Orville A. "Porky" Meyers - 1912-2003

MEYERS, GALE, SHOLLENBERGER, RIGG, CARLS, WIESE

Posted By: Connie Ellis (email)
Date: 9/21/2011 at 13:39:34

SOURCE: Waukon, Iowa WAUKON STANDARD, mARCH 26, 2003
Contributor: Connie Ellis (Not related)

Orville A. "Porky" Meyers, age 90, of Lansing, Iowa and formerly of Moline, Illinois, died Wednesday, March 12, 2003 at Northgate Care Home in Waukon, Iowa. His body was cremated and a family memorial will be held at a later date. Thornburg Hanson Funeral Home in Lansing, Iowa assisted with arrangements. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Eleanor who died in December of 1965, and a sister.

Orville was born August 26, 1912 in Moline, Illinois to Gus and Gertrude Gale Meyers. He graduated from Moline High School and married Eleanor L. Shollenberger in Moline, Illinois. Orville "Porky" was a tool and die making supervisor at the Rock Island Arsenal, retiring in 1969 after 30 years of service. While at the Arsenal, he designed and created the original tooling used to coin the Arsenal's Centennial Medal. Porky and his best friend Harry "Ponce" DeLeon were locally famous and nationally known broadcasters and writers on hunting and fishing. Their half-hour program "Along the Outdoor Trails" aired for more than 20 years on WQUA Radio, five years on both WOC Radio and TV, two years on WHBF-TV and for two years on WQAD-TV. The duo also created one minute tips for outdoors-men that ran 12 times per day for several years on KSTT.

As one of the first believers in protecting the environment, Porky taught conservation, in addition to hunting and fishing techniques, to many area youngsters. His approach was simple -- you cannot have the outdoors if you don't preserve, protect, and renew it. He spent many vacations times in the Lansing, Iowa area and after retiring moved to the area. In his retirement Porky guided many people on fishing trips in the Lansing area. He completely mapped Pool 9 of the Mississippi River, its backwaters, and tributaries. He also remained active in writing conservation articles for the Lansing, Iowa and LaCrosse, Wisconsin newspapers. He was a past president of the Moline Conservation Club and a member of the Great Lakes Outdoor Writers Association.

Porky is survived by his sister, Elaine (Duane) Rigg of Moline, Illinois; 2 daughters, Judith Carls of Huntington Beach, California, and Barbara Wiese of San Diego, California; and 1 granddaughter, Kristin Wiese of Folsom California.