BY HUGH D. PALMER

Delta Business Journal

With the abundance of hunting and fishing the Mississippi Delta has to offer, taxidermists are in demand. One taxidermy shop that has been providing Delta outdoorsman with quality work for 45 years is Hicks Taxidermy of Shelby.

Located in the center of downtown Shelby, not only are the HicksÕ known for their taxidermy work, they also have a mini-museum of sorts and have one of the best Indian artifact collections in the Delta. Hundreds of arrow-heads are displayed as well as trading beads, pottery, and various other projectiles. Fossils and rocks are also found in the collection as well as a piece of meteorite. Trustin Hicks even has the rattlesnake that bit him in 1962 pickled in a jar that almost took his life. This one incident came close to ending Hicks Taxidermy right then and there.

ÒI used to also love collecting snakes and at one time I had this rattlesnake in a cage and I was getting ready to move the snake out of the cage and as I opened the top of it, he struck me in the vein in my hand,Ó recalls Hicks. ÒI made it to the back door which was just a few feet away to call for my employee for help when all of a sudden I couldnÕt stand anymore and had to sit down. The hospital was just down the alley and Willie ran for help. If the doctor had not been so close by, I probably would not be here today.Ó

Hicks and son, T.C. Hicks, III have helped put the little town of Shelby on the map providing their services to hunters all over the state as well as to the entire southeast. The HicksÕ have not only mounted most species of North American game, but have also mounted game from all over the world particularly African game.

ÒIt has been a fascinating career and we have met so many wonderful people through the business,Ó said Trustin Hicks. ÒNever in a million years would I have thought that back in 1952 when I started IÕd be here 45 years later.Ó

Before entering the taxidermy business, Hicks was a high pressure welder contracting work with Mississippi Power & Light. As one of his last jobs for the company was ending, Hicks wanted something else to do before the next welding job. An avid sportsman, Hicks had always been interested in animals and began experimenting with taxidermy. After a short time teaching himself by trial and error, Hicks passed out a pamphlet of his rates to local hunters hoping to bring in some work. By accident, he stumbled into a new career never returning to the welding business.

ÒI took in so much work in the first few months that I didnÕt know how I was going to mount everything,Ó said Hicks.

During the first year in business, Hicks mounted some 40 deer heads, bobcats, ducks, and other animals. By 1963, his shop was in full swing.

The HicksÕ have grown the business steadily to become one of the premier taxidermy shops in the state and southeast.

ÒI couldnÕt even begin to tell you the number of animals that we have mounted,Ó said Hicks. ÒThe taxidermy business has gotten very competitive in recent years as everybody and their brother have started mounting things out of their garages calling themselves taxidermists. However, we have held on to our work steadily every year which says a lot.Ó DBJ

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