The gun room at Marshall Fields was held in very high regard as far as quality of merchandise and workmanship. The only gunsmith I know of by name is Jerry Matthews who worked there. After leaving Marshall Fields, Jerry worked out of Shot and Shutter/McHenry Gun Center in northern Illinois and became a part owner of the shop when he won it in a poker game. I think Jerry got out gunsmithing when the store was sold in the mid-70s and it became Schrank’s Smoke ‘n Gun West.
I hadn't thought about Schrank's Smoke 'n Gun for years. I loved the store that Mike and John Schrank ran in Waukegan IL. Great old time gun shop with lots of neat things hidden in the dusty corners. I bought a lot of guns there prior to moving to NC in 2001. Dave Norin worked out of that shop IIRC.
I appreciate the kind words.
Yes, Dave had two stints working for/out of Smoke ‘n Gun. The first started when dad bought McHenry Gun Center in the early 70’s. As he told it, dad asked “Who’s the kid in the gunsmithing shop?” and was told “That’s Dave Norin, he’s the gunsmith.” Dave worked for dad until the early 80’s (working out of the Waukegan shop after dad sold the McHenry shop) when he left to pursue managing a couple other area shops. Dave returned in the mid-90’s and worked out of the shop as independent entity until about 2010 when he opened his own shop.
