The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1922-05-20
Business From All Parts OF
World Comes to Fairmont
Man as Hobby.

That the millennium must oe
here is the opinion one reaches
when ne enters the workshop Of
C.. o.. Reed. taxidermist, in Simon
Addition, because on all sides are
beasts. fowls and fish dwelling
peacefully together. s
The shop is "a two-story frame
building. the upper floor being
used as a storage room and the
lower as the actual work room
The walls OF the latter are sealed
and covered with skins OF Wild ami
mails and mountings Of birds and
fish. while here and there are glass
cases displaying Indian arrow
heads and points found and collect
ed by Mr. Reed From the rafters
hang firearms and sabres. relics
Of the Civil and Spanish-AmeEican
wars
Near the entrance to the room is
large desk, overspread with re-
dunant letters and papers eacn
telling its own story. and from
which the commercial side OF the
industrial art is handled On the
same side of the room is the labor
atory where the skins are cleaned
and treated. the wall above it being
lined with bottles and boxes. .
square work table stands in the
center Of the room while the ma
chimes for sewing the skins are
placed on the other side Of the
room and in the corners.
Wise old owls sit sedately On
tables and their eyes fairly seem to,
blink again. A little canary ana
red bird which sung so gayly and
charmed in life now stand idly
their little threats silenced. In a
corner Of the room is great blue
horn, its head held high as in al
spirit OF defiance. refusing. to &c
cept death. the inevitable.
Furrier as Well
But Mr.. Reed is furrier as well
as taxidermist. The raw skins
of wild animals are sent to him
from all over the world, and he
tans them and makes them up into
lovely fur pieces for the adorn-s
ment and JOY of woman.
When the raw. skins are received
they are soaked in liquid made
from oak bark in underground watts
for from four to six weeks, which
tans them Then they are Slack
ed" or rinsed in rain water 10
soften them after which they are
put across a board and rubbed,
called 'ka1eek,ng,'% to extrsct5 all
water from them
After the "sIeeking" process the
skins are tackled to table and
dried Then comes the drumming"
process, which is the putting Of the
skins into barrel and juggling
them around until they are again
soft and pliable. If necessary they
are restretched and dried again.
and then are read yto be cut out.
sewn together and lined. all OF
which is done right in the shop.
Attended University
But all OF this is only an avoca-
ton with Mr.. Reed who is con
ductor on the Baltimore & Ohio
Railroad. When "a young man. this
work appealed to him, and he has
made a very thorough study Of it..
He attended the State University
in Morgantown and the Jefferson
Medical College in Philadelphia,
but claims that he learned taxi
dermy Sin the school of experience
and hard knocks" Several years
ago he spent year and eight
months in the old National Mu-
scum in Washington with GeorAe
g. Turner: who was then chief taxi
dermist for the museum. He has
Travelled all over the United States
and Mexico and has been in Europe
seevra1 times. His trade comes
from all parts of the world and
only recently he filled an order that
came from the Balboa canal zone
Mr.. Reed has been. engaged in
this work for twenty four years.
the last nineteen having been
spent in this city.
He is a tall sparse man, not
given to many words, but as he is
Questioned and drawn out his
keen blue eyes sparkle and quicken