Blues Brothers Blueticks Legacy Bloodline of the 1980’s

The short loud bawls of the bluetick coon hound echoed through the brush, piercing Rob’s ears as he made his way towards his bluetick coonhound, expecting to see a raccoon high up in the trees. 

 

River Falls, Wisconsin was a hotbed for the fur market’s economic prosperity in the late 1970s through 1987, according to Divebomb Industries. The prosperity and high demand for Wisconsin fur was due to the booming fashion industry. The 1970’s saw an increase in the accessibility and versatility for fur coats, compared to the 1920s where fur coats were considered a symbol of wealth and status as noted by Marc Kaufman Furs. Raccoon fur was a more affordable fur option and highly sought after for a moderate financial class of women. In Wisconsin, raccoons were plentiful, and raccoon hunting was both an enjoyable pastime and source of income. 

 

Rob and Dave Anderson, locals at the time, took advantage of this lifestyle, creating a champion bluetick coonhound bloodline and contributing to the prosperous market for their own livelihood. Raccoon hunting became both their passion and their source of income. Soon, the men established a sole proprietorship, known as the Blues Brothers Blueticks, and became local legends themselves in addition to the reputation of their hounds. “We started it because we had an amazing coonhound who was a local legend, Judd, and wanted to pass his genes on to produce more top-notch coonhounds for coon hunting,” says Rob.  

 

The American Kennel Club  specifies that Bluetick Coonhounds are notable for their exceptional scent tracking skills, stamina, and “treeing” instinct. They were a favorite among the Anderson brothers “for several reasons. However, the biggest reason being that blueticks were bred to hilt more than any dog in the world,” notes Rob. Judd was the only stud dog the brothers ever used to breed due to his incredibly fast and accurate tracking skills. They bred Judd with established grand night champion females to foster the best combination of traits, ultimately creating a champion bloodline and legacy throughout the valley.  

 

Most nights, Rob and Dave would set their hounds loose and wait for them to pick up a raccoon scent to begin the pursuit. “When they are trailing, they will have a long bawl. As the track gets hotter, the bawl becomes shorter,” quotes Rob. The men would traverse through the woods until they located their hounds who chased the raccoon up a tree. From there, they would use a spotlight to locate the raccoon and shot it. This was a typical setup for every raccoon hunter, according to Dog World magazine.

 

“We took the hounds out for coon hunting until 2 a.m. every night but never ran them before 8 p.m. because we wanted to make sure the coons had time to get out. We always mapped out where we would be hunting that night and took 2-3 hounds for each of us. It was fun. A lot of fun,” explains Dave. At one time, the brothers owned 53 coonhounds, including puppies, that were bred solely for raccoon hunting. The coonhounds were their equipment, requiring them to make sure they were healthy, trained and well-bred so they in turn could make money. 

 

Rob notes that “the quality of the fur is determined by the time of year, geographic location and color. December produces the best type of fur. Northern furs are also always better and far more valuable because they are heavy and thicker.” According to Trapper Today, the quality of the fur had a direct impact on the price and determined the size of the paychecks for the Anderson brothers. The better the fur grade, the better the paycheck. Rob and Dave were in their late teenage years and early 20s when the fur market was at its best. “For high schoolers and college kids, we were making a lot of money!” quotes Dave.

 

In addition to their distinguished dogs, the brothers had a prominent reputation of their own, contributing to their own legacy. “We had the best coon dogs within a 30-mile radius. We had a reputation, and everybody knew about us. We heard stories of people saying ‘the Anderson’s must’ve just been here’ after finding no coons left. We hunted hard. Everyone knew we hunted hard,” recalled Dave. 

 

In 1987, the fur market crashed following suit of the stock market, notes the New York Times. The crash plummeted the price of furs, creating an oversupply of pelts and establishing the perception that fur is not a valuable commodity anymore. Rob and Dave felt the brunt of this downfall as they were forced to seek new jobs. Although the fur market partially recovered, it never returned to its former glory and remains a minor economic industry today. 

 

Although the raccoon hunting days and the prosperous fur market days have come to end, Rob and Dave’s champion bluetick bloodline legacy will never die. They were two brothers that turned their passion into a livelihood. Their passion and dedication to their champion treeing dogs illuminate a tradition that has only faded with time but was an iconic staple of the 1970s-1980s in River Falls, Wisconsin.