Name/Title
Harold Shields and Earl and Cindy Ritzman: Tuscarora Legend Turkey CallsEntry/Object ID
VTC001A0025Description
Harold F. Shields, who also went by the nicknames Jackie or Tiny, passed away in 2017 at the age of 86. He was the foreman of shipping at Capitol Products, a Major Aluminum Extrusion and Manufacturing Plant in Mechanicsburg, PA. An avid hunter and fisherman, he formed a partnership with Earl and Cindy Ritzman to launch Tuscarora Legend Turkey Calls in 1989, following the death of Legendary call maker D.D. Adams of Thompsontown, PA (Earl Ritzman’s Uncle) in November
of 1988.
Shields had helped D.D. with some of his call making tasks, and after Adams' death, he approached the Ritzman’s regarding keeping the Adams turkey call business going. A partnership arrangement was agreed upon with the Ritzmans providing the capital for start-up, Shields doing the call making and sales, and Cindy doing the bookkeeping and procurement. The agreement provided the Ritzmans the latitude to sell the company’s products as well. The name of the company was chosen in honor of D.D. Adams, being a "legendary callmaker” living at the foot of the Tuscarora Mountain near Thompsontown, PA. The D.D. Adams name was included on the back of the calls to honor him and bridge the work that D.D. had done to this continuation of that same style of calls that the Shields and the Ritzmans were making.
"It was a great partnership for all involved," the Ritzmans said. After the death of Harold Shields in 2017, the Ritzmans bought Harold’s remaining interest in the partnership and continued selling the calls from their home, which was previously the home of D.D. Adams.Create Date
May 27, 2026Update Date
June 3, 2026
