Local author details life trapping

By JENNIFER DITLEVSON HAGLUND Staff writer
Jerry Myrtue of Maryville finished “Life on the Trap Line,” a book of his and his father’s adventures in trapping in Iowa and northwestern Missouri. Myrtue relays nearly 100 years of trapping history in the area, along with his own photos and pencil drawing illustrations.

Writing “Life on the Trap Line” took Jerry Myrtue of Maryville 16 years to complete, but the stories inside long precede Myrtue’s time as a trapper and extend beyond the genre of personal family record.

The book chronicles the history of trapping in Iowa and northwestern Missouri as far back as the 1920s, when trapping was a more lucrative and more common trade. It also includes accounts of trapping for farmers in the area as a form of pest control, and selling fur to buyers.

According to Myrtue, the project began as a way to preserve the memories of his father, Willis Myrtue. When Willis was sick with prostate cancer in 2000, Jerry didn’t want to waste any time gathering information about his father’s life, particularly about the time he spent on the trap line before Jerry joined him at five years old in the early 1950s.

“Every time I read those stories, I think about him,” he said. “In a way, he’s still here in that book.”

Having written this book with the help of his wife Sherri and daughter Jerri Lynne, Jerry said he hopes that he can inspire people to record the stories from their families.

“Your mom and dad have stories in their lives, and it’s important that they pass them down to their kids,” he said. “If it hadn’t been for dad being in his situation and how much I respected him and loved him, I might not have his words right now.”

The father and son spent their lives trapping together in and near Harlan, Iowa. Willis learned from his uncle, and passed down the tradition that continues today with Jerry’s grandsons whose stories also made it into the book.

Jerry recalled the moment when he became his father’s trapping buddy. When Willis caught his hands in a trap while waist-deep in water, Jerry helped him escape.

“He said that when I’d helped him get out of that trap, he’d have good help for the rest of his life,” he said.

In a way, “Life on the Trap Line” is a timely capstone for Jerry’s own lifelong love of trapping. Since his father died, Jerry has fought two forms of cancer and had open-heart surgery. For the last five years, Jerry has been retired from trapping.

That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t still distinctly remember what it means to have trapping fever, a condition he described as loving the challenge of trapping an animal to the point that it subsumes reason.

“I like a challenge, and I’d certainly rather catch than hunt,” he said.

Several of Jerry’s pencil illustrations and color photographs add a unique view from his vantage point. Jerry said he learned to draw taking a Draw Me! Course while in high school. He never finished, but he said he’s developed his own style over the years while recording the strange sights he’s witnessed in nature. Often, Jerry drew on napkins while sitting at cafes.

“There are a lot of amazing things out there on the trapline,” he said. “And you wouldn’t see them if you weren’t out there.”

Catching animals for Jerry doesn’t mean he dislikes them. In fact, he doesn’t even use the word “kill” when it comes to ending their lives. He prefers saying he “dispatches” of them before skinning and stretching their fur. In the wild, Jerry has studied animal behavior for years. Preserving the environment is important to him.

“You’ve got to be as much of a conservationist as the agents out there,” he said. “You always leave some for seed.”

Anyone interested in purchasing the book from Myrtue can find one at Hy-Vee, or call him at home at 660-582-3913 for a copy. The book costs $20, matching the amount paid for printing and binding.

SUBMITTED PHOTO
Throughout the book, Jerry Myrtue’s pencil illustrations like these accompany scenes from trapping. For Myrtue, sometimes recording the memory visually helps to communicate some of the bizarre and remarkable sights he encountered.