind a unique business that was known world-round by sportsmen. Just as he woods-tested his first pair of rubbersoled hunting boots, he personally tried out each of the hundreds of outdoor items he eventually stocked or made in his Freeport factory outlet.
Circulation of his catalog, which he first published in 1914, grew to 450,000 and readers took his personal evaluations of the merchandise to heart. Some of his appraisals of equipment in the earliest catalogs have not changed by as much as a comma in 50 years. Mr. Bean read every word of the proofs before the catalogs went to press twice a year.
He gained considerable fame as an author with a book entitled "Hunting, Fishing, and Camping." Publishers turned down the book, probably because Mr. Bean took liberties with syntax and English. Undaunted, he published it himself, sold it for $1, and in the last 20 years sportsmen have bought almost 150,000 copies.
L. L. Bean Co. doors will be closed today for the funeral of its founder and president. 'The closing will be only the fourth in 16 years, the last being for the afternoon of November 22, 1963. Normally, the store remains open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to serve outdoorsmen passing through Freeport.
The career of L. L. Bean is the story of a Yankee in love with the outdoors, who personally guided the development of his company to meet his own standards of excellence in sporting equipment.
His pronouncements were gospel to nearly three generations of outdoorsmen. His zest for hunting, fishing, and camping was contagious. By effectively encouraging appreciation for natural beauty, he was one of the outstanding conservationists of his era.
Maine was proud of Mr. Bean. Outdoorsmen around the world share the loss we feel. An editorial published in this morning's Washington Post sums up the feeling. I ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the editorial was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
[From the Washington (D.C.) Post, Feb. 9, 1967]
MR. BEAN RECOMMENDS
The announcement of the death of L. L. Bean of Freeport, Maine, at the age of 94, will bring particular sadness to hunters and fishermen throughout the country. Bean was a woodsman, hunter and fisherman himself and remained active until he was 80. He founded an amazing sporting goods business, chiefly by mail order, though he kept his shop in Freeport open 24 hours a day for the benefit of passing sportsmen.
Bean's catalogue made excellent reading for both active hunters and fishermen and for armchair sportsmen grown too indolent for physical exertion. It was pleasant to read of a special salmon fly "which Mr. Bean himself recommends" or a hunter shoe "which Mr. Bean has found satisfactory" or a poncho that "Mr. Bean finds waterproof." From reading the catalogue one got the impression that Mr. Bean had personally tested every item except the women's shoes – and doubtless he had. We hope the catalogues keep coming. They make cheerful, if nostalgic, reading. We hope Mr. Bean's successors will continue to test the items offered and give us a personal opinion of their usefulness.