Wow! It always amazes me to hear from people who have known the larger figures, the "celebrities" so to speak, in our hobby. I knew a guy who went to school with Parker Ackley, another who knew Whelen, Askins Sr and Jr, Page, Elmer, etc. They sometimes tell of very different people than what their "in paper" persona seems to be. Interesting.
Over the years, I met Bill Jordon, Askins Jr., John Wooters and Elmer Keith. The only one I had a relationship with was Bill Jordon. He was stationed in Brownsville, Texas when I was in High School and we shot skeet in the same club. He took time to help me along in my shooting both handgun and shotgun. Later at an NRA Convention in either Dallas or Ft. Worth we ran into each other and he invited me to have a drink with him and others in the hotel bar. I was a young lawyer at the time. One of the others was Elmer Keith and he was the dominate personality at the table, holding court as they say.
I met Askins several times in San Antonio where he lived. He was always polite and formal even courtly, but no human warmth. Nothing about him made me want to spend any more time than necessary with him.
I met John Wooters several times in Houston when I was a law student. He wrote an article for the Houston Chronical on shooting and hunting. He was a very warm, down to earth likeable guy. Not at all taken with himself.
I did visit with Skeeter in an El Paso hospital as he was near death. He was to weak to talk much, but we did have prayer together. Later, I lived in Deming NM where I knew his widow Sally. She was a fine Christian lady and a rodeo trick rider in her younger days.
All of these were chance encounters with nothing planned. I just happen to travel and live in places they did. Being a gun person also put me with other gun persons.
People not law and religion have my stock in trade for all of my working life. I have met all kinds good bad and mixtures of all sorts. You get to where you can read them all pretty good. Not as good as a professional poker player, but pretty darn good for we all have our "tells" if others know what to look for.