My Dad was a hard worker all of his life. From the time he was very young right up until just before he passed away, his German-bred work ethic drove him to work hard and long and taught us to do the same. During his 60 years as a fulltime taxidermist, this served him well as he mounted everything from brawny bucks to bodacious bobcats to bigmouth bass. It was always interesting to see what customers would carry into his shop for him to “put the life back into.” And he labored long and hard to do just that.
Reflecting on the taxidermy he’d done, he often said he’d like to see all the deer heads he’d mounted over the years all in a pile. If he ever did, that pile would have been broad and tall. As I visit folks, I still recognize his work hanging in homes throughout the Shenandoah Valley. Most has held up really well and looks just as good as the day it left his shop.
How many deer heads did he mount altogether? Certainly, he did more of these than any other species and on occasion he mounted as many as 300 bucks per year. Although this was the highwater mark, there’s really no telling how many total animals he mounted in his career. If he averaged just 100 heads annually, that conservative estimate would put him at 6,000 deer plus squirrels, bear, skunks, foxes, snakes, and all the rest.
After closing his business to retire, he nearly went crazy with nothing to do and began taking in a few heads from longtime customers. Fortunately, he included family in this privileged group and in 2007, I was blessed to harvest an average 8-point on the first day of muzzleloading season. The buck was chasing a doe and paused a bit too long in front of my 50 caliber. Although it was raining and my gun was beneath my poncho, he looked away at just the right time for me and just the wrong time for him.
Since I already had several other deer heads Dad had mounted, and some bigger, I only wanted him to cover these antlers with leather as he often did. But he would have none of it. He insisted on mounting this buck for me despite my resistance. I didn’t even know where I would hang it, but you should only argue with your father for so long.
Including my buck, Dad had only taken in about ten deer heads that fall and mine just happened to be the last of those he actually mounted. We didn’t know it at the time, but he was starting with a brain tumor from which he passed in 2009. In retrospect, you can understand how very, very thankful I am now that I allowed him to do a full shoulder mount of that average rack.
Although none of us, including Dad, knew this would be his last head, he put the same time, expertise, and skill into that one as he had all the prior ones. In fact, you could say that all of the experience he’d gained on the 6,000+ previous heads was collected in this final work.
One day we’ll all mount our final head, write our final column, cook our final meal, or pound our final nail. We probably won’t realize it at the time but it will the last one nonetheless. What will be its quality? Although age impacts our abilities as we get older, we should still do our very best on every task, for each is ultimately not only a testimony to our own skill and reputation, but a reflection on our great God who gifted us to do certain things well. And for Christians, our work can be a form of worshiping God as His Word tells us to work hard as unto the Lord.
As we consider my Dad’s last piece of taxidermy work, may every deed we do each day glorify God, bring Him praise, and reflect well on us, for it may be our last.