In 1980, Ravenwood Firm Ran Booming Fur Trapping Business

In 1980, there was a booming fur trade in Nodaway County and Platte River Kennel & Fur, a husband and wife team consisting of L.D. “Buck” and Marjorie Carroll, took full advantage. Raccoons fetched as high as $30-50, with an average of $14 a pelt. Muskrats were valuable too, bringing in $4.50 a pelt. Margaret Nelson, who wrote for the Hopkins Journal at the time, did a feature in the December 25th, 1980 issue.

Raccoons were valued for their length and condition. A coon that was 33” or longer was more valuable. One that was run over was less valuable, because of the damage to the pelt. Animals caught in warmer weather were less valuable, because the fur was more likely to slip off the hide.
The Carrolls would sell the pelts to brokerage houses, which would sell them internationally. They would go to Greece, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, Sweden, Canada, and even the USSR, with which the US was at the height of the Cold War.

There were all sorts of animals that were trapped in Nodaway County. There were beavers, coyotes, foxes, possums, minks, and even skunks. In Nodaway County alone that year, trappers took 5,096 muskrats, 7,932 raccoons, 1,157 coyotes, and 680 beavers. Occassionally, there are black coyotes as well.

Many of the animals listed are seen as nuisances. Charles Smith said that recently, a raccoon came onto his porch at his Pickering home, climbed up the railing, and up the side of his house beside the air conditioner, leaving a bunch of mud in the process. And coyotes frequently go after pets and livestock. One time, back in the late 1980’s, there was an epic  hunt for a coyote as Richard Swaney chased one from the edge of Bedford clear to Route K just west of Grant City.