Sold my first fur in late 70s to Pettigrew in Lincoln.
Later when Roger Blehovy opened turkey creek furs in Crete that was much closer to home for me and I sold to Roger for many years. Even used to go skin for him once and awhile. Learned a lot about processing fur from Roger by working in the back room occasionally. I never was so sore as I was from pulling coon a whole work day in the back. Back then I had just started working at a bank and Veterans Day was a bank holiday so I got a paid day off from bank plus skinned coon all day at Turkey Creek. It was a key thing now that I look back. I Needed to learn to peel coons with minimal knife work and that was the learning “camp” for me. Learned to wash and tumble coyotes too. We did a barter thing for several years. I’d go skin for a few days here and there, and instead of cash payment he would let me apply the “wages earned” against bait and lure off his shelves. It was a beautiful thing to barter my time for something important to my own trapline.
One time driving over to Roger’s it was one of those mild misty nights in late November and I left my house kind of early to get there. I was blessed with five fresh road killed coon on way there so stopped and picked those up and sold in the round to Roger when I got there. Made enough on those to get some bait, lure, urine, and also bought me lunch that day plus what I earned shucking coon. That was a good day.
When Roger went away from fur I switched and sold to Dennis Vicars in Pickrell, Nebraska. I sold a few beaver to Papp’s in Nebraska city too but it was a little farther to get to Papp’s so only sold to him one season and didn’t go back. Sold to Vicars for several more years until his health wasn’t so good and I started selling to Kevin Jones in Palmyra. Been selling to Kevin (Grizz) ever since.
Jim
Last edited by jabNE; 1 hour ago.