Coming Home to Mississippi

Russell Knight

155 RussellKnight Russell Knight is a master craftsman and a true pioneer of taxidermy. His thriving company, Knight’s Taxidermy, is based in Anchorage, Alaska , and is the setting for his television show Mounted in Alaska. Born in Jackson, he is an avid outdoorsman, published author, Civil War buff, and proud conservationist. Knight also created, patented, and sold the first “fish hat,” a silly idea that earned him enough money to circle the globe three times on hunting expeditions into some of the most treacherous places on the planet. He and his wife, Jerri, live in Anchorage. I left Mississippi in a hurry and I didn’t look back—for almost thirty years, that is. I grew up in Jackson, and had a strong family at home. My mother was head nurse of the emergency room at University Hospital and my dad worked for Allstate Insurance. He was an awesome piano player and had his own band. I was taught at the early age of eleven how to work for what I wanted. I mowed yards, worked at a garden center, and pumped gas at the Star gas station to make a few dollars to buy whatever I wanted, and buy is what I did. By the age of fifteen, I had bought ten-speed bicycles, canoes, and shotguns. The big ticket items were what I wanted and I wasn’t afraid to work to get them! My dad, the artist of the family, was a great mosaic tile artist. His mosaics featuring wildlife art were almost Picasso-like, but in tile. Working with my dad helped give me an eye for detail and it was this early training in drawing, composition, and tile cutting and interest in wildlife art that lead me to my ultimate career. My mom gave me 156 russell knight her hard-driving work ethic and the gift of gab. It’s this love of telling a story that has helped me over the years and I always say that I just operate in the BS mode but everything I say is mostly true! These skills helped me later in life, and eventually led to a TV show on the History Channel called Mounted in Alaska. I graduated from Provine High School in 1976 and lived through the desegregation of schools, Hurricane Camille, and the oppressive heat and humidity of the South. I lived a very commonplace and stable life provided to me and my siblings by our parents,who were originally from Ellisville, Mississippi, in Jones County. My maternal grandparents , the Camps, had a small farm and struggled to survive just like everyone else, but they lived a very rich and wholesome lifestyle. Some of my fondest memories are of my grandfather and me walking around his big garden checking his strawberries and watermelons. I can remember him cutting a sugarcane stalk and us chewing sugarcane until our jaws ached! Back then, a Coke would burn your nose, there were no seatbelts in cars, and your parents let you stand on the front seat as they drove down the street. At the age of eighteen, with a burning desire to make my own way in life, I left the state of Mississippi seeking my fame and fortune. I chose Alaska as my new home, arriving on April Fool’s Day, 1977. This gigantic state they call“the Great Land” provided me adventure and a custom-tailored lifestyle built by me to suit my wants and needs perfectly . I fell in love with Alaska and for years I never even considered leaving the state. Eventually, the idea of raising my kids so far away from their grandparents was a very hard thing, as well as being thousands of miles away from all of the family. I never forgot where I came from and for some reason my deep southern accent opened doors everywhere I went. My southern upbringing served me very well, as I met many wonderful people from all over the world. I learned that a good dose of southern kindness and hospitality works on anyone from anywhere. I kept the lessons I learned while growing up and I apply them every day of my life.When asked, I always proudly claim my Mississippi heritage and say that I’m russell knight 157 a Mississippian,that I moved to Alaska,and now I call myself a“southern ”Alaskan. So after thirty years of...