Friends of the National Conservation Training Center Chair Ellen Murphy gives a tour of the center’s museum on Tuesday night. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Within the National Conservation Training Center’s (NCTC) entry building lies a museum, dedicated to sharing the history of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. NCTC has a closed campus, but once-in-a-while, tours of the museum are offered to the public.

One such tour was given on Tuesday night, by Friends of the National Conservation Training Center Chair Ellen Murphy. The Friends of the National Conservation Training Center is a volunteer organization that actively supports NCTC’s work.

“I don’t know everything about the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — I’m a volunteer,” Murphy said.

But she then proved this to be far from the case, as she spoke in-depth on a number of the exhibits in the museum and answered any questions that were asked her.

One display she spoke about, was related to undercover work the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service had to do, to combat poaching by members of Al Capone’s criminal organization.

“They killed so many ducks and would sell them to high-end restaurants in Chicago. The only way to stop them, was to have an agent go undercover. His cover was as a drunk, named Dopey Perry. So he hung out with the gang and got names and got information,” Murphy said. “Then, Al Capone’s group was charged. They weren’t too worried, because he was a drunk — who was going to believe him? But when he showed up in his Fish & Wildlife Service uniform and testified against them, they were convicted.”

Another display in the museum was about the first federal bird warden, Paul Kroegel, who she said was one of the people from the organization’s past that she would have loved to meet.

“Teddy Roosevelt established the first bird refuge at Pelican Island off the east coast of Florida. It was chosen, because it was one of the last nesting rookeries, or nesting places, for the brown pelican. At that time, ladies hats had to have feathers on them — sometimes, they had whole birds on them! That was the style. And to meet the demand, market hunters were destroying birds,” Murphy said. “Pelican — brown pelican feathers, in particular — were particularly valued.

“Paul Kroegel was the first refuge manager. He was paid a dollar a month,” Murphy said, before pointing out a gun in the display. “He didn’t shoot people, but he would shoot across the bow of a boat, because he was protecting the brown pelican rookery, as a place where they could lay their eggs.”

Murphy then walked over to a large, taxidermized polar bear on the side of the room, which she said had been legally acquired by its owner. However, a mixup in its delivery to the owner’s home led to it going through the U.S. and needing to be confiscated.

“Six years ago, this polar bear was in the Secretary of the Interior’s office in Washington, D.C. It came here about four years ago, because the current Secretary of the Interior — at least for the next few days — is Deb Haaland, who is Native American. She did not want it in her office, so she had it sent back here!” Murphy said. “It’s so beautiful — I hope it stays.”

For Marybeth Grove, of Shepherdstown, the tour was a wonderful opportunity to learn more about an organization that she has long admired.

“This is an amazing place! I’m glad it’s almost in my backyard,” Grove, who is a Master Naturalist and member of the Potomac Valley Audubon Society, said. “The history of the place itself is so exciting! To think that people come from all over to learn about conservation here, is such a wonderful thing.”

Grove had previously visited NCTC when it was opened to the public for its annual open house day, but this was the first time she was able to go on a tour of the museum.

“When I saw this was happening, I said, ‘I’m gonna go!’ So I put it in my calendar,” Grove said. “I’m so glad I did!”

To learn more about the Friends of NCTC, visit https://friendsofnctc.org.

To learn more about the NCTC, visit https://www.fws.gov/nctc.