Gale Halverson

Born: January 23, 1939

Hometown: Roseau, MN

Gale was born in 1939 in Roseau, MN, and spent his entire life living in his hometown. Living on the farm, Gale had the chance to start the trap line at the early age of 5. It didn’t take him long and he caught his first weasel which he sold for $1.75 to the local fur buyer. Over the next few years, he learned to trap skunks, muskrats, raccoons, mink, and foxes around the farm and hunting shack.

Over the years, Gale has continued to trap these and other animals. He states that he would have to pick mink as his favorite animal to trap as he has always enjoyed trapping water animals. Beaver, otter, and muskrats are close seconds as favorites to catch on his water trap lines. However, Gale admits that over the last few years, he has really come to enjoy the time spent in the solitude of the “deep woods” pursuing marten.

Gale has many good trap line memories, but the best is of the year he decided to run a long line for mink and set out seventy traps to run. In his first two checks, he took 40 mink out with those seventy traps, catching 20 each day. Other memories he finds enjoyable are the ones he has of the last ten years since he retired from working catching beaver, otter, fox, fisher, and marten. During this time he has also worked for the USDA catching wolves and has found it to be enjoyable as well.

Even with all the trapping Gale has done over the years, he still managed to give some time back to trapping by serving as the MTA President in the late 70’s. He remembers the association helping hose the FTA convention at the Itasca State Park and will never forget the small boy who became lost in the park who, thankfully, they found unharmed and safe.

Gale still does a lot of trapping and enjoys talking trapping whenever he gets the opportunity.