The legend of Salida’s fur-bearing fish lives on into the 21st century in a three-dimensional piece of artwork by Denver artist Bill Nelson. Nelson was commissioned to create the piece for private clients, a husband and wife who have fond memories of fly fishing the Roaring Fork River.
The saga that resulted in the artwork began in July 2020 when Nelson contacted the Salida Museum website, asking to visit the museum to see the original furry fish.
“We had just closed due to COVID-19,” said Earle Kittleman of the museum board, “but we sent him pictures of the original, which was at Mount Shavano Fish Hatchery, along with the one at the museum, plus other information about the fish, which dates back to the 1930s when Wilbur Foshay was manager of Salida’s chamber of commerce.”
“Earle’s help was invaluable, of course,” Nelson said. “The photography and research he provided really helped me to make this version of the mythological creature.”
Wilber Foshay was also the promoter who gave the chamber the name Heart of the Rockies Chamber of Commerce and promoted Salida by having young ladies clad in strapless swimsuits hold hearts in front of them, saying “Follow the Hearts to Salida.” The roadside signs were placed for hundreds of miles along the route to Salida.
Nelson makes assemblages that explore myths of the American West, especially within Colorado, and he was commissioned to create a fur-bearing trout that was a better example than the original one on display at the Mount Shavano Fish Hatchery visitors center.
Nelson’s painting is in the back of a glass-fronted box. He contacted Cañon City taxidermist Jerry Vinnola to create the furry trout, which he did by using an old beaver pelt to cover the 1930s skin-mounted trout selected for the project. Floral artist Emily Marchalonis was contacted to weave in the lichen-covered sticks and wasp nests for the three-dimensional effect, and finally the presentation was placed in a hand-carved frame of 1930s vintage.
Supposedly there were three “original” fur-bearing trout, created by a local rancher, Cecil Kaess, in the 1930s. The idea was to get publicity for Salida. The trout’s fur coat is believed to have been made of rabbit fur, and according to legend, the waters of the Arkansas River, known for its trout fishing, were so cold that the trout grew a fur coat. The original fish hung for years at the chamber of commerce, which at that time had an office at Third and F streets.
The most recent claim to fame for the furry fish happened about 10 years ago when it was featured on the Travel Channel in an episode about museums. The Salida Museum borrowed the fish from Mount Shavano Fish Hatchery. The one now on display at the museum is a re-creation that was donated more than 10 years ago by a local taxidermist. Nelson’s finished project involved about a year of research.
Nelson has an upcoming show opening Sept. 24 at Gallery MFC in Denver, called “Unidentified,” which will feature sculptures and paintings that tell the history of UFO sightings in Colorado and beyond.
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