[ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] im jamie colby, and im driving into portales, new mexico, along the texas border and near the Cannon Air Force base. You know, the welcome sign here says it all 17,000 friendly people and three or four old grouches . Im here to meet a man whose strange inheritance certainly called for that kind of sense of humor. My name is john wall. My mother, irene wall, passed at 90 years old. She had left me with a very large collection that meant a lot to her, but i didnt know what to do. Great. So nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Welcome to my home. Well, so, what do think of all these dolls . Wow this is kind of the way it was in my moms house, only there were so many more. Johnny, i feel like im 8 years old again with all these dolls. Well, i have the reputation around here as the doll boy but i dont know anything about them. Looking around, you have earned that reputation. What are you going to do . The goal of my moms and mine was to find a home for them, and thats what i want to do. The collection meant the world to johns mother because of the world she grew up in. December 7th, 1941. A date which will live in infamy. When the u. S. Enters world war ii, 20yearold Irene Jennings is Teaching High School in her hometown of dora, new mexico. Shes barely older than her students. This is when she graduated from new mexico state university. Now, for the time, graduating from college is very important for a woman. Very important back then. Very few got to be there. Of all the inheritances ive learned about, your family has suffered so much pain. It started with your mothers brother. Yes. Tell me about him. He was drafted after pearl harbor, and they were sent to the philippines. Irenes brother vernon is one of more than 60,000 american and philippine soldiers captured by the japanese on the bataan peninsula. Theyre forced to march 80 miles in scorching heat without food, water, or medical care. Thousands die of exhaustion. Some are executed by the japanese. Did your mom think that her brother was going to come home . They always had hopes. Many of the boys in irenes classroom are eager to sign up and fight. Their way of assuring her that they will return is to promise to bring her something back. Like a doll, maybe. Your mom was such a beloved teacher that they brought her these dolls. Even back then, mother was known to be a doll lover, and the students would bring them to her. The returning vets do bring irene dolls from all over the world. Rare geisha dolls from japan, lifelike celluloid dolls from germany, and beautiful duchess dolls from france. For irene, whose hardscrabble youth left little time for fantasy, her foreign dolls open a window to the big wide world. My grandparents were sharecroppers. Toys was not one of those luxury items they had a lot of. And i think once she become financially able, she had those feelings that, i love dolls, and i think thats what i would like to collect. When the war ends in 1945, irene finally gets a letter saying her brother vernon died in captivity. He had died during this death march deal, and was buried in the philippines. In a twist of fate, this tragic news brings irene in contact with the man she would eventually marry, a man who nearly starved to death in a japanese prison camp. When my dad came home from the service, he felt he owed it to the families of Roosevelt County to go around and talk to them about their loved ones that they lost. And my mothers brother was one of them, and then thats where they got acquainted. As she collected all these dolls, what did your dad say . My dad let my mother have a lot of reins. Irene was a very keen woman. John wall jr. Is their only child. He grows up, marries a hometown gal, starts a family of his own, and gets a job as a groundskeeper at new mexico state university. Over the years, irenes evergrowing collection is a marvel to her greatniece lori davis. Every year we went over there, there were more dolls in her house. There was campbells soup dolls, flintstone dolls, dolls like shirley temple. Irene invests thousands of dollars into collecting a wide variety of dolls. Then, in 1977, her husband, john sr. , dies of respiratory failure at the age of 63. Irenes obsession with dolls only grows after her husbands death. That worries her little sister juanita. Id say, irene, do you know what a mess your house is in . And shed say, its my house. Juanita asks her daughter emma and her granddaughter lori to go to irenes house and conduct a head count. A census might be more like it. Are their hundreds of dolls . A thousand . Many thousands . I was shocked, and i know lori was. Oh, my gosh. Really shocked. Thats next. But first, our strange inheritance quiz question. The worlds priciest doll is the 6 million clockwork loiseleur doll. What makes it so special it was owned by marie antoinette, it was the barbie prototype, or because it has thousands of moving parts . The answer in a moment. My twin brother jacob has an Autism Spectrum Disorder i remember one moment after being at school all day and i remember him getting into the car just balling. And saying mom, i have no friends why dont i have any friends . It broke my heart. Brother let me be your shelter never leave you all alone that was the moment when i realized that i needed to do something about this. I needed to make a difference in his life. Go and i knew that if i could help him find a friend, i could help teach other people that including people with differences is the right thing to do. Bring it home brother let me be your shelter that was the inspiration behind my nonprofit score a friend educating people to include the people with differences is so important because when jacobs included he feels like he can succeed in life and he feels like he actually has a purpose. Home so, what makes the 6 million clockwork loiseleur doll so special . The answer is c. The fourfoot tall french doll is also known as the bird trainer, and has more than 2,300 gilt or steel parts. John walls mother, irene, had always promised to leave him with a strange inheritance her extensive collection of dolls. Maybe promise is the wrong word. Threaten is more like it. Didnt you ever wish your mom bought half as many dolls and put the other half in a bank account for you . Oh, yes. It would have been sure enough easier. But, then again, maybe she wanted my inheritance to be a bit of a challenge. I dont know. By 1990, no one knows exactly how many dolls irenes collected in her house in portales, new mexico, and she shows no sign of slowing down. Irenes younger sister juanita enlists her daughter emma and granddaughter lori to visit aunt irene and, while theyre there, find out just how many dolls she has. I was shocked, and i know lori was. Oh, my gosh. Really shocked. The first room we tackled, you had to suck up, yes. [ laughs ]. To walk around. Right. We knocked some dolls off while we were counting. I was like, oh, my gosh. I dont know if this is collecting or hoarding. Ive never seen anybody with that many dolls. Emma and lori are flabbergasted to see dolls packed like sardines occupying every room in the house. Were counting one by one, and were just overwhelmed. The final tally for irenes collection . Over 5,000 dolls its time for an intervention. Enough was enough on the doll collection. I had to sit down and speak with her about the matter. And it was hard. Irene is fiercely opposed to just throwing away her lifelong collection. Nextdoor neighbor suzy nuchols comes to the rescue. I do a lot of ebay, and so he knew that because were neighbors, and we just decided, lets do it. And we went to his moms house, and it was full of dolls. Everywhere you looked. And so we started just looking them up and just getting an idea. One of the first things they learn on ebay irene wall isnt the only one obsessed with dolls. There are some people that are on there continuously watching these dolls. Its amazing. Dolls are scooped up by buyers from all over the world. One of irenes favorites, a german celluloid doll likely a gift from a returning world war ii vet is bought for 225. John and his wife lynn are mesmerized by the bidding process. It sometimes would get down to the last five minutes, for sure, then those prices would just run through the ceiling. And lynn thought it was kind of like playing the slot machine. Over the summer of 2007, they sell about 60 dolls to online bidders for a total of 15,000. And mama was happy. I could tell by the look in her eye, the amazement, was, i told you so. But out of 5,000plus, its not even a dent in the collection. Then, in april 2010, johns beloved wife, lynn, passes away at the age of 57. 18 months later, his mother, irene, dies, too, at 90. I lost mother, and i lost lynn to. Phew [voice breaking]. Cancer. And thats the hardest thing ive told people youll ever lose. Is a wife and a mother. His children are grown up and on their own, leaving john with more than 4,000 dolls to sell to keep his promise to his mom. Now john gets help from a second lady friend. Patty beggs, who, like john, has also suffered the death of a spouse. Did john ask you for help . Oh, no. We just was there for each other, and he needed help. I dont know if he asked or if i volunteered, but we just started doing it. I mean, we had to do something with them. Between suzy and patty, it just seems as if women like coming to johns rescue. [ laughing ] those dolls ended up helping you out in those young days. And evidently it did. I was around some awfully nice girls in my life. In 2011, john and patty actually start dating. With pattys help, john rents a storefront in downtown portales from thanksgiving until christmas, and calls it the dollhouse. The dolls sell like hot cakes, some for 1, some for 10. It went really well. We had lots of people in, because everybody wanted to buy the dolls, hear the story. And meet john . But he was mine at that time, so they couldnt have him. [ laughs ] i like that. You must have a reputation around town . They call me the doll boy. [ laughs ] hows that working out for you . Once everything started going, with both ebay and the dollhouse, i thought, you can call me whatever you want. I dont care. Ive got a pretty good inheritance here, boys. And john does make a tidy sum 5,000 on the store. Add that to the 15,000 from ebay, and hes liquidated the bulk of his moms doll collection for 20,0000. But his job isnt over. John still has close to 1,000 dolls stacked in his barn that hes yet to unload. Will selling the doll collection help your life . It will help me to know that ive fulfilled what my mother asked of me. Well, if thats whats important to you, johnny, i want to help. Oh, i would love that more than anything. There is a few of them out there you might like to see, too. Oooh do you like barbies . There are 19 boxes of solid barbies. Barbie . yes thats next. Heres another quiz question for you. Which of these toys sold for the highest price at auction was it the 1963 g. I. Joe prototype, a diamond barbie, or a goldplated nintendo wii . The answer in a moment. What are you doing back there, junior . Since were obviously lost, im rescheduling my Xfinity Customer Service appointment. Ah, relax. I got this. Which gps are you using anyway . A Little Something called instinct. Been using it for years. Yeah, thats what im afraid of. He knows exactly where were going. My whole body is a compass. Oh boy. The my account app makes todays Xfinity Customer Service simple, easy, awesome. Not my thing. So, which of these specialedition toys sold for the highest price at auction . The answer is b, the canturi diamond barbie, which sports a fourcarat pinkandwhite diamond necklace. It sold for over 300,000 in 2010. John walls mother leaves him a strange inheritance more than 5,000 dolls from all over the world. Now hes taking me out to his barn to show me the last of his mothers collection, and what he believes may be the cream of the crop. Johns hopeful the rest of his mothers dolls are worth one more big payday. Close to 500 of these barbies, still in their original boxes. Johnny i knew thered be one just for me. Seriously . Sagittarius barbie i am a sagittarius. You know what . Earrings check. Evening gown check. Beautiful silky hair check. This is me its everything, yes. And you have almost 500 of these barbies . Thats almost too much barbie for a girl. Yes. And i know someone that may be able to tell us what its worth. To help john out, we contact tim luke of the treasure quest Appraisal Group based in south beach, florida. Heres tim. Hes the former director of the Collectibles Department at the famed christies auction house in new york. I understand youve got a great collection. Tim has agreed to help appraise johns strange inheritance. You looked at all these barbies. I really need your opinion. Well, barbies a cultural icon. I think that today you see a lot of people that are in their 40s and over, thats the demographic that is really holding onto this. Its that nostalgia. Barbies dream house in 1959, the first year of production, mattel sold more than 300,000 barbies, and a First Edition can go for about 8,000 today. Suntan barbie. Yes, her features are a tad unrealistic, but shes a Strong Female character, beautiful, powerful, and rich. And thats what attracts collectors. How do you tell what year a barbie is made . Well, the very first year that they came out, mattel had to recall and change. They had to soften her features because she looked too much like a, um. Lady of the night. And the mothers. Oh, my yeah. The mothers, they just uproar because of the eyeliner and shadow. And the numberones will have a hole in the foot, both feet, because there was a stand that barbie came on. There are ken dolls here, too. [ laughs ] is ken more valuable than barbie . No. He doesnt even rate. Im thinking, and they call john doll boy . Sounds like tims just the guy to tell us what johns collection is really worth. My mothers thoughts were that it was worth over 25,000 for that barbie collection alone. Johnny, the most important thing is to fulfill mothers wish. Will it be the payday john is hoping for . Thats next. I want some more whats he doin . But, he cant look at him its just not done please sir. I want some more more . More . More . More . Please sir he has asked for. Thank you what . Well he did say please sir yes he did and, thank you yeah. And thank you hes a wonderful boy laugh a delightful boy all boys thank you, thank you, thank you. This time of year, what do you give . When its your extra concert, game or special event tickets to vet tix, youre giving our Nations Service members and veterans an amazing experience theyll cherish forever. This holiday season, dont just give. Vet tix. Give something to those who gave. For more information on how you can make a difference right now, go to vettix. Org. Heresthe first ones. Y ones. The hey, i look good with this ones. The black, brown, red, and grey ones. The itchy ones. The ones grown by dad. The ones grown for dad. The i nearly didnt do it this year ones. And the absolutely filthy ones. They all raise awareness. Raise funds. Start conversations and save lives. cos whatever you grow, will save a bro learn more at movember. Com now back to strange inheritance. Heres tim. John wall is hoping doll expert tim luke can give him some good news about the value of his remaining inheritance about 500 mintcondition barbies, all in their original boxes. Of the 5,000 dolls his mother collected, this is the bulk of whats left. Tim, we went through all these barbies. Theres plenty of them. You have to have an opinion. The downside is that most of them are from the 90s. But they say collector. They do. [ sighs ] and dont be seduced by the box. So, let me stop you there. Youre saying that this barbie, this is a reproduction. This is the 50th anniversary, but this came out in the 90s as a celebration of the 50th anniversary. Not as valuable. Johnny told me he thinks 10,000 to 15,000, maybe 25,000 for all of this. How off the mark is he . I think hes close to the lower end. Tim thinks john can still make about 10,000 with a good strategy. I think the best way to do this is to put these on ebay, because its worldwide. Somebody may only need one item for their collection, and theyre gonna pay a premium for it. Hello. Time to share the Expert Opinion with the heir. Your mother had such a wonderful time putting this all together. What i suggest is that you put these on ebay. Theyre all salable, and they could all do well. John takes the sober appraisal of 10k like a man. What do you think mother would say . Well, shed say, we got to do what we got to, baby. [ laughs ] you know, lets move with it. Im here. I got my checkbook. I would like to take the last of that series, the sagittarius. Im thinking im going to offer 100. I think thats very fair. But if you wanted to step up and offer him 200. Hell no im not overpaying. [ laughter ] hey, well have an auction. Wait a minute. Well do an auction. I know. Im looking out for my client here. Oh before i go, i get my barbie sagittarius, and i ask john if he plans to save any of his mothers other dolls. He says just a few, in particular those fragile japanese dolls from world war ii, a reminder of how his mother started collecting them in the first place. I kept going back to what my mom told about them, to please respect it as an inheritance. Ive did everything i can to do it in a way that is respectful to her wishes. And heres a note to those of you who might want to start a barbie collection of your own to tell when a vintage barbie was manufactured, you have to. Well, you have to take a look under her dress. In the back. In the early days, when barbie was made in japan, the year each model was created got stamped on her right buttock. Now thats a pretty private hiding place, proving that barbies age is really no ones business but her own. Im jamie colby for strange inheritance. And remember you cant take it with you. Do you have a strange inheritance story youd like to share with us . Wed love to hear it send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. A menagerie of exquisite specimens. Leopards, lions. Skinned, stuffed, and mounted by a master. He was a different guy, different cat. Not everyone can take something thats dead and make it look like its alive. Elk, moose, deer, goats. Youre walking into someones lifelong obsession, their commitment, their passion. Antelope, waterbucks, duikers, dikdiks. These lions are from night at the museum. That was a big get. [ lion roars ] whoa can his sons get this legacy to pay off . Or did they inherit a dying business . Nobody has an inheritance like the one that weve been bequeathed. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] im jamie colby, and today im surrounded by millions of acres of pristine forest near vancouver, british columbia. Im on my way to meet a family who inherited a legacy that evokes the very spirit of this wilderness. Theyre also left wondering how to preserve it. Hi, brian. Hi. How are you . Im jamie. Good. Nice to meet you, jamie. Nice to meet you, too. Come on. Check out the stuff out. Love to see the house. Thanks. What . oh, my god, brian. What is going on . Oh, my gosh this is your house . I cant believe it. It looks like a zoo. My names brian kulash. In 2010, my dad, steve kulash, passed away and left us an inheritance with noahs ark implications. Brian tells me that he and his brother stacey inherited this menagerie from their dad, a taxidermist named steve kulash. A series of calamitous events, including the one that caused their fathers death, have stunned the brothers. They struggle to carry on his legacy. Kulash, born in 1938, grew up on the family farm in nelson, british columbia. How did he get introduced to taxidermy . He sent away for mailorder taxidermy books. And he started by doing chickens and rabbits and stuff around the farm. It sets him on a journey that will take him far from the farm, which he leaves when he takes a job as a welder in vancouver. That pays the bills, but taxidermy remains his passion. In 1959, he marries rachel collins, and they raise three strapping young lads steve jr. , brian, and the youngest, stacey, who im told has an even bigger surprise for me 40 miles outside vancouver. What . welcome to the ark. What stacey calls the ark is a drafty old barn stuffed with the kulash brothers strange inheritance more than four decades worth of their dads taxidermy. Ark is right. Oh, my goodness. You do look like you have two of everything. This is incredible. At first, steve kulash fashioned works like these in the basement of the family home. He began with game from his own hunting trips, but soon other hunters brought by their trophies, too. When people seen the quality of the work that he was doing, they all started to come to him. Did mom ever say, if you bring another animal in this house, im gonna kill you . Uh, i did hear her say that before, but she would always soften her stance at a bit of coaxing. Show me a really fine example of your dads work. His ibex mount is one of his best works. Why . What makes it great taxidermy . He paid a lot of attention to the shape of the eye, the muscles that would make the eyes blink, and tissue. You have to have an artistic eye. Not everyone can take something thats dead and make it look like its alive. He was an artist. Like so many artistic types, steve dreams of actually making a living from his lifes passion. In the late 1960s, he pulls the trigger, quitting that welding job and betting his familys future on his skill as a taxidermist. I remember going with him to empty his locker. And he had said, im just gonna break free and do my own thing. He rents a storefront and opens steve kulash taxidermy. Brian pitches in when not working as a meat cutter at a Grocery Store in vancouver while stacey works fulltime at his dads shop and learns his craft. Birds of prey are my favorite. They look menacing even when theyre standing still. His dad taught him anyone can learn to stuff a bird, but to turn a lifeless pile of feathers into this, its about the expression, the pose, the articulation of muscles and limbs. Stacey demonstrates the skills he learned at his fathers side. So, now im separating the feathers along the breast plate and stomach area. The entire leg bone stays in, attached to the skin. And then you wrap cotton around the legs to make it look like it has flesh again. Before, they just used to inject formaldehyde in the little fleshy part of the this part of the wing. From start to finish, each piece can take days of painstaking work. He would go at 9 00 in the morning, and sometimes he wouldnt come home till 8 00 at night. Steves dedication pays off. Soon, his shop is attracting customers from all over north america and beyond. What kind of money can you make doing taxidermy . A good sale that we had was 150,000 when we sold two containerfuls of animals to japan. His storefront on kingsway was a vancouver icon. And certainly, when you walked in, you realized you were walking in to someones obsession. Rachel poliquin, phd, is author of a scholarly history of taxidermy called the breathless zoo. What ive done with taxidermy is to explore if it has any relevancy in todays world, what is its history, what is its meaning. Great taxidermy is when you think that the creature might just reanimate in some way. Reanimate is right. See those lions with ben stiller . Steve kulash goes hollywood after the break. [ lion roars ] but first, our strange inheritance quiz question. Whats the Oldest Museum taxidermy display . An owl in greece, a dodo in china, or a crocodile in switzerland . The answer in a moment. [female narrator] each day, 43 children are diagnosed with cancer. [mom] the doctor sat down with me in a room and thats when i first heard nephroblastoma. [narrator] todays treatments are harsh and many havent improved in decades. They kind of tell you when you go in that we are going to bring your child to the brink of death and then bring them back. My hope for the near future is to be able to take these immune therapies and to make it a first line approach. Because as more and more of these children survive into adulthood we are seeing more complications. [mom] it can affect their heart; it can affect kidneys, and liver. It can affect their hormones and stunt growth. Its almost like premature aging because of all the exposure to these drugs in the past. [narrator] together, we can find safer treatments for kids fighting cancer. [john wagner, md] the science says we have more hope than ever before, but we can only promise one thing, and that is we keep trying and that well learn from it. And, the Childrens CancerResearch Fund allows us to do just that. Believe were still worth the fight youll see theres hope for this world tonight i believe, i believe yeah rock guitar so, whats the Oldest Museum taxidermy display . The answer is c. A crocodile in the National History museum in st. Gallen, switzerland. Dates from 1623. By the mid1970s in vancouver, steve kulash has established a thriving taxidermy business and himself as a legend in the field. He was a different guy, different cat. At the same time, tragedy stalks the kulash family. In 1981, steves wife, rachel, dies of cancer at age 38. Seven years later, steve jr. Drowns in a boating accident. The death of my mother and my older brother crushed him. It just made him be closer to us, cause were all he had. Wow, how did your family manage after that . We just dug ourselves into our work and just kept going. Yeah, i think that looks good. Indeed, long hours at work prove to be therapeutic. And then youre going to open it a bit, right . As his reputation grows, new clients come calling. [ shop bell rings ]. Some from vancouvers burgeoning film industry. His first prop was the grizzly adams movie. Grizzly adams his first big break. And it just snowballed from there. They would commission us to make a 10foot by 4footthick grizzly bear for macgyver. Then another action figure places an order. For the first rambo movie they wanted to rent for the sheriffs office. Speaking of movie rentals, do these felines look familiar . If so, youre probably one of the tens of millions who bought a ticket for the 2006 hit film night at the museum. Yep, steve kulash was the one who made them movie stars. Theyre the pride of his collection. Heres the hall of african mammals. He found them and stuffed them. And then, digital artists made them attack ben stiller. [ lion growling ] down boy did you catch em . All by myself so, following his passion is paying off for kulash. Do we have schnapps . Yeah. A job he loves, and the freedom and money to take hunting and fishing trips and safaris all across the globe. [ speaking Foreign Language ] my dad could speak a few languages, loved to travel the world. This is my dad on one of his hunts for mountain lion. That could be my favorite picture. Im 50 and he was 70. [ dogs barking ] when we went hunting, i still couldnt keep up to him. Steves friend herb karas shared many of these adventures. He could handle himself up a mountain or down a mountain, or stay overnight in the woods if you had to. Very nice. Yeah, very good luck you have today. Yes. In 2009, kulash gets recognition not just as a master of taxidermy, but as a bona fide artist. His work is featured in a museum show of animal art called ravishing beasts. Rachel poliquin is the exhibits curator. Steves taxidermy was great. It reflected who he was and it had a certain charisma and passion to it. The following year, kulash is preparing to pursue one of his other passions an International Hunting expedition. Then one night in march 2010, his son stacey, who lives in the basement of the family home, is awakened by the smoke alarm. I opened up my bedroom door, there was a fivefoot fire. As stacey runs next door to phone the fire department, his dad makes a fatal mistake. He went and tried to put the fire out himself when he could have just walked right out the front door. Could you see . Could you breathe . I tried to get him out of the basement, but there was too much smoke. I couldnt get back down there. Steve kulash gets trapped amid piles of boxes and equipment. [ siren wails ] a while later they told us that our father passed away. He leaves behind the business where hed worked sidebyside with his sons, filled with nearly 200 mounted animals. Thats not including the metaphorical elephant in the living room. Can a taxidermy business really thrive in the 21st century . And if it can, is stacey kulash the right guy to do it . Did you ever say, i know i can, i know im good, but its not for me . Thats next. Heres another quiz question for you. The answer in a moment. So, what animal was first thought to be a hoax created by a rogue taxidermist . The answer is a the platypus. In 1798, when british explorers sent home the first pelt of the australian mammal, scientists thought it was a hoax and that a taxidermist had sewn a ducks bill onto a mammals body. When more pelts arrived in england, they acknowledged it was real. But if youre wondering about rogue taxidermy, dont change that channel. Four years after their fathers death, brian kulash and his brother stacey are struggling with their strange inheritance a taxidermy business, plus hundreds of creatures crafted by their father, a legend in the field. They face one big complication when they lose their lease on the shop their dad occupied for more than 40 years. Almost 200 mounted specimens, plus eight freezers full of skins, have to be moved to a barn outside vancouver. If someone came along and said, i have to have them all. Definitely. How much would you want for everything you have right now . 270,000. Thats not exactly just a round number. Youve thought about it. Yes. [ laughs ] the brothers insist that their dads work would go for at least that much back in the day. Will it get that now . Stay tuned. Lets flip it over and inspect it to find if theres any stray threads anywhere. Okay. Meanwhile, like his father did, stacey kulash gets calls from hollywood. Two months ago i was working on a lifesize beaver for a movie with leonardo dicaprio. I had to make it so that the belly could be reopened so that the actor could be skinning it on camera. Good work, if you can get enough of it. At the end of the day its always about the dollars. You cant pay your bills on good intentions. Did you ever say, i know i can, i know im good, but its not for me . Well, this is what i trained for for over 30 years, so im just gonna keep on doing what my dad taught me. Its only between stacey and i, so were in solidarity because were brothers. Im a meat cutter, but ive recently retired and i need to regroup my family and push this to as far as we can go. And that may mean going pretty far out there to the land of jackalopes, pegasus squirrels and whatever you want to call this creepy creature. I took the back vertebrae of a fallow deer and i made a walking cane with it. Taxidermy going rogue thats next. . Yea, you can be the greatest you can be the best you can be the king kong bangin on your chest you can beat the world you can beat the war you can talk to god while bangin on his door you can throw your hands up you can beat the clock you can move a mountain you can break rocks you can be a master dont wait for luck dedicate yourself and you can find yourself standin in the hall of fame yea and the worlds gonna know your name, yea now back to strange inheritance. Nobody has an inheritance like the one that weve been bequeathed. It almost seems like brian and stacey kulashs strange inheritance came a few centuries too late. Taxidermy really has its origins in a postcolumbus era of exploration, when people were going out around the world and discovering new lands. Scholar Rachel Poliquin says in the 1800s, taxidermy really took off in the u. S. , canada, and europe, growing from a scientific pursuit into a very Common Element of home decor. In the 19th century, theres the age of colonial hunting, and then it gets into that whole other desire to display your manliness. Throughout much of the 20th century, hanging one of these heads on your wall was still the cats meow. It was either the largest one youd ever seen, it was the hardest to kill. It really becomes this souvenir and this point to tell the story about yourself and about your encounter with the animal. Thats one reason steve kulashs talent was in high demand. I learned being by his hip from when i was 6 years old. A talent his sons inherited. You think i can handle the real thing . Possibly. Should we give it a try . Were gonna glue some eyes in on this mannequin for the next project im working on. Yeah, theres a whole selection of eyeballs. This is one of the ones that well be using. Thats the way that the eye wants to go on. A little glue . Right along the rim. Okay, with my luck itll be crosseyed. [ laughs ] so it would go right here . Yes. Perfect heres looking at you, kid poliquin says traditional taxidermy is now less popular for a host of reasons. A cultural shift toward conservation over conquest has redefined the art form. Still, poliquin sees hope for the kulash boys. There has been a revival in taxidermy recently. I think it is ultimately becomes a very individual process of how you go forward. So, what do you do with that taxidermy business you inherited, in an era when many people see a mounted head and think comic strip gag . If youre the kulash brothers, you plant tongue firmly in cheek, and branch out into a new Hipster Movement called rogue taxidermy. Rogue taxidermy is certainly becoming its own art form. Its putting bits of animals together. There is the carnival nights contest, in brooklyn, where people bring in their strange, rogue taxidermy pieces. Weve actually done some hipster taxidermy ourselves. That was a fantasy mount that i did for a tv show. I used a squirrel skin and pigeon wings. Adorable. Oh, it was funny. I guess. The jackalopes were done for a cafetype restaurant called the cactus club. The antlers are from a whitetailed deer. Some of staceys creations go beyond fantasy to the macabre. I took the back vertebrae of a fallow deer. And it had like a miniature human skull on the very top of it that was chrome, and i made a walking cane with it. That sold for 650. Not your fathers taxidermy. You do whatever you have to in taxidermy to keep your doors open. Which doesnt mean brian and stacey are discounting their dads legacy. They still intend to unload that noahs ark menagerie they inherited for a pretty price if not in one big boatload, then twobytwo, or at least one at a time. We had a lady that came and bought a tiger from us. The tiger was 18,000. [ register dings ] a promising start, but a drafty barn in the middle of nowhere is not exactly a customer magnet. You need a new place . Yeah. Theyre saving to open up a new shop, confident that their strange inheritance still has a future. Its only between stacey and i, and so were just trying to carry on and keep our name going in this business. As author and curator Rachel Poliquin observes, death makes taxidermy possible. It seems fitting this strange inheritance will long preserve the bond between a departed dad and his devoted sons. He is legendary. He taught me his whole life little things, big things. He always had something to offer. My father was basically my best friend. Were hoping to still dominate and be on top, where we should be. Kulash rules. You know it. In his day, steve kulash stuffed a lot of trophy animals, but his old buddy herb karas once found him hard at work on a cat, as in kitty cat. You mounting pets now, herb asked. Well, steve explained that the animal belonged to a neighborhood woman and had been her beloved companion for 15 years. Herb says steve was carefully adjusting the whiskers to give kitty the perfect feline expression, gazing lovingly at her owner. What a guy. Im jamie colby for strange inheritance. Thanks so much for watching and remember you cant take it with you. Do you have a strange inheritance story youd like to share with us . Wed love to hear it send me an email or go to our website strangeinheritance. Com. Have a great weekend, everyone. [ ] gregg good evening, im Gregg Jarrett sitting in for the vacationing lou dobbs. President trump ending the week with another jab at the absurdity and hypocrisy of the radical dimms, calling their impeachment hearings the most unfair in american history. The president exasperated by Nancy Pelosis refusal to send articles of impeachment to the senate, agree qught analysis from yours truly that pelosis stall tactics are exposing the weakness of the democrats case