What do you do when you collect hundreds, if not thousands, of items over five decades and have no space for them anymore?
Open a museum.
At least that's what Ron Boorman of Boorman Archery on East Columbia Street has done.
Nestled inside his shop is a first-of-its-kind archery museum, with artifacts dating back to the early 1900s.
"I had a bunch of stuff all over the place and pieces given to me by friends," the 82-year-old said. "There was even a little old lady who came in with a bow and arrow, just to put it in here. I don't know where she came from."
When you first walk in, you notice a quilt hanging on the wall. As a tribute to the many competitions Boorman has entered, his wife Sheila sewed some of his T-shirts together.
As you continue down that same wall, you're taken through time. Whether it's the compound bow or the recurve bow, there isn't a moment of the sport's evolution not on display. Other pieces include the exact bow seen in Blade: Trinity as well as the arrow Legolas used in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
On the back wall is Boorman's most prized possession - a signed photograph taken of the 1992 Olympic opening ceremonies, where athlete Antonio Rebollo shoots a flaming arrow towards the cauldron and lights it.
"I met Rebollo when I was in Vegas. He signed it and the guy that made the arrow is a friend of mine so he signed it too and gave me one of the arrows. It was with that arrow we opened the Summer Games in Chilliwack."
Although a small space - 720 square feet to be exact - building the museum was no easy feat, according to Boorman's daughter Stephanie Smith.
"My son was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to come home," Smith said with a chuckle. "But the amount of history here grows every day and it's really exciting."
The project, which was designed and executed by Smith, took roughly three months to complete. Finishing touches, including getting placards for each piece, are still required.
Despite these small details however, Smith admitted the most important section that had to be built was the sitting area off to the right of the room.
"It's the place he can tell his stories. People come in just for those. We've had some leave way past their dinner time."
Boorman said films like The Hunger Games have increased the sport's popularity among women. Tabitha Dadson took one of his introduction classes last February and has been hooked ever since.
"Hunting is something I've always been interested in. I like the idea of killing something and then eating it, rather than getting prepackaged meat and not knowing where it came from," she said.
Growing up with three brothers, Dadson added she never thought of archery as gender-specific.
"This isn't about strength, it's about technique. Half of my class was female."
Meanwhile, Smith predicted her family might have to relocate if inventory continues to grow.
"Ideally, we'd like to have the school, the shop and the museum all on one floor," she said. "Not too sure when that will happen though."
The Boorman Archery Museum has been open for six months, gaining traffic only through word of mouth. One look at the guestbook and it's obvious the response has been overwhelming.
"People are amazed by the stuff they're looking at. We've had customers from all around the world. Just in the last month, there were people from Sweden and Tokyo," Boorman said.
Boorman Archery, which also operates a school for adults and kids, has been in the New West community since 1964. Archers like Dorothy Lidstone have gone on to win world championships and celebrities like Jennifer Garner have trained there for movie roles.
But at the end of the day, this not-yet-retired local is motivated by one thing.
"Simply put, I love what I do."
