Mom-and-pop archery instructors are still on target in their 70s. Amy Russo gets a lesson.

Amy Russo, The Providence Journal
·3 min read

Visitors to Tangy’s — pronounced TAN-jeez not TANG-ees — will encounter a wall of bows, several lanes, a sea of foam targets in the form of a wolf, badger, panther and deer, and an actual deer. Well, just its head, mounted on a wall, antlers and all.

With so many objects to hit, and a nearby movie poster of Kevin Costner modeling an archer’s perfect form as Robin Hood, it’s a wonder my arrow made its way to the back wall — twice — lodging itself in nearly the exact same spot each time, give or take a few millimeters.

Sheepishly, I wrenched the arrows from the wall. Kindly, Jimmy and Heather Dean, the husband and wife duo who run the Warwick archery outfit, haven’t billed me for any damages.

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Journal reporter Amy Russo takes aim, under the guiding hand of Heather Dean, during a lesson at Tangy's Archery in Warwick.
Journal reporter Amy Russo takes aim, under the guiding hand of Heather Dean, during a lesson at Tangy's Archery in Warwick.

At ages 78 and 75, respectively, Jimmy and Heather have more than a century of experience between them, both having started the sport in their early 20s, and having seen a mishmash of skill levels pass through the doors of their shop.

Their clients run the gamut from college students to revelers at bachelor parties, for whom Jimmy has one cardinal rule: no drinking while holding pointed objects.

Recently, a baby shower even graced the lanes, with the mother-to-be trying her hand at target practice.

For the Deans, newborns and archery mix just fine. Jimmy, who credits himself with getting Heather hooked, still remembers the days when they would push their baby carriage around a course in Narragansett in between shooting their bows.

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Jonathan Rodriguez, left, of Providence, a newcomer to archery, gets a lesson from Tangy's owner Jimmy Dean.
Jonathan Rodriguez, left, of Providence, a newcomer to archery, gets a lesson from Tangy's owner Jimmy Dean.

It was Jimmy’s brother Ray who got him hooked, taking Jimmy to a tournament at Cumberland’s Diamond Hill and letting Jimmy borrow his equipment

“I went around and I outshot him,” Jimmy recalled. “He had been shooting three months, and he got mad at me because I took his trophies.”

A few months later, Ray sold Jimmy the equipment, and in 1978, Jimmy made a decision.

“After always putting my bow down every time someone new came around to teach them, show them what I knew and help them out, I decided it was time to get involved in selling archery equipment,” he said.

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Arrows hit one of the archery targets at Tangy's.
Arrows hit one of the archery targets at Tangy's.

Making the rounds at local archery tournaments, Jimmy would pop open a briefcase and hawk equipment, finally opening his own five-lane shop in 1980 across the street from a Chinese restaurant in Cranston.

The store’s name was chosen after Jimmy, who entered competitions, noticed that players concocted their own color-coordinated personas, from the Pink Panther to the White Knight.

“I wanted to be recognized. So I made a shirt. On the back of my shirt I put ‘Tangerine Dean,’” Jimmy said. It was a nod to his favorite color.

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Tangy's co-owner Heather Dean gives reporter Amy Russo a few pointers before she takes a turn with the bow.
Tangy's co-owner Heather Dean gives reporter Amy Russo a few pointers before she takes a turn with the bow.

“I would wear orange clothing from head to toe. My bow was orange, my car was painted orange. … I even dyed my own quiver orange. Everything had to be orange.”

Eventually, a friend gave Jimmy the “Tangy” nickname, and Tangy’s was born.

  • Eventually, the Deans relocated their outpost to Warwick, first to Pontiac Mills, then to its current digs, where the couple show no signs of slowing down, alternating between making strings, fashioning arrows, or offering n to those curious about the sport.

Let’s just say I may need another.

Providence Journal staff writer Amy Russo, a transplanted New Yorker, is looking for new ways to experience her adopted state. If you have suggestions for this column, email her at amrusso@providencejournal.com.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI Tangy's Archery instruction, target practice, parties, mini-lessons