By Michael Copley
Staff writer

Some things don’t change. Especially in times of uncertainty, people cling to traditions and routines as a way of staying grounded.

And in counties like Powhatan, that means hunting.

“You have to have your hobbies,” said Arvada Williams of Williams’ Taxidermy in Powhatan. “Fathers are still going to go hunting with their sons and daughters, and they’re still going to want to mount [animals they’ve killed].”

The day I visit their shop, Butch and Arvada Williams are busy with customers — mostly kids and teenagers with their dads. Customers walk through the shop/working showroom and gaze wide-eyed at the animals that line the walls and fill corners.

The business is a “mom and pop operation,” according to Arvada, but you wouldn’t guess that by the final products.

Most of what you see in the shop are buck mounts, and Arvada says those comprise the majority of business. But there are also bear skin rugs, a stuffed fox and boiled-white skulls.

Hunters take their kills to the Williams where the animals are measured, skinned and fleshed. Then the hides are sent away for tanning.

The tanned skin is then soaked and draped over a type of foam core to dry.

Arvada says it takes between eight and ten months for hunters to get their mounted animals back. It only takes about ten hours of actual work on the animal — between measuring, skinning, and fleshing — but the tanning process takes much longer.

According to the owners, business is the same now as this time last year, but Arvada says she and her husband understand what people are going through financially.

“We’re not going up on prices, [and] we can control our overhead pretty easily,” working from the home shop. 

A standard buck mount costs $350 and the Williams are able to complete 150 to 200 mounts a season.