First of all, the man's name was William J. Wise (Bill).
Please keep in mind that we're not collectors, and we were just a family cleaning out a house to sell. The trophies and awards were memories of his, and meant much less to us. The decisions to toss were pragmatic ones, based on the thought of where to store all that stuff. Our thoughts at the time were focused on trying to sell a quarter million dollar house, and not in adding a thousand or two in future value to a gun.
And as far as "de-tuning" a car -- I should mention that I just replaced a six-cylinder in my '57 Chevy with a built 350, so you were more accurate than you knew. But I digress . .
The comment that I originally reacted to was aimed at the previous owner and how his tweaking the gun was an effort to improve what was a poor shooter. My reaction was to explain that even a concert musician occasionally tunes his/her instrument. My conversion, not Bill's, to double triggers, was simply a safety issue (in my mind), and not to improve any shooting ability (of which I have none). In my entire 50+ hunting years, I've never been known to hit anything in the air. Never.
As far as anyone remembering Bill, here is a picture of him - and My Great Aunt:
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