I remember stories up in Clarence and Moshannon about locals stealing bucks off of meat poles and selling them to company camps. Back then the big companies invited customers to camp as a marketing tool. Didn't want to send them home without a trophy.
I remember a story about the company buying a bunch of tame turkeys to butcher for guys to take home. One guy wanted to shoot his to make it legit. He missed and it ran off never to be seen again!
Selling deer was pretty common years ago. Wasn’t a lot of ways to make money on the Mountaintop…..working in the mines or cutting timber.
Both US Steel and Alcoa had camps out off the Ridge Road. ( 144 ). USS opened their camp in October, and it was occupied through mid December. They had a handyman, bartender and cook on site. My Great Uncle ( Grandfather’s brother ) was the cook. A lot of the “sports” ( that what they called hunters ) were customers, and they came just to play cards and drink. They barely hunted. But they wanted a buck to take home. My G uncle would feel them out for what they wanted, and my Grandfather would start hunting on Thanksgiving night. His brother in law had a tavern , ( The Star Garden), that had a walk in cooler. The bucks hung in there till the “ sports” were ready to leave. My Grandfather would haul them out to camp, put their tags on them, and tie them down on the hoods or trunks. In the late 40s early 50s, he‘d get anywhere from $15 for a rag horn, up to $50 for a trophy buck. You could also sell them grouse for 25 cents apiece.
I recall my uncle telling me he killed his first deer, a four point, when he was 14. My Grandfather sold it for $15.
