Published: March 29, 2008 08:26 pm            

MARIMAN POPE AND KRISTINA MATTOX: Taxidermist passing the torch

In the 45 years that Mariman Pope has been in the taxidermy trade, he’s created quite a reputation for both himself, and his business.

Over the years, Pope has accrued numerous taxidermy trade awards, enough to almost entirely engulf a small wall in his home office. Pope’s most notable award was the Alabama Taxidermy Association Founder’s Award he received a few years back.

On top of the varied ribbons and trophies, Mariman Pope has also had a close hand in the founding of not only the Alabama Taxidermy Association in 1979, but also the National Taxidermy Association in 1971.

“Before those organizations, it was much harder for taxidermists to organize and swap techniques,” Pope said. Pope was also involved with the taxidermy done at the Cullman County Museum, located in the middle of town, across from Depot Park.

The business was founded over 45 years ago by Mariman Pope, who got involved in the taxidermy trade to make “some play money to go to Auburn football games,” he said with a laugh. The hobby of taxidermy stemmed from his professional career as a poultry pathologist dealing with disease control; or, to put it more simply, a “chicken doctor,” he added with a smile.

A personable staff, quality service, and reasonable prices has made Mariman Pope Taxidermy the one-stop shop for many Cullman residents who find themselves in need of taxidermy services. Recently, though, things have changed quite a bit at Mariman Pope Taxidermy. The reason for this is that Pope’s granddaughter, Kristina Mattox, is now taking over the old family business. Mattox has been working at her grandfather’s shop for close to three years, and Pope is now ready to pass the torch on to her.

“She has to run me out of the room sometimes when I see her doing something different from the way I did it, and I want to step in and do it myself,” Pope said laughing, while Mattox shook her head emphatically. The two seem to get along quite well, and Mattox said that she has learned quite a lot from her grandfather.

Mattox went on to say that their most popular task these days is, not surprisingly, deer mounts; but bobcats are making it a tight race in second place.

“Bobcats are the cool new thing these days. I suppose because you can do so many different things with them,” she said with a smile and a shrug.

Though Mattox has only been in the taxidermy trade for a handful of years, she is a quick learner, and has used the many things she picked up from her grandfather and from other avenues to give back to the organized taxidermy community by recently teaching a training course last year for the Alabama Taxidermy Association.

“Teaching that class shows just how respected she’s becoming in the industry in such a short time,” Pope said while proudly displaying the plaque Mattox received for her efforts.

Mattox’s handiwork has also garnered the Taxidermist’s Choice Best Life-Size Mammal Award, for the year 2007, which is quite an accomplishment, as well.

When asked what the most interesting animal she had worked on was, after a moment’s thought she assuredly said, “a skunk,” while shaking her head with a chuckle. Pope then chimed in, reminiscently, “For me it would probably be a 250-pound shark.”

As for the future, Mattox doesn’t intend on moving the operation from its current home at her grandfather’s residence. She does plan on making taxidermy her career, working at the family business full-time, where as Pope had kept it as more of a part-time side profession.

As far as a specific focus goes, Mattox said that where many taxidermists skew their eye toward mostly handling deer mounts, she is open to working on many animals.

“We’ll handle just about anything,” she said.

        

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