New York State Trapper’s Association 2022 Convention – September 1–3

Herkimer County Fairgrounds, 135 Cemetery Street, Frankfort NY

At the Convention and Sportsmen show you can find all kinds of sportsman supplies, trapping supplies, tanned fur, wildlife paintings and photographs, demonstrations, kid’s activities and more. At the NYSTA booth in dealer building #1, you can purchase a membership, pick up some cool NYSTA T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, patches and other NYSTA merchandise. 

This year’s patch honors Art Crane: “Chief” Art Crane 

Oscar Cronk called him “The Dean of Old Time Fox Trapping”. Johnny Thorpe called him “The Grand Daddy of all Modern Fox Trappers”. 

Those are pretty powerful statements from a couple of real legends themselves. However, when comparing the two quotes above, and with some hard-to-find history, you will find the real story of one of the greatest New York State fox trappers. Art Crane was like a mythical legend whose exploits were only carried on in a verbal tradition. If you were not in his inner circle, you knew very little about this trapper. 

He was the son of Marion and Francis Crane, of Sanford, New York. In 1921 he married Alta Holmes Oliver, who liked to make garments from fox pelts.

Arts first public appearance in trapping history were some very well staged early photos posted of his fox catches in Hunter Trader Trapper magazine between 1913 and 1930. Art was an expert fox trapper using the dirt hole and the spring hole sets way before they were documented by other trappers. The best photos are in Ray Duntley’s book. His dirt hole set copied the way a fox actually dug out a mouse hole. Art also had a pet fox named “SKIPPE”. Maybe that fox was Art’s mentor!

Art passed away in 1967, they say he was 88; he spent his last 2 years at a mink farm in Massachusetts.