LL Bean's Parker
 

There is a parker under glass on the upper level at LL Bean in Freeport. I looked at it a few days ago, believe it was a DHE? Anyways, I was in a rush then was told by the man at the gun counter that was LL Bean's personal Parker. Anyone know more? Wish I had to time to get back up there and really look at it.

Seems to me I saw one there that I think had belonged to Babe Ruth . But bear in mind that was 25 or more years ago so there's a tiny chance I'm incorrect .

There was a gun to the left, which looked like a Browning rifle, the Parker to the right, each flanking the large fireplace heading to the fishing level. They were standing upright.

The Parker is LL Bean’s own personal CHE 16 gauge with the “sinestral” stock because of the vision impairment of his right eye.

Several years ago I contacted the gun department manager - very nice accomodating guy - explaining that I was editor of the Journal of the Parker Gun Collectors Association, about my examining that gun on a padded table in the back of the department and take it down into its three major parts and to publish a piece in Parker Pages. We set a date and a time for my visit.

When I arrived at the prescribed time and date the manager was out…
The man in charge refused to open the case and said the manager wiuld have never had made such ridiculous arrangements and woukd not discuss it further.

That was the end of any dealings with the LL Bean CORPORATION as I had had previous inexcusable experiences when soliciting donations for our Silent Auction where they refused to donate to any organization associated with shooting or hunting. I contacted Bill Gorman, host of the TV hunting and fishing show and great grandson of LL Bean and explained my plight and that I couldn’t imagine that stance from a company that was founded on hunting and fishing.
Bill was shocked and very pissed off. He said “We’ll see about that!!!”

Three days later I received about $500 worth of items for the silent auction with a very “sincere” (spelled ‘tail between their legs’) letter of apology.

I have never sought ANYTHING from that comoany since that episode with LL’s Parker CHE.


I will add that I’m not certain it was a 16 gauge but I know it’s a CHE.
One of his Parkers auctioned at Julia’s about 10 years ago and it was a 16 so maybe the one in the glass case in Freeport is a 12… or maybe it’s a 16, I’m just not certain.


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Sounds like something you'd expect from Dick's Sporting Goods. Too bad

Dean somehow I knew you'd know about that gun. Shame about that story. I asked to see a gun and the dude (I could say another four letter word here starting with D if I was brazen) asked, "Why?" I looked at him and said, "Seriously?" He said, "Yeah, why do you need to see it, are you buying or looking?" So I marched over to the checkout and asked them to get me a functioning human without a piss poor attitude. After some shock and awe, a great gentleman came over and was more than accommodating and apologetic. I have not had an issue with Bean in the past, that was the first, but there are too many granola heads in there shopping for my comfort level.

Sports Illustrated reported that L.L. had a 20g. Different gun?
https://vault.si.com/vault/1985/12/0...g-the-old-bean

I found this low resolution image of L.L. but can't tell what gun he is holding

https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/5169...ompany-history

https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooters/...%20Bean-XL.jpg

He's holding a rifle here
https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/516919?page=leadership

Ithaca...??





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It’s a shame what has happened to that company, most of us here feel the same way and avoid that place. I think it says more on where we are heading, customer service and common courtesies appear to be lacking.

From the 1970 LL Bean Catalog
 

I always enjoyed looking through the catalog, when it arrived, back then, maybe twice a year. I inquired with the Freeport store, if the gun that was in the case in the stairwell was the gun used for so many years in the catalogs, and was told it most definitely was.
After clearing all the crap off my almost useless HP multi-function gizmo, I was disappointed that the scan wasn't all that clear, but, trust me, it is as I saw in the store, a DH(E?). As to the gauge, I can't say, but going from memory, it appeared to be a 1 frame, and 16ga.

Hmmm... I stand corrected on the grade. Thanks Edgar.

The LL Bean Parker that auctioned 10 or so years ago was then most certainly a CHE.





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That’s a damn shame the hippies are taking over LL Bean. Love their short top duck shoes. And their wool socks are awesome. Of course I’m a cold natured Texan, those socks might not cut it up north.

My best estimation of the gun L.L. is holding is an American Arms Co. semi-hammerless single barrel. The cocking lever is on the left side.

Eddie Bauer went the same way once it was part of General Mills. Not like it was from the 1930s into the 60s.

Attachment 119003

Attachment 119004

It was obvious I had to marry the lady I just celebrated our 47th anniversary with. We both had Eddie Bauer Heavy Duty extra large goose down sleeping bags that zipped together!!

Not many women like that anymore!

It looks like a single trigger, single barrel 12ga, Brand?

I think is is a 1 frame 16 gauge from my memory

Did you see the stamp on the barrel lug Steve?





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Here is L.L. circa 1911, along with the store as it looked in 1934.

As a retired Museum Curator, this thread got me thinking about the gun and its specifics and history.

I wrote to L.L. Bean asking if they have a company Historian, and would they be willing to share information about it. I'll update if I hear anything back and share what they say about it.

Good luck my friend.





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Those boys look like they’re showing off their new Bean hunting shoes.





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Bought my first pair of Bean boots in 1960, when I was on a college tour at Bowdoin and Colby colleges. The old store sure wasn't anything like today's homogenized, pasteurized computerized joint

When I lived in Maine during the 1980's I always found it interesting that the L.L. Bean store was open 24/7. They sold some great items and many of them were made right there in Maine.

Across the street from L.L. Bean was a small sporting goods store called Mel's Sports. His advertisements read "We give you the attention the bigger stores can't."

I shopped the original store three or four times.
Old creaky wooden floors and not especially neatly organized .





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Bean's just isn't the same Ol' Beans that it used to be.

One thing I've never liked were Bean boots, not since I fell on my backside as they slipped. Worst sole ever unless you know it's bone dry out.

Ditto - I took so many bad falls wearing those things - snow, moss-covered rocks, muddy slides, etc. Luckily I never damaged a gun. Last time I bird hunted in Maine in noticed the dairy farmers all wearing Muck Boots. I tried a pair and never went back to the "chain tread" Beanos. War, as toast and sure footed, I've worn them ever since.

The soles on mine got so thin I could feel every pebble, plus (and I hate to admit it) bending over to get them on and laced up became a workout; haven't worn mine in years. I've thought about getting new rubbers put on but never got around to it. But I will have to say, for me anyway, a pair of 16" Bean's just looks right :). This was my first bird with a Parker by the way...

https://i.imgur.com/oHroERul.jpg

Phil, I knew you were a kindred spirit. I wore my 16 inch boots for years, but eventually, they did not have the support I needed. Oh, for those Kodachrome days of 30 years ago!

I still wear 16" Beans, here I am with a grouse ,20ga Trojan and 16" Beans in Maine

James, I love it! Keep it up. :bowdown:

I got the Bean boots pictured below in January of 1972 so I've had them 51 plus years.

They are on their 4th set of bottoms that I had Bean put on about 8 years ago. They offered me a new pair instead. Like an old friend, I preferred to keep the old tops and just replace the bottoms.

I've been pretty happy with them.

Bill

https://i.imgur.com/GoGsGpD.jpg?2

1) all hunting boots are just like the best of boats, a compromise. My Maine Hunting shoes, bought in 1971, repaired and resoled for cheap money a couple of times, are still useful to me for some applications, but not so much for hunting.

2) in the old store one might see a piece of paper thumb-tacked to vertical surface describing a special feature of a product written by hand, signed "L. L. Bean", and plausibly done so by L. L. himself.

3) Even today's Filson catalogue will display hunting clothing without any gun in sight. I gave up on seeing a gun in Bean's catalogue long ago.

4) I admit to buying casual clothing from L. L. Bean today, as it sometimes offers what I want and can't find elsewhere.

I still wear Bean Boots during the muzzleloader deer season. To me they are light, quiet, and like wearing moccasins.

But agree that they are useless on ice, wet rocks, etc.

I find myself wearing these for most of my hunting now. Le Chameau boots. The only thing I have had to replace is the carry bag.

Beans boots were worthless on these Appalachian hill sides, a sure way to break the stock on a fine double.
Air bob soles were my favorite on these slippery slopes, but hard to find these days.

The Parker with the bent stock on display in the Hunting & Fishing department is the DH 20 ga (206188) once owned by LL Bean and now owned by LL Bean, Inc. As the story goes, LL acquired this gun sometime in the late 1930’s when he lost vision in his right eye. He was right-handed and had the stock bent so he could shoot with his left eye. LL intended to use this 20 ga on ducks and it was bored tight. He was afraid of injuring his good eye so he selected the 20 gauge for its lighter recoil. About 1940, LL went down to Boston for eye surgery where he met and later married his second wife Clair (his first wife, Bertha had died in 1939). When LL died in 1967, the gun was passed on to his grandson, Leon A Gorman who was Chairman of the Board for 40 years and on his passing in 2015, the gun was left to LL Bean, Inc. LL’s Remington Model 8 is also on display in the store.

I’m reading these posts with some interest as I’m working for one of the LLB retail stores in my retirement and can comment on some of these less than stellar experiences you guys described at the Freeport flagship store. I can assure you that this company is 100% committed to customer satisfaction. LL Bean, the founder started the company with a simple philosophy of offering quality merchandise at fair prices and providing superior customer service. That remains the heart of our core values. The company solicits customer feedback on every transaction (in-store, web, or phone order), customer feedback and product reviews are strongly encouraged and taken very seriously. Quick story, a couple years ago, this was before I worked for them, I sent in an honest but rather scathing review on one of their hunting vests I had purchased on-line. I received a reply and by the next year they corrected what I thought was a pretty serious design flaw, and they made the necessary improvements to the vest to make it more functional and water resistant. I see design improvements like this all the time on the products we sell in the stores and that’s because the company values, solicits and acts on customer feedback. In fact, Newsweek just recently named LL Bean the top outdoor apparel retailer based on customer satisfaction (beating out Orvis, Patagonia, North Face, Duluth Trading and others).

Regarding the negative experiences in the flagship store, these are inexcusable and are not tolerated. If that ever happens, please ask to speak with a store Leader on the sales floor and he/she will work with you directly to resolve any issue. I guarantee every problem like this that happens on the sales floor is addressed and corrected but we have to know about it. The company’s reputation is simply too important to allow things like this to happen. I’m not making excuses for salespeople (I'm one of them), but keep in mind that most of our retail workforce consists of young part-timers earning $16/hour and more than 50% of them are seasonal hires. In my opinion, LLB does a good job screening, hiring, training, motivating and mentoring their retail salespeople but managing turnover and retaining good people in a retail environment is always a challenge. Unfortunately, that’s just the way it is in retail.

Garth thank you for your very informative and detailed response. I think it sheds some much needed light on LL Bean and its commitment customers. Being an executive team leader for a regional company in the Southeast I understand the challenges of maintaining and motivating salespersons. It is a tough job, especially in today's business environment.

Thanks for the additional information Garth.

The situation that I related when I contacted Bill Gorman (and he solved the problem quickly) was the result of myself soliciting donations for the PGCA Silent Auction and the lady who haughtily rebuffed me was in fact the head of the Customer Relations Dept. She quickly changed her tune after her reprimand from above initiated by Bill. Hopefully she was put into a remedial retraining program.





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My wife is a manager within a regional-chain supermarket. Her most reliable employee is an 81-year-old, who continues to work to "keep his brain engaged."

She has told me countless stories of younger employees who quit after one day, quit during the day, or go through the whole interview and background check hiring process and never show up for their first day.

Sign of the times, I'm afraid.

In the old days my family was very into the 16-inch Russell Ike Waltons.

Attachment 119149

There was an old pair or two around the house, but everybody was wearing 8 to 10-inch boots by the time I started hunting. I found a good condition pair of Ike Waltons in my size at St Vincents and wore them a few times but that was a lot of lacing!!