Does anyone remember this furbuyer from Two Rivers? I found these fur sale receipts with some old pictures I was given after both my brothers had passed away. No dates on them but I'm guessing from 1980s ? They both trapped a little but I didn't know either one had sold to this buyer. Any help would be appreciated.

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/htrnews/name/lester-koeppel-obituary?id=33119737


I never sold to him, but I believe my dad did a few times back then.

Thanks mutt!

I remember him coming to a sale in Fond du lac mid eighties.

Those $7.50 rats had to be in the late seventies. I can’t remember them being that high in the eighties.

Your probably right Nimzy. Had to be before the fur crash in the eighties.

I sold to him in the 90s and a few furs in the early 2000's. Les Passed away a few years ago. He ran and owned several small businesses and bought fur for many years. He trained in fur grading in New York during the 1950s. His son Keith has bought some fur since Les passed on. I don't know if he still does. Les shipped most of his fur to the auction houses from what I remember. Like many fur buyers in the past he bought a lot of fur in the round and put up most of his own fur, at least when he was not buying huge amounts. He would get orders like many others did, but he all most always funded his fur buying with his own assets which kept him from getting too deep in money owed, but also kept his total purchases on the lower side.
He was a very intellegent person and ran profitable businesses.

Bryce

Bryce, do you know if he bought in the Marshfield area? My older brother was from nearby Auburndale. The Mead Wildlife area is close by and was trapped hard for rats by the locals back than.

I was recently told that Keith stopped buying shortly after Les passed.

I think he may well have during the 70s and early 80s when more fur was being harvested. He ran a small or short route during the early 90s in our area. By the late 90s I think most fur came to him. I know he did stop in Sheboygan a couple times. I started trapping in the area where I live in 1980. We had 6 fur buyers within 20 miles of my house, including Les. There were also a couple buyers who ran routes from the Oskosh area back then too. Sure was a lot different then. I don't remember when GFW started their routes in our area, but they had 3 stops within about 20 miles of where Les bought. He did say that really lowered the amount of fur that came to him, especially coons as GFW could finish them so much cheaper than those without automation could.

Bryce

Thanks for the info everyone!

I live in Two rivers, I sold to Less many times. He was a honest man. Great guy to deal with. He would even travel to Merrill and buy my brother and his trapping partners furs. That was back in the 70s and 80s.