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20 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Wed. February 10, 1982 Caesarea man enjoys his interesting hobby by Valerie MacDonald According to the diction- ary, 'taxidermy' is the "art of preparing and stuffing the skins of animals." Not the type of activity you'd think could be dangerous. Not so. In the 1950's Alan Brown of Caesarea was seriously ill for a number of weeks as a result of his hobby. Only years later did Al discover that he had been gradually poisoning himself. During that winter when he was sick Al had stuffed 24 Arctic Owls using arsenic of lead powder as the preserving agent and the accumulative effect of the arsenic took its toll. Now that ingredient has been changed along with a lot of other techniques used by people who practice the . hart," (for it really is a creative form) of taxidermy. Alan Brown is retired now and has a little more time to engage in his hobby and to talk about it. I visited with he and his wife Kay several weeks ago and he had this to say: "My first attempt at taxi- dermy work was about forty years ago ... It was a speckled trout I caught in a stream near Blackstock ... I stuffed it with cotton batton and of course it shrivelled up," Al laughs. Since then Al has read a lot of material on the topic, attended numerous confer- ences, won competitions, and is now one of the direct tops of the Canadian Taxi- dermist Association. He has preserved fish, hawks, ducks, deer and others but his favorite subjects are fowl. Right now he's re- paring a leopard's head as well as finishing a fish recently caught here in Lake Scugog. Preserving a fish is a long and laborious process. First the specimen must be measured with calipers and an identical body carved out of styrofoam. The skin is then removed, cleaned, degreased and preserved. (Al now uses borax, not arsenic to do this. Borax has the added benefit of moth- proofing animals and birds) All the bone and meat must be chiselled out of the head until it is completely empty. Then the fins are stripped. The next step is to glue the skin onto the artifi- cial fish manikin and glue a wooden mount on the back. The fins are spread and pinned and the glass eyes mounted. Then it is all left to dry. In a day or two Kay puts canvas on the back of the fins, trims the edges and glues in artifical "felt" gills. The fish is then sealed and an airbrush and watercolors are used to recreate the exact look of the fish when the fisherman pulled it from the water. It's then var- nished and mounted on a suitable background. The largest fish Al has preserved was a 51 pound lake trout caught in Great Bear Lake in the North West Territories - it was 48 inches long. The biggest muskie Al has ever done from Lake Scugog was the same length and was landed last fall. Al doubts the local story about a 90 pound Muskie being in Lake Scugog: "I don't know whether there is such a fish." Last falls' Molson "Big Fish Contest" winner was featured in the Februay 1982 Ontario Out of Doors maga- zine. It was a 55 pound "Monster Muskie" caught by a 19 year old novice fisherman in a river near Georgian Bay. And says Al: "It is just like Jaws." This writer wouldn't want to be in the same water with a 55 pounder let alone a larger muskie. The techniques used in taxidermy vary from prac- HCCC 63520 2552625252525 252525252505 25252 52525250 525052525252 5252 52525252 5252525252525252525252525¢ 58525 e525 25 Ei ) Weekly Dining Guide OPEN 7DAYSAWEEK! ; ' RESTAURANT & TAVERNLTD. 15 WATER STREET, PORT PERRY -985-3281 HOT & COLD SMORGASBORD || 11:00A.M.t09:00P.M. DAILY forthe ladies." 252505553525 0 C2535 2525262525 25252525252 52525252 52525252525252525252 5252 52525252524 Newburg with Rice Poulet. for the ladies." VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL SUNDAY BRUNCH DINING: "Free flower EVENING DINING SPECIAL: Seafood "Free flower 3DANCE NIGHTS Thursday, Friday and Saturday every week! Music provided by a local disc jockey. TAYLOR'S GULF Gult SERVICE CENTRE HWY. 7A WEST, PORT PERRY 985-3655 (Ye mile west of Port Perry) Gulf Dealer's titioner to practitioner. Besides stripping and pre- serving, reproduction with ceramics is common, as well as the up and coming method of "freeze drying." But says Al the best method to pre- serve the fishermen"s fish is the way he does it. Taxidermy goes back a long way ... the Egyptians were very scientific about it. And yet many people catch a oS 4 fish or bag a bird or other game and don't know what to do if they want to keep it in the best possible shape if they plan to have a taxi- dermist preserve it. Al gives these tips. If you can, freeze the speciman immediately and bring it frozen to have the work done. If the animal is caught far from electricity salting will preserve it until the taxi- dermist can work on it. Kay says Al has been hunting and fishing since he could walk. In fact Al feels you've got to be both to be a good taxidermist - to know how fish and wildlife look in their natural habitat. And it's obvious. Al loves his hobby as much as he loves to hunt. For Al Brown of Caesarea, taxidermy has been a hobby for many years. Now. retired, Mr. Brown spends many hours working ¢ on his hobby. In this photo he displays a ruffed grouse. ( A precious gift Goldtone case and Mid-Winter Service Special Make an appointment today to help improve your car's winter performance. 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