Checking Traplines Before School

Delbert (18), Dale (12), and Donald (17) Wilson, January 1934, Dexter, Iowa.The brothers and their dad checked their traplines before school, cleaning their catch after school. Sears catalog accepted pelts in trade for food, clothing, and other goods, which was a godsend in those days when jobs were scarce..Note from Ken Herring, a wildlife biologist: “So those raccoons are put up in the old fashion way ‘open’ vs. the ‘cased’ attests to the era. The skins behind an between the guys on the left side are skunks and on the right side are mink. Many people don’t know this but raccoons were much less common in those days. But nonetheless they have a valuable catch there! I also see some muskrats and opossum.”. Clabe Wilson, father of the Wilson brothers, grew up in Guthrie County south of Panora, around Dale City. He said he grew up in the woods and even had a pet wolf that his sisters were afraid of. He taught his sons to hunt and trap, a little fishing. They mostly ate squirrel and rabbit during the Depression, and a ‘possum or two!.This photo was taken shortly before Delbert and Donald joined the Navy to have enough to eat and a chance to learn a job. Five siblings were still at home.—–Please see also Leora’s Dexter Stories: The Scarcity Years of the Great Depression