University Park, PA -- President Dwight Eisenhower and President Jimmy Carter may not have been political soul mates, but a point they agreed upon without exception was the pristine quality of Spring Creek and its place among the best fly-fishing streams in the nation. "Lore of the Lure: selected resources reflecting research and popular interest in the art of fly-fishing" an exhibit on display through October 31, in the Diversity Studies Room, 109 Pattee Library, offers insight into some of the excitement and passion fly-fishing elicits, and illustrates Penn State's leadership in this nationally recognized sport.

Penn State's involvement with the sport of fly-fishing has a long history, both from the fact that central Pennsylvania has many of the east's finest limestone streams, which are ideally suited for fly fishing, and by its early educational activities in fly-fishing. George Harvey, a Penn State student during the 1930s and then a faculty member at Penn State, played the central role in its development as a bona fide course.

Harvey actually began to instruct others in fly-fishing when he was still a student. His talents in fly-fishing and fly tying caught the attention of the Dean of the College of Agriculture who encouraged other faculty to attend Harvey's classes, which became the first noncredit courses in fly fishing at any United States academic institution. By 1947, Harvey, then a faculty member, began to offer fly-fishing as a credit course (again the first in the nation).

Over the next twenty-six years, Harvey taught more than 35,000 undergraduates and adult learners how to fly fish and conducted more than 72 extension classes and 42 angling clinics. Harvey received a number of state and national awards for his efforts, but he is perhaps better known for having hosted both President Eisenhower and President Carter on their fishing trips to local streams.

The tradition of fly-fishing as an educational activity at Penn State continues. In fact the October 2, 2002 issue of Sports Illustrated includes a "Special Report on America's Best Sports Colleges" and ranked Penn State as having the Best Fishing Class in the country. The report comments, "Penn State's three-course fly-fishing series—first taught by angling legend George Harvey in 1947—is a perfect mix of fun and education."

Angling expert and author Joe Humphreys, now retired, continued Harvey's program, followed by Vance McCullough, and now Mark Belden instructs all sections of this popular class.

Belden and Allen Phillips, professor emeritus of biochemistry, with the assistance of Life Sciences Librarian Janet Hughes, created the current exhibit to acknowledge the creation of the Libraries' George Harvey Fly-fishing Literature Collection project that recognizes Harvey as "Dean of American Fly-fishing" and aims to increase the Libraries holdings in this field.

Penn State Board of Trustees Member Jesse Arnelle recently provided an endowment to provide angling instruction for minority students who had no experience with such outdoor sports. The exhibit's photo essay by Greg Grieco, University photographer, illustrates a fishing trip by students to a local stream on an expedition led by Belden and Humphreys.

Exhibit hours follow the Libraries' normal operating schedule available at 814-865-3063. If you are interested in helping the Libraries increase the strength of its fly-fishing collection, contact Selden Smith, sws12@psu.edu or 814-865-2258.

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Editor's Contact:
Catherine Grigor, 814-865-0401