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Other Activities => Trapping => Topic started by: AL WORRELLS KID on November 22, 2017, 02:25:05 PM


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Title: Alan Douglas Worrell "He trained the best of us"
Post by: AL WORRELLS KID on November 22, 2017, 02:25:05 PM
Trapper Trainer Number One!
Remember this guy teaching you the tricks of the trade a few years back? He was one of the original Washington State Trappers Association members, a true Trapper and Sportsman.
A self proclaimed Mountain Man, when it came to teaching Outdoor Lore, he had no trouble sharing with anyone that would listen, what took him years to learn. 
Title: Re: Alan Douglas Worrell "He trained the best of us"
Post by: buckcanyonlodge on November 22, 2017, 02:49:19 PM
Any relation to the Worrell's in Yakima??
Title: Re: Alan Douglas Worrell "He trained the best of us"
Post by: wags on November 22, 2017, 05:43:10 PM
What a great guy. I miss visiting with him.
Title: Re: Alan Douglas Worrell "He trained the best of us"
Post by: fatslinger on November 23, 2017, 07:24:51 AM
I sure miss him. Every time "trapper training" is mentioned I think of him.
Title: Re: Alan Douglas Worrell "He trained the best of us"
Post by: AL WORRELLS KID on November 23, 2017, 07:27:21 AM
Alan was born in 1930 and died in June of 2013
This is an excerpt from his obituary in "Funeral Alternatives of Washington.

Alan Douglas Worrell passed away quietly at his beloved home on Fishtrap Loop on Monday, June 24, 2013.  He was 83.  Alan was born on March 6, 1930 in Clarinda, Iowa to Frank and Nina Worrell.  He graduated from Medford High School and attended Oregon State University.  He also served in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1955, receiving the National Defense Service Medal.  He became an Air Traffic Controller for the FAA in 1956 and would serve that agency loyally until his retirement at the end of May, 1980, less than two weeks after the Mount St. Helens eruption.

Alan had one particular and admirable trait that set him apart – he firmly believed that any activity he pursued was worth his total attention and best effort.  This attitude came from his service in the Air Force as well as his years as an Air Traffic Controller working at the FAA Center, Auburn, WA.  There was absolutely no room for error in his profession and he was dedicated to that truth and he never failed. After retirement, he was able to focus and expand on a lifelong hobby, that of being a modern day version of a “Mountain Man.”  He was a licensed trapper and hunter and fisherman, active to a professional level.  One year he applied for and received a State tag for Mountain Goats, a very difficult and usually unsuccessful effort.  It was the only trophy he ever had mounted.  After years of conventional hunting, he felt the game was at a distinct disadvantage and decided to level the playing field.  He worked at bow hunting, mastered it, and finally settled on black powder smooth bore rifles, essentially a musket.  The game was now, more often than not, the winner.  He was practically legendary in his ability to take Steelhead Trout and was always willing to share knowledge with other fishermen, extending beyond fish to clams, crabs, oysters and smelt.  Alan religiously practiced and understood the delicate balance between man, the environment and its occupants. 

 Al does have a sister, Harriet “Corinne” Hilton; and step-daughters, Myra Martin of Silverton, Oregon, Kirsten  Kauffman of Seattle, Karen Henderson of Hampton, Virginia, Linda Bundy of Blaine, Washington, and Jackie Kelly of California but not sure about the Folks in Eastern Washington
Title: Re: Alan Douglas Worrell "He trained the best of us"
Post by: AL WORRELLS KID on November 23, 2017, 07:47:24 AM
Al and Esther Worrell lived with their dogs “Chief and Charmaine” behind our house in Kent, WA.
When I was 10 years old, over the backyard fence I saw all of Al’s traps rusting up on the roof of his house and later that winter we noticed all the Beaver, Otter, Raccoon, Mink, Coyote, Bobcat and Muskrat furs spread across the back of their house and Esther and Al posing with the large catch of furs.
It wasn't long afterward that I had Al convinced to let me tag along with him on his trapline to see just what this “Trapping” was all about.
From Sun up to Sundown we covered as much ground as any Mountain Man did running his traps. Starting at the Green River we headed east to Covington Creek, then down to the Puyallup River, then over to the Nisqually River, then all the way back north, up the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, then across to the Sauk River before heading downstream on the Skagit River with a truckload of critters.
Al reminded me our catch would need to be skinned before heading to bed that night and only then, a well deserved rest.
Al convinced me that the romantic outdoor life that he lived (and he would go on to teach me), was indeed the life of a true Mountain Man.
Thank you Al, for sharing all the Woods Lore with me and the fond memories we made together.
(Old friend, remember to throw "Chief" a Beaver foot that he always likes to chew on.) Doug
Title: Re: Alan Douglas Worrell "He trained the best of us"
Post by: bear hunter on November 23, 2017, 04:43:43 PM
 :'(  sad I never had the honor of meeting him. I like listening to old traps and stories old hunting stories.
Title: Re: Alan Douglas Worrell "He trained the best of us"
Post by: wags on November 23, 2017, 05:56:42 PM
Al's kid,
Thanks for posting this; it's reminded me of all the great guys who've left us in recent years. Not to hijack this thread, but Just off the top of my head I'd like to list some of the guys who come to mind.

Al
George Sovie
Paul Hatch
Ron Kerr
Chuck (bobcat) Bailey
George Bernathy
Mud Walker

I'm sure I've missed some other notable ones, but all the guys listed above were such positive guys, eager to share what they knew and share their experiences. I miss all of these guys.
 
Title: Re: Alan Douglas Worrell "He trained the best of us"
Post by: bear hunter on November 23, 2017, 11:32:03 PM
 :tup:
Title: Re: Alan Douglas Worrell "He trained the best of us"
Post by: Humptulips on November 24, 2017, 08:03:24 PM
The thing about Alan that I remember is everyone liked him. I never ever heard him say an unkind word or raise his voice.
We did some public outreach at Evergreen State and the Olympia Farmers market when I-713 was out for public signatures. We were harassed by some animal rights types and he had every reason to react in kind but he stayed calm, cool and collected.
If you needed something done in WSTA from holding office to pushing a broom he never turned you down. the type of guy you could always depend on.
I hope Alan and Paul Hatch are getting ready for a good trapping season. The weather ought to be good and the prices high in heaven this season.
Title: Re: Alan Douglas Worrell "He trained the best of us"
Post by: AL WORRELLS KID on November 25, 2017, 11:14:36 AM
Thanks Folks for your kind words,
 Your right, the time sure passes quickly.
 It's good to remember those who have gone on before and did so much to help us keep what we have today.
 It seems like only yesterday that George Sovie, Paul Hatch and his son, Ron Kerr, Chuck (bobcat) Bailey, (who had the keys to the Tacoma Watershed Gates) and George Bernathy were just starting up the Washington State Trappers Association and we were holding our first Trapper's Rendezvous in Wenatchee.

Al helped get me my first job at the Seattle Fur Exchange, when we both took in our seasons catch of furs to that Auction House, (instead of heading down to H.E.Goldberg's on Western Ave in Seattle and taking what ever they would give us.)
 I started at the bottom stringing bundles of furs onto ropes and ended up as the Warehouse Manager just before the Dederer Family sold their business of 100 years buying furs from Alaska and the lower 48.
 My years there made for a good learning experience, getting an inside look at the Fur Trade but getting ready for the Fur Auctions in winter, really cut into my Trapping Season.
  (I'm the guy in the picture wearing the vizor, the guy looking out the window without the beard is Kurt Essman who has followed in his Fathers footsteps and become the Vice President of whats left of The Seattle Fur Exchange now called "American Legend".

Al also helped to get the Fur Buyers to start coming to us at the WSTA meetings, creating a bit more competition as they looked over the furs we had to sell.

I can't remember the Old Trapper's name who lived out on the Olympic Peninsula, but he would bring in more Otter than anyone else, (over a couple dozen each season).
His son was younger than me (around 15 yrs old at the time). He had brought in around 50 Coon to sell at the Mount Vernon WSTA Sale, seeing so many Raccoon caught by a kid, everyone's jaw about hit the floor in disbelief.
 (I found out later his Dad would give him all the Coon that got caught in his Otter Sets, because he didn't want to have to skin them himself.)
 After trying for years to get the old trapper to share the secret to his success about Otter Trapping, Al finally got him to agree to give us all a talk.
We all agreed that what we learned that day about Otter Trapping, would have taken us years to learn on our own, if at all.

 I caught my first Otter that season thanks to his "little bit of Mink Musk" smeared near the Set (that kept the Otter's mind off my trap.) ;)
Wishing you all Good memories this Season,
 Doug
Title: Re: Alan Douglas Worrell "He trained the best of us"
Post by: wags on November 26, 2017, 05:09:39 PM
Doug,
That old trapper from the Peninsula was "Otter" Andy Rogers; quite a guy.
Title: Re: Alan Douglas Worrell "He trained the best of us"
Post by: AL WORRELLS KID on November 27, 2017, 10:06:42 AM
Wags, Thanks.

 Andy Rogers, that's his name. I wonder if his kid carried on in his footsteps trapping Otter? If not I bet the fish population on the Peninsula saw a sudden drop in numbers a few years later, (probably had the Biologists scratching their heads.) ;)
To think of all the money invested in traps over the years by the Old Time Trappers.
The price of used leg hold traps for sale must have really dropped in other states when the law changed here in Washington.  :(
Doug
Title: Re: Alan Douglas Worrell "He trained the best of us"
Post by: AL WORRELLS KID on March 02, 2018, 10:42:41 AM
Seeing this collection of Newhouse Leg hold Traps reminds me of a danger that has presented itself in the past.
 Being in the public eye, working and donating our time at events, as both trappers and active Washington State Trapper Assoc. members certainly helps make the sport of trapping a success to those who are just getting started. I think all would agree how important this is to both our survival and to the sport.
 At the same time, I think it would be safe to say that the information we share could be used against us, and it would be prudent to consider who might be interested in what is being said and for what reasons.

 One time I was over helping Al try to get caught up on his Beaver Skinning.
I mentioned the string of traps hanging in the garage had a few missing from the last time that I was over.
 He told me whoever broke in, knew what they were doing as all his Newhouse and the Antique Traps were the only ones that were stolen. He figured it wasn't any of the "Do Gooder's" that had taken them.  He said "You can bet I will be watching what I say from now on, as I speak in front of others."
To bad thing like that have to happen, but you I guess you just can't be too careful now a days.
Doug
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