Shake hands with a legend - The Village Taxidermist

Shake hands with a legend
By Doug Bridges
Have you had the opportunity to
shake hands with a legend lately?
If you did, I hope you took the
opportunity to extend the greeting
past a hand shake. Did you move
into a conversation with a legend?
If you did, good for you!
These state, national and world
shows and competitions provide
us all with opportunities to meet,
shake hands and, yes, have indepth
conversations with industry
legends. The only problem is
many of us don’t extend our right
hands and say “Hi Legend. My
name is Doug Bridges (substitute
your name) and it’s a true
pleasure to meet you.”
A t l a s t y e a r ’s M i c h i g a n
Taxidermist Association show and
competition, I had the privilege to
shake hands with so many
legends it was ridiculous.
I guess I need to start by giving
my definition of a legend. Of
course the dictionary defines:
legend [lej-uh nd] –noun; A
collection of stories about an
admirable person. A person who
is the center of such stories. If I
may add my own definition of the
word: A person, who over time,
has earned the respect and
admiration of his/her peers
through hard work and dedication
to their vocation. I happen to like
my definition of the word a little
better than the dictionary’s, so
that’s the one I am going with for
this story.
Back to the 2007 Michigan show.
The first legend that I met up with
during the week was Cally
M o r r i s .
N o w
C a l l y
and I go
w a y
back to
t h e
Michigan
2 0 0 6
show. Ok, maybe “way back” is
an overstatement. At the 2006
show, I introduced myself to
Cally and his wife Annetta. I told
them to let me know if they had
any needs during their stay and
visit at the show. Being a MTA
board member, I was at their
disposal. During the show in 2006
and again in 2007, I had the
opportunity to attend Cally’s
seminars. I have to say, This guy
knows turkeys and lives up to his
legend. Over the course of these
shows, I have been able to spend
a lot of time with the Morris’ and
have struck up a friendship. This
year, Cally walked into the Devos
Center, in the middle of the busy
registration time. Within minutes
I spotted him. I was walking over
to greet Cally when I noticed him
walking over to me with an
outstretched arm. We shook hands
and he asked me how I was and
said it was good to see me. Cally
Morris, the Legend, asked how I
was. It’s good to be remembered
like that. Spend some time with
Cally and Anneta and you are
bound to hear some great hunting
stories and have some great
laughs.
The next legend to arrive was
none other than Lou Gagliono.
What a wealth of taxidermy
history and knowledge this guy is.
I welcomed Lou to the show for a
second year. He said it was good
to be back. I didn’t have the
c h a n c e t o h a v e m u c h
conversation with Lou this year
due to commitments at the show,
but I know this legend is more
than willing to share. I think back
to 2006, when my friend Jimbo, a
person new to taxidermy, struck
up a friendship with Lou. Jimbo
was the first one in the seminar
room and the last to leave. He
showed interest
in what Lou
w a s
showing. By
a s k i n g
q u e s t i o n s ,
Jimbo was
practically
g i v e n a
p r i v a t e
lesson. I think
Lou even provided him with his
home phone, with an offer to call
any time. How cool is that?
The next legend I shook hands
with was Ken Walker. I greeted
Ken and told him it was great to
see him again. Ken cracked a
simple joke that showed he
r e m e m b e r e d m e f r o m t h e
previous year. As I found out over
the course of the week, Ken is
one of those guys that has been all

Shake hands with a legend
By Doug Bridges
over the world and has done
many things that most of us only
d r e a m o f .
Not only is
Ken one of
the best in
t h e
taxidermy
i n d u s t r y,
but he is
one of the
most down
t o e a r t h
p e o p l e I
have met in this field. I had the
opportunity to have dinner with
Ken. I was struck by his stories
and sense of humor. This dude is
funny! Sit down with him
sometime and ask about his time
spent working at the Smithsonian.
You will lose track of time.
T h e n
a n o t h e r
l e g e n d
w a l k e d
in. I had
never met
this guy
b e f o r e ,
but none
the less,
i n m y
mind he had
become a legend and I was
excited to have the opportunity to
meet him, Rick Krane. It wasn’t
until 11:00pm in the judging area
when I took my opportunity to
walk up and say “Hi Rick, my
name is Doug Bridges and it’s a
pleasure to finally meet you.” To
my surprise Rick answered back
“Oh yes, Doug. Well it’s good to
meet you too.” It would seem that
he already knew me, and he did,
from our taxidermy.net visits.
Now what was interesting about
Rick was his passion and
knowledge of fish. You might be
saying “of course you idiot, he’s
the FISH JUDGE!” Yeah ok,
that’s true, but did you realize
Rick is a degreed fish biologist?
This guy really KNOWS fish.
Hence his passion for the subject.
As you talk to him, you also
realize that Rick is a family man
that misses his wife and kids
while he is on the road. He is just
like the rest of us in that respect.
One of the coolest things I heard
Rick say about the Michigan
show was he had the opportunity
to meet one of his taxidermy
hero’s, our own Dale Cornete.
Legend, meet legend.
Another legend of the weekend
was Joe Kish. Now this guy is a
LEGEND! Many tell the story of
how he kick started taxidermy
associations and taxidermy
competitions. Even Joe will tell
you that he is an old timer in the
industry. During the weekend, I
was one of the lucky ones that got
to pay $100 for a day long
seminar with Joe. A deer skull
form: $5.00. Sculpting tool:
$8.50. A day long sculpting
s e m i n a r w i t h a l e g e n d :
PRICELESS! Spend a day with
this guy. It’s worth what ever the
price is. On Sunday, I walked up
t o J o e a n d
thanked him
for Friday’s
seminar. We
t h e n
proceed to
have a 20
m i n u t e
conversation
about Joe’s writing and teaching.
He also gave me some valuable
pointers when it comes to writing
about taxidermy. It was kind of
like a one-on-one writing seminar
with one of the pioneers of our
trade. How cool was that?
Did I mention Jody Green?
There’s a guy that anyone can sit
down and talk with. Jody is well
on his way to becoming a legend.
H e i s o n e o f t h e m o s t
approachable people that I have
met in this business. I shook his
hand and he said “Hey bud, how
you been?” It had been 2 years,
but it was
like it was
o n l y a
w e e k . 2
years ago,
Jody gave
me a good
b u t t
whooping
during my
c r i t i q u e .

Shake hands with a legend
By Doug Bridges
Well, not so much a whooping,
but some great, pointed advice.
Y o u s e e , f o r t h e 2 0 0 5
competition, I had borrowed a
deer head mount from one of my
best customers. When it came
time for my critique, the first
thing I told Jody was the mount
was a customer mount and I
wanted to find out how my
commercial work would do in
competition. The first thing out of
Jody’s mouth was “This is a
c o m p e t i t i o n . Yo u b r i n g a
competition piece to competition,
not a customer mount.” He then
proceeded to say “Ok, let’s see
how you did.” He then gave me
one of the most thorough critiques
that I have ever had. He spent a
great deal of time pointing out
issues and giving advice towards
better techniques.
Sometimes we walk right by a
legend and take the person for
granite. For those of us at the
Michigan show, how many times
have you walked past Jean Roll?
Did you shake her hand and
introduce yourself? This lady will
teach at the drop of a hat. I know.
6 years ago I shook her hand and
introduced myself.
Now, we are on
a hugs only
basis. How
a b o u t J a n
VanHoesen?
D o y o u
realize the
impact this
lady has had on
the taxidermy industry? She is
one of the best sculptors in the
business. She also
in one of the
best teachers
you will find.
What about
the old man,
D a l e
C o r n e t e ?
Talent on loan
from God, as
R u s h
Limbaugh would
say. Have you
e v e r s h o o k
hands with
F r a n k
Newmeyer?
I have. I am
i m p r e s s e d
by, not only
t h e
e x c e p t i o n a l
quality of his
w o r k , b u t h i s
enthusiasm for the art and
business of taxidermy. What
about the up and coming legends
such as Jim Hicks, Terry Weick,
Paul Borkowski, Duncan Price,
O w e n E l d r e d .
That’s a short
list of some of
t h e m o s t
m o d e s t
talent that
M i c h i g a n
has to offer.
F r o m m y
experience,
all 5 of these
guys will take
time to improve your skills if you
ask. Man, the
list of legends
i n o u r
M i c h i g a n
a s s o c i a t i o n
could go on
forever.
Next time you
s e e a
l e g e n d , t a k e
s o m e t i m e .
Shake their
hand. Who
knows, you
may strike
u p a
l i f e l o n g
friendship
that could be
more valuable
t o y o u t h a n
you could ever
imagine. You
c o u l d a l s o
provide that
legend with an
opportunity to
pass on their
knowledge .
Doug Bridges is a
proud member of
t h e M i c h i g a n
T a x i d e r m i s t
Association and can
b e r e a c h e d a t
ddtaxidermy@yahoo.com