Big game mounts donated to Willow community

Auction planned

to raise funds

By JODI SNYDER-For the Frontiersman

WILLOW -- Before Brett McDonald died in early January of this year, he willed to the community of Willow the rewards of a lifetime of hard work, hunting and an interest in taxidermy: his big-game trophy collection.

What prompted McDonald to donate his impressive collection to the community that knew so little about him? McDonald, 55, who had lived in Willow since 1985, was "just that kind of guy," according to friend and former neighbor Michelle Spain.

"He was pretty quiet, and he was gone a lot, so not a lot of people got to know him," Spain said. "But he was a really nice man."

In addition to his love for hunting, McDonald also had an interest in taxidermy, antique cars, and gardening.

"He was into so many different things," Spain said, "just a very active outdoors person, and your average all-around nice guy. He had a really good attitude."

An accomplished bow hunter, McDonald loved to hunt, Spain said. He worked on the North Slope as a welding inspector and when he wasn't working, he was off on one expedition or another.

"He didn't always find time to work on his house," Spain said, "but he could always find time to go hunting. He was a real adventurer."

During his lifetime, McDonald harvested most of Alaska's big-game animals, as well as many African trophies. An accomplished hunter, McDonald was also among Alaska's most talented taxidermists.

Among the 25 items being auctioned off are a life-size musk ox, a life-size grizzly bear, a bear-skull collection, and a Cape buffalo shoulder mount that is reportedly a Safari Club International record.

Willow Area Community Organization chair Jim Huston has been working for many weeks on arranging the auction. Working with Dan Donaldson, the executor of the McDonald estate, Huston said he was pleased to learn about the will.

"I told him yes, the community definitely wanted the property. But there were more items than we could display," Huston said, "so I asked Mr. Donaldson if we could display what would fit and auction off the rest, then split the money with the McDonald estate. Donaldson contacted McDonald's mother and she agreed to the sale, generously donating all the proceeds to the Willow community."

Huston was asked to determine which items to keep for community display and which to sell.

"I tried to keep mounts that would most appeal to the community, and that were most appropriate to this area," he said.

Huston said he also had to consider which items would fit into the limited space available for displaying them.

"We are keeping a life-size Dall sheep and a life-size goat mount, a caribou head, a black-bear rug and a grizzly rug," Huston said, "and also one of the skull collections."

After he figured out what to keep, Huston said he got busy trying to figure out how to sell the remaining items.

"Big-game trophy mounts like these are illegal to sell or purchase unless they are in an estate sale such as this, which had to be authorized by the state of Alaska," Huston said.

"I bet I contacted 15 different taxidermists, looking for pricing information, and how to go about the sale," he said.

Huston said in most cases the opening-bid price on each item represents the basic costs associated with the taxidermy work.

"Shawn McCrary was very knowledgeable and helpful. And through our conversations he became interested in helping us with the sale," Huston said.

Huston contracted with McCrary, of Adventures North Taxidermy in Palmer, to handle the auction for WACO. McCrary said that while he didn't know McDonald personally, he had heard of his taxidermy work.

"The work he did was very good," McCrary said. "He was an artist, and he created some absolutely beautiful mounts. They really are about as professional as they could be."

The auction just opened last week, but there has already been national and international interest in it -- a man from Argentina is bidding on one of the items.

One of the most unusual pieces in the collection is a broken-pottery display, which is said to have come from the Wupatki Indian tribe of New Mexico and is dated at about 1100 A.D., although Huston said not a lot is known about the arrangement.

Huston said several people are researching its history in order to determine an accurate value for the pottery collection.

After being briefly displayed at the old community building in Willow, all the items to be auctioned were moved to Mountain View Sports Center in Anchorage, where they are now on display in conjunction with the store's sixth annual Hunter Appreciation Day events.

John Staser, president of Mountain View Sports, said customers are enjoying the mounts on display, and that the auction is generating a great deal of interest. While the store does not stand to gain financially from the auction, Staser said he is pleased to be involved.

"It's about being Alaskan, and helping Alaskans," Staser said. "We are happy to do it. And it's neat to have the mounts in here, being seen by hunters who can really appreciate them."

Staser said that in an auction like this one, finding the right bidders for each piece is important. "If you don't get the right people in, like the hotel owners and serious collectors, you won't be able to get the big-dollar bids. Getting the word out is the key."

Mountain View Sports is handling all the bidding for the sale, with the auction set to close at noon on Aug. 1. At that point, Staser said, the auction will remain open for a last round of live bids, in which anyone in the store or on the phone will get one more chance to be the highest bidder.

Those interested in viewing the collection or placing a bid are encouraged to visit Mountain View Sports, located at 3838 Old Seward Hwy., across the street from University Center. To place a bid over the phone or to learn the current high bids on any item, contact the store at (907) 563-8600.

As of Wednesday, July 21, the life-sized grizzly bear mount had already garnered a $12,500 bid. All funds received from the sale of the donated collection, after McCrary collects his share of the money, will be used to help cover expenses for operating the Willow Area Community Center and for other Willow community events. Huston hopes the sale will generate at least $20,000 for WACO.

All this good is coming to the community from a man most people in Willow never got to know.

"You don't meet that many genuinely nice people," Michelle Spain said, "but Brett McDonald truly was one."