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Team Filardi represents three generations of hunters, fishermen, and outdoorsmen, and believe it or not, it all started in New York City back in 1945 .
The senior member of the team, Lou Filardi, was born and raised in the Bronx, at a time when pheasants and rabbits were as much a part of the population as were people. The area of the Bronx where Lou spent his childhood had some beautiful farms, yes farms, and many a rabbit made it to the stew pot. Not so much due to Lou's accuracy, but rather to the laws of probability and chance. Lou figured that if you let enough arrows fly, some of them were bound to hit the target. And luckily, some of them actually did.
As time moved on, the days of childhood slipped into Lou's fond memories, as they do for all of us. The making of bows from tree limbs, and arrows from wild reeds, also past into history. It was now time to get a lemonwood straight bow, with the natural progression to the recurve, and ultimately the compound. Arrows also evolved from cedar, to glass, to aluminum, to carbon, and to the high-tech materials of today.
Eventually, the first .22 came along, and who among us has forgotten the excitement of that moment? We all remember exactly where we were and what we were doing; and yet what we had for dinner on Tuesday of last week is somehow lost in our memory. Of course a .22 could not fulfill all of our hunting needs, so shotguns, muzzle loaders and center fire rifles found their way into our cache of "necessities", which somehow seems to be ever increasing. Something men and women not acquainted with the outdoor lifestyle find difficult to understand; and we are married to some of them.
With the completion of college, Lou married his childhood sweetheart, the lovely Marie from sunny Italy, and they were blessed with one daughter and three sons. They now have five grandchildren; and all, except one, are avid sportsmen, and a sportswoman.
Jimmy, Lou's son, is an outstanding hunter with gun and bow, as well as a salt water angler with his own fishing boat a sport fisherman which allows him to fish long island sound and the Atlantic Ocean off Montauk Point. Jimmy is also an accomplished sporting clay shooter, hunting dog breeder and trainer, and the chief operating officer of Team Filardi.
The young members of team Filardi are Michael, Louis, Nicholas, and Lauren. Francesca is a princess of the shopping mall. All of them including Francesca are well versed in the safe handling of firearms, fishing and archery tackle. They have a great respect for, and an appreciation of wildlife and the land; and a wonderful appreciation for the blessings of this great country of ours.
When we take a child hunting, fishing, or camping, we help them to develop the same great love and appreciation of our outdoor heritage that we have as adults.
Keep the torch burning brightly.
God bless the USA
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