Adventures in Panoply

As the fundraiser I'm organizing for work gets closer and closer, I'm finding myself going out into the community a lot more often to sell ads and beg for items for the auction.

On Friday, Kerry and I went together to Whiskey Hill Sports, in West Warren (people who live there seem to take the "west" vs. regular Warren thing very seriously, even though they are not geographically or technically distinct). The owner of the store, who likes to go by "Bope" invited us to come by and pick out some things for the event, which was super nice and generous of him.

Oh yeah, I should probably mention that Whiskey Hill sports is primarily a gun store. I was a little intimidated by the whole concept of going there (especially after having a look at certain parts of the store's website), which is why I asked Kerry to come with me. I can honestly say though, that going to this store was a really cool and unexpectedly fun and interesting experience. Bope has more guns and knives than Higgins Armory, and some of them are in considerably better shape. The place was like an antiques store and a bunker mixed together with a auto dealership, and the owner took us on a really sweet guided tour of his wares.

Things you can buy at Whiskey Hill Sports:

- Airsoft guns
-Modern and antique bows and arrows
- The bowie knife from Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven", Or as Bope put it "That knife he sliced up the whore with." Incidentally, Bope also has a special bowie knife that was personally made for him by the master knife maker who made that one for Eastwood.
-A 6 foot long flint lock gun from the civil war
-Guns from WWI and WWII
-Guns from Vietnam to present
- Antique Leg Irons
- A signed Mickey Mouse collectors plate from the 40's
- 90 year old cast iron toy cars
- Motorcycles
- Tasers
- A Music Box that looks like a German Beer stein and plays "Little Brown Jug"
-Maple Syrup
- Ride-on-lawn Mower
-Antique Chinese Cigarette case
- Incredibly beautiful Stained Glass Wheel Kaleidoscopes
- One of these:
Which Bope let me try on. Badass, beautiful and dangerous!
- Samurai Swords
- Japanese Anti-aircraft guns from WWII
- Antique bullets from every period in gun manufacturing.
- Various fiber-optic light decorations (one shaped like an Eagle!)
- A taxidermy'd chicken
- Watches
- He even had a "ladies" gun department, where he kept tiny, feminine pistols.

Also present but not for sale was a glass grenade style fire extinguisher from the 1950's, tons of pictures from hunting trips and trophies (dead animals.com) and Bope's first teddy bear that he got the day he was born.

There was a ton of other really unique and interesting stuff too. The store is also equipped with a wicked intense surveillance system that films that beeps when cars pull into the driveway. I guess that's fair though, when you've got so many guns around. I've got a soft spot in my heart for these intense wildernessy hunter guys, who love the second amendment and being manly. Though it's not entirely my cup of tea, their primeval survival skills really impress me.

Thanks for the donation Bope, you're the man.