We were sorry to learn in the past few days of the deaths of Atlatl and Bow Maker Lou Becker of Michigan and Atlatl maker and artist Chuck Burtorajac of Pennsylvania. Both gentleman have been known in the atlatl community for many years.
We were privileged to first meet Lou in the early 90s at one of the first atlatl contests we hosted at the Waterman Center in Apalachin, NY. Bob Berg and Lou Becker went on one of the earliest known modern atlatl hunts of wild boar in Georgia in the early 90s. It was Lou Becker who inspired Bob Berg to believe that atlatls could be revived as a modern hunting weapon.
We first met Chuck (known to many as “half-beard” because of his signature look) at an atlatl contest at Borderlands farm in New Jersey also in the 1990s. He quickly became a fan of the atlatl and made it to many contests and shows before health problems curtailed traveling.
Both Chuck and Lou were early supporters of the atlatl and contributed greatly to the resurgence of the atlatl. They will both be missed. Our condolences to their families and friends.
Upcoming Events:
We will be at two places this weekend: Connecticut and Maine. Check out our previous post for details. We will post further updates on Wednesday.
Does anyone have more information about the passing of Chuck Butorajac? He was a family friend and I just learned of his death.
If you have more information, please contact me at cdeorio@mountainliving.com
Thanks, Christine
Hi Christine,
There was an article on Lori Majorsky and Chuck in the Pittsburgh Tribune on Oct. 12. Here’s the link: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_647572.html There was also a memorial service this past weekend. We enjoyed knowing Chuck. If you want to contact Lori (she lives in the same area Chuck did), we can send her email on. Gary Fogelman of Indian Artifact magazine also wrote up a short article for the World Atlatl Association newsletter.
Hope this information helps.
Cheryll Berg