Tuesday, October 08, 2002

Wilmington, NC – “The Lure of Fishing,” an exhibit featuring antique fishing lures, duck decoys, and other fishing memorabilia, is on display until Sunday, Dec.15, in the UNC Wilmington Randall Library.

The exhibit highlights hundreds of fishing lures, many from Ohio’s Pflueger, a major fishing manufacturer. Many of the lures are salesman samples used by the company in the early part of the 20th century to promote the products. Fishing lures on display include: “Pal-O-Mine,” “Mustang,” “Bearcat,” “O’Boy Minnow,” “Wizard Wiggler,” and “Pearl Phantom.”

“The colors, shapes, and details of the lures are quite amazing, considering the fact that they were designed to get wet and be disposable fishing accessories,” said Andrew Dutka, coordinator of Special Collections in Randall Library.

The exhibit is featured in the main foyer display case of the library until Oct. 30 and then will move to Randall Library Special Collections until Dec.15.

Items for the exhibit are from the collection of Dan Aspenleiter, captain of UNCW’s Research Vessel Cape Fear. Aspenleiter is also the director of undersea research operations at UNCW’s Center for Marine Science.

UNCW students John Williams, Ashley Bartlett, and Elizabeth MacChainnigh Cooley were exhibit curators as part of an internship in Museum Studies. They worked under the direction of Julie Babb, professor in the university’s Department of Art and Theatre.

For more information, contact Andrew Dutka at 910/962-3276.