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Discover Mid-America — February 2009
A fish story
 |
by Bruce Rodgers
Haven’t been to Oklahoma in a while — need to visit — but the last time I passed through the Tulsa area I stopped at the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks, formerly a small town south of Tulsa now engulfed by big-city sprawl. It was an overdue visit. I have an interest in conserving wildlife; that and considering Kansas City periodically makes noises about building an aquarium near downtown on the banks of the Missouri River. So if it ever got built, the Oklahoma Aquarium would be competition of sorts.
In Tulsa, the aquarium overlooks the Arkansas River, easily visible from the bridge leading to old downtown Jenks — a place full of antique shops, I might add.
Not knowing what to expect, I was quickly taken in by the extent and quality of the exhibits. Especially good were tanks holding large freshwater fish and other aquatic life, many found in the Midwest. Man, can gar get big! Also cool was the shark exhibit — hard to relax when a big shark is swimming overhead as you walk down a dimly lit tunnel.
That day I became one with visiting school children in my curiosity and amazement of the animals I was seeing and learning about. Planned for about a half-hour, my stay stretched into a couple of hours. Part of my capture happened when I followed a sign into the entrance of The Karl and Beverly White National Fishing Tackle Museum.
Now saying I’m a fisherman is like saying I can fly a plane, which I can’t. All I can remember about the half a dozen times I ever fished was trying to put a slimy worm on a hook without poking my finger as my dad, looking impatient, waited for me. He wasn’t a fisherman, either but I guess felt it was his fatherly duty to take me to the banks of a county lake and let me experience it. Needless to say, Boy Scouts didn’t help. I never even tried for the fishing merit badge.
Karl White, however, on that day, upped my appreciation of the science — or art — of fishing. The museum is essentially Karl and Beverly’s showcase of over 55 years of collecting, and what’s there isn’t even half of what Karl’s got. Everything and anything that has to do with fishing seemed to be there, or soon will be after a talked-about expansion happens. The sheer number of lures, rods, reels, motors, etc. begs the question “Why?” and how much did all this collecting cost?
Well, if one asks the first question, it’s obvious that person doesn’t fish. As for the second, White had a unique system.
“I just advertised in the towns where they made the lures, saying I needed examples (for free) for prosperity.”
Though the White Fishing Tackle Museum collection is valued at $4 million, Karl didn’t spend near that amount to get it.
This Karl White is one good fisherman.
Bruce Rodgers can be contacted at publisher@discoverypub.com.
> Refurnished Thoughts Archive — past columns
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