GREENFIELD — When John Jester was a little boy, the future Greenfield police chief would visit Schrieber’s Bait and Tackle shop, just down the street from his home, to purchase worms for a day of fishing.
Young John never had enough money to pay the full price for his bait. So the owner, Charlie Schrieber, always let him slide, charging him only whatever coins he had in his pocket.
“Charlie was probably the number one person when it came to knowing about fish biting in Greenfield,” Jester recalls.
Late Monday, June 15, Jester, who retired from the Greenfield Police Department in 2016, received a call about his old fishing mentor, who helped introduce the pastime to generations of Greenfield youths.
Schrieber, 87, had died in a retention pond on the south side of Greenfield. The Department of Natural Resources is investigating the incident as a possible drowning.
“That’s a tough call to get,” Jester said.
The Greenfield Police Department was called to the area near Davis Road and South State Street about 5:30 p.m. Monday after getting a report of a person lying face down, unresponsive, in a pond.
Police identified the man as Charlie Schrieber and turned the investigation over to DNR.
Conservation officer Scott Johnson, who also happened to know Schrieber during his own childhood as a young angler, was heartbroken when he arrived on the scene and learned the victim’s identity.
“I can remember many times going into his shop to buy worms and talking to Charlie about fishing,” Johnson said. “It was sad to see it was him on this possible drowning.”
Johnson’s grandparents lived right next to Schrieber’s Bait and Tackle shop, which was located at 622 E. Lincoln St., near Riley Park and just north of the Boys & Girls Clubs building.
“Whenever I went to my grandparents, I’d always take my fishing pole and go see Charlie,” Johnson said. “He loved when young kids would come in and had an interest in fishing.”
Schrieber believed fishing was a good way to teach children respect for nature, he said in a 1999 story in the Daily Reporter. The bait shop had by then been in business for decades, and a number of his customers had been patrons for almost that long.
“I enjoy having people come in and see me,” Schrieber said in the 1999 story. It’s sort of like the old cigar store. People come in and tell their stories. That’s the kind of store we have.”
Officials do not suspect foul play in his death but at this time have no idea how Schrieber ended up in the pond.
He often was seen walking to and from the convenience store at Davis Road and South State Street.
“He was a pretty active guy,” Greenfield Police Chief Jeff Rasche said. “We don’t know if he had a medical issue and fell in or what happened.”
An autopsy was completed Tuesday, but an official cause of death will not be determined for a while, officials said.
“Things are just undetermined at this time,” Johnson said. “At his age there are a lot of variables that could come into play.”
Johnson, who pursued his career of being a conservation officer due to his love of fishing, credited Schrieber for playing a major role in his life’s work. He spent time at the bait shop during visits to his grandparents until his teen-age years.
“He helped get me where I am at,” Johnson said.
Schrieber, in the 1999 story in the Daily Reporter, had a soft spot for kids like Johnson and Jester and many others who came before and after.
“I’m a firm believer in getting kids out fishing,” he said. “They become better citizens by fishing.
“I figure if I can keep kids going fishing, I’m doing something good.”
