Bert the Moleman, Mission, BC

From the late 19th century until World War II, moles skins and furs were and article of high fashion. Furriers made such items as money bags, ear muffs and coats. King Edward VII started a rage for mole skin vests; it took over 70 skins to make such a product. In the United States, a 1939 Saks Fifth Avenue catalogue featured an elegant woman in a stylized lumber jacket that was made from several hundred mole skins. During the peak period of demand for mole skins over 12 million animals were harvested in one year! In fact, Germany drafted legislation during this time to protect the European mole from being wiped out in that country. Many years ago mole meat was boiled and rubbed on a bare scalp to stimulate hair growth. A mole catcher told an audience this joke about a rich person who woke up one morning and found molehills all over his lawn. He had spent a lot of time and money to make his lawn look beautiful and was obviously furious at the mole. In fact, he couldn't sleep or eat because he was so troubled. His attempts to capture the mole were unsuccessful and only added to his frustration. Eventually he placed an ad in the local paper looking for a mole catcher. It was the neighbourhood mole trapper who answered the ad and he asked the rich man, "How much will you pay me if I catch the mole?" Without hesitation the rich man replied, "I'll give you 500 dollars, but I also want you to give him the worst death you can think of because of all the sleepless nights and stressful days that mole has caused me." The next day the mole catcher showed up and said, "I've caught your mole and I've come to collect." The rich man was jubilant, but he had to inquire, "And what death did you give him?" "I gave him the most horrible death I could possibly think of", the catcher replied, "I buried him alive!"