HUMBOLDT — Max Rickerson started hunting when he was around 6 years old, tagging along with his dad and brothers. He’d carry a gun and, after a couple of years, “they’d even let me load it.”
He started shooting birds. He didn’t see a wild deer until he was a senior at Humboldt High School in 1960.
The desire to hunt consumed him, though he scaled back during the years he built a successful career as a Sonic Drive-In franchise owner. “But I more than made up for it since I slowed down a bit.”
Rickerson combined his passion for hunting with a love for his hometown in building the Whitetails & Wildlife Museum, 715 New York St. The interactive, educational museum kicked off its opening with a special event Friday evening, with a large crowd turning out to get their first look at the unique exhibits.
Rickerson hunted about 90% of the 200 or so animals on display. Many of them, as the name of the museum promises, are whitetail deer. One room is dedicated to deer mounts, with dozens displayed on two walls. Several earned records, including two Rickerson shot for world records for typical and non-typical rack, killed with a crossbow. Recently, Rickerson had to skip a hunting trip to a Missouri farm so he sent his grandson instead “and he broke my record,” Rickerson said. “But we kept in the family and I’m darn proud of that.”
THE MUSEUM features a wide array of animals not found in Kansas. You’ll see several antelope, including the nyala from southern Africa, as well as a bongo from the Congo in central Africa. You’ll find bison and water buffalo. Bighorn sheep. One section features a bear who looks as if he were caught in the middle of dinner, with a mountain lion looking over the scene.
A section is devoted to wetlands, with duck and geese as well as a beaver near a dam of sticks.
The animals are posed in areas designed to look like their native habitats.
That’s thanks to the work of friends, family and others who helped bring Rickerson’s dream to life.
Daughter Tammy McClellan and son Dale Rickerson spent their early years growing up in Humboldt before Max bought his first Sonic in Fort Scott and moved the family there. Both are among several family members who led various aspects of the museum project.
“[Humboldt] was a great place to grow up and I know my dad feels the same,” McClellan said. “This museum is his way of giving back to his hometown to help bring more visitors to town. It’s a labor of love. And one of the great things is, Dale and I will not have to worry about where to put all his animals.”
Ryan Carter, a family friend, recalled a conversation with Max Rickerson that took place as they were driving in a truck.
“He asked, ‘What do you think about helping me build a museum to put all my animals in?’” Carter said. “It’s been an amazing honor. So much of the design is his and he had so much attention to detail. He made my job easy.”
Cindy Cunningham joined the project based on her 41 years owning a taxidermy business in Kansas City. She got her start by mounting a pheasant for her husband and wanted to start a business, but her dad told her “no girl can do this.” That motivated her to create a successful business, Second Creation Taxidermy, and she taught the art to other women over the years before retiring two years ago. For this project, she hired three women taxidermists to create the habitat and mount some of the animals, such as the ducks that hang from the ceiling.
“When I first got into this business, there weren’t a lot of women. That’s changed over the past five years or so. I think women have an eye for detail, especially when it comes to mounting,” Cunningham said. “This has been a great experience.”
