Indiana hog farmer Sumner Sheets knew at a young age that he wanted to roam the world. During his travels, he hunted and bagged more than 150 species.
Now, a taste of adventure and a shot of inspiration await visitors to the Sheets Wildlife Museum in Huntington.
The unusual museum has 97 types of animals and 87 fish, all preerved for up-close viewing.
In July 2005, the 6,480 square-foot museum opened. Previously, Sheets had kept his catches at his farm in a special building that was 51 feet-long by 16-feet-wide with a high ceiling. He kept the fish in his basement.
“They told me I couldn’t take my stuff with me, so I told’em there’s no point in going then,” Sheets, 80, said with a chuckle. “I got to thinking they’d have to dig an awfully big hole if I took it with me. I decided I’d like to dedicate the museum to Huntington County because this is where I grew up.”
The animals displayed are all labeled, including a bull hippo, a moose with a 65-inch horn span, a rare web-footed swamp deer and an elephant. Visitors can roam alone or ask for a personal tour and will see a piranha, a giraffe, a shark, a lion and a hyena, as well as many others.
The spacious lobby has an area with a child-size table, animal coloring books and other hands-on items for small children. Visitors can see a film about Sheets and the museum in a 56-seat theatre. A polar bear stands 11 feet high at the entrance to the exhibit area.
The museum has been a community effort, with donations from businesses and individuals. An annual banquet doubles as a fundraiser for the ongoing needs of running the facility. Students from Huntington College painted the scenes of the animals’ habitats on the walls. A 15-foot, 8-inch marlin weighing 1,200 pounds is mounted close to a painted boat that is similar to what Sheets was riding when he caught it.
Sheets took his first safari at age 34, when he went to East Africa. His late wife, Alice, also went on many trips with him.
“There’s a story behind all of ‘em,” he said.
He would often hire a pilot to take him hunting and he especially remembers landing on the Arctic Ocean.
“Landing on ice, you never know. It could be 10 or 15 feet thick and 100 yards farther it could be paper thin,” he said.
“These big male bears travel 100 miles every 24 hours,” he said of one specimen. “It was 45 degrees below zero when we got this musk ox.”
Chocolate candy labeled “bear nuggets” and “fish eggs” is for sale in the museum’s gift shop, along with Sheets’ book, “No Turning Back: Global Hunting & Fishing Adventures.”
The book explains his thrifty approach to life and work. He used one car for 22 years and in the end made it his “farm car” instead of buying new pick-up trucks.
He raised 1,000 hogs a year for 22 years. His trips cost thousands of dollars and getting the catches home and mounted were almost as expensive.
“I had to save 90 percent and spend 10 percent. That’s the only way you could do something like this,” Sheets said.
Sheets said that all the animals were hunted legally, although many can’t be hunted today. The museum educates people about hunting and has signs explaining how hunting permits support wildlife preserves and protect endangered species. Educational materials are available for visitors and school groups.
Denny Klepper has been on the museum board almost since its inception. More than 6,400 visitors have come through the doors from 15 foreign countries and 39 states.
“We’ve had an overwhelmingly great response,” Klepper said. “Once people came through and saw what we offered, they were really impressed with it.”
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If you go . . .
What: Sheets Wildlife Museum
When: Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: 200 Safari Trail (near Ind. 9 and U.S. 24) in Huntington
Cost: $7 for adults, $6 for ages 65 and older, $4 for ages 4-12, free for ages 3 and younger. Group tour reservations should be made at least a month in advance. Cost is $5 per person for groups of 10 or more; or $2.50 per child for school groups of 10 or more.
For information: Call (260) 356-9453 or visit www.wildlifemuseum.org
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February 2, 2008
Sheets Wildlife Museum a draw in Huntington
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