Take a bow
Don’t knock it, Lincoln City Archery is on point
By Gretchen Ammerman
Oregon Coast TODAY
A penguin, what with the lack of hands and all, might seem like an odd choice for the logo of an archery center. But mention penguins to Lincoln City Archery owners Shad and Jenya Engkilterra, and you will see two faces light up brighter than the overhead fluorescent lights in the Lincoln City Outlets building where they help humans use their hands to shoot arrows at targets.
The couple, who met overseas (Shad is American and Jenya is Russian) find common ground in their love of these creatures. In 2019, they travelled to the Royal Albatross Centre in New Zealand and got to see penguins in the fur, and were hooked.
“They are so cute when they come back from the sea,” Jenya said. “It is the most beautiful sight.”
As you walk into the archery center, the first thing you will see are stuffed penguins, handmade by Jenya and each totally unique.
“Penguins are an indicator species,” Shad said. “I wanted our penguins to do more than look cute.”
Part of the proceeds from each of the penguins sold goes to support the Royal Albatross Centre, which works to protect the Kororā, or little blue penguin, the world’s smallest penguin species.
Shad got hooked on archery in 2014, when he was living in Malta getting his master’s in Creativity and Innovation.
“I was living at the university and right across the driveway lived a guy named Armin Hirmer,” Shad said. “I actually first met him at a comic-con where he was doing archery demonstrations and ended up training with him after that.”
Hirmer is the owner of Malta Archery and a YouTube master, with more than 55,000 subscribers to his channel, where he posts instructions, interviews and reviews.
“His focus is on traditional archery,” Shad said “He trained me to get the meditative aspects from it. We have so much junk coming in all day; if I can clear my mind and focus on the target, whether or not I reach it, it’s a great way of reconnecting. For him, it wasn’t about getting a skill for hunting; he was actually a vegetarian.”
During our interview, a couple walked in. Neither had ever shot arrows before but were curious. After a rough start and a bit of instruction from Shad, both sunk arrows into their targets within the first 10 minutes.
Shad’s primary occupation has been as a writer; the archery center, in fact, was going to be a place to sell his own and other’s books.
“We originally approached the mall to ask about opening an independent author book store,” Shad said. “While we were chatting with the mall manager I mentioned my fantasy about opening a shop that I lived above with an archery range below. At least that way if it failed I figured I could still shoot arrows. And she said, ‘Why not open an archery place, that will probably do much better.’”
So the Engkilterras opened an archery center where you can also pick up a handmade penguin that helps the species and support independent authors in the bookstore section. There is also a small supplies area where you can buy things for archery and even show your love for the sport with an arrow pendant.
“We started small on purpose,” Shad said. “There are so many things out there to buy that I could open a store for just strings, for example, but then I’d have a lot of stock. One of my fears was that there would be this competitive or condescending attitude from people about our equipment but it hasn’t been that at all, I actually have been getting a lot of support and great comments from people that know what they are talking about.”
Though he learned archery on a sunny Mediterranean island, Shad feels good about this venture being based on the less sunny Oregon Coast
“We hear from our customers all the time that we need more indoor activities here so they are excited we opened,” he said. “Archers like the fact that they can get some reps in to practice their form on a rainy day.”
It’s also, Shad said, a good non-impact workout.
“People don’t realize how much weight you pull, and also walking back and forth for 160 yards to get your arrows can really add up.”
It’s also a low-cost and judgement-free way for lapsed archers to figure out if they can get their mojo back.
“I had one guy that said he hadn’t shot in 40 years,” Shad said. “With a little help, he ended up shooting a cluster about the size of an orange.”
In case you want to replicate the original scene in the 1938 Errol Flynn movie “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” where our hero splits an arrow already placed in the bullseye, you are out of luck. Even trick shot performer Howard Hill, who stood in for Flynn, was unable to do it. The arrow was actually rigged with an invisible guide wire and equipped with a special head. But don’t let that stop you from being inspired.
“Howard Hill won 196 competitions in a row and was able to draw roughly 172 pounds on a yew wood longbow,” Shad said. “He was the guy that motivated the next generation of archers. We get some older gentlemen in that say, ‘Oh yeah, Howard Hill, he did a lot of cool things.’”
When not making penguins and helping to run the business, Jenya, who was a doctor in Russia, keeps her hand in the game by doing medical translation.
“I miss being in the medical profession but I mostly don’t have time to do what it would take to do it here,” she said. “Plus, the cost involved is so much.”
Does she pick up a bow?
“Yes, I definitely do it,” she said. “It really does help to calm the mind.”
Shad can’t easily explain the business model of the archery center/bookstore/gift shop, but you can tell he’s been asked about the origin of his name a time or two.
“My mom went fishing right before I was born and that’s what she caught,” he said. “I guess I’m lucky she didn’t catch a walleye.”
Lincoln City Archery is open daily from 11 am to 7 pm. Archery sessions are from 15 minutes to an hour and include equipment, safety instructions and shooting instructions on using the "Mediterranean draw.”
Beginners are welcome, and the minimum age to shoot is eight. The range can accommodate four archers at a time. Up to eight people may shoot on a rotational basis.
For more information, go to https://penguinate.com.
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In its quest to shoot for more exposure for writers, Lincoln City Archery is hosting its first book reading and signing event with author Drue M. Scott, Saturday, May 29, through Monday, May 31. Scott’s new release, “The Monster in Blackwood Forest,” is the third in the Mortal Choice series and is set in a fictional town in Oregon. The Mortal Choice series has found resonance within the deaf community for its heroine Jinx, who is a werewolf who happens to be deaf.
Scott will be giving a presentation on “Inclusivity in fiction” from 4 to 7 pm on Saturday, and available to sign copies noon to 4 pm on Sunday, and 11 am to 1 pm on Monday.