Mapleton, Ontario, Canada: Cheese and Taxidermy Shop (Gone)

On the way to Sparta a sign caught my eye and I just HAD to stop there. Once I got to Mapleton, I stopped in at the Mapleton Taxidermy and Cheese Store. Yes, Taxidermy and Cheese! When I got there the owner David Snook was hanging a couple of brown bear hides up to wash. I told him I stopped just because of the sign. Apparently a lot of people have done so. He said that his sign has even made it onto the David Letterman show.

I asked David's wife how they came to doing cheese and taxidermy. She said that a number of years ago the cheese factory in Mapleton closed down, so they took over and sold cheese from the same shop. I got some Provolone and some cheese curds for the road and went back out and talked to Dave as he cleaned up bear hides. He is proud of the fact that everything he uses is safe for the environment. Folks bring him the entire carcass, he skins it, gives the meat back to the owners and then goes through the tanning process. He saves the jaws and other important parts of the animal. He said the ears came from way up in Northern Canada. He also has a giraffe in the freezer and is backed up with orders.