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*179* By Georgette Braun Shaw/Free Press Media McHENRY -- Getting a tattoo for the McHenry (bounty Fair is an annual ritual for this group. The members are not the bearded, motorcyclist-type, but they are hairy -- or is it "hare-y"? And the place one gets tattooed is not the forearm but the ear. If you've put two and two together thus far -- or in this case, maybe multiplying would be more applicable -- you've pro­ bably deduced that the group referred to is the rabbit family. Frank Rudolph of McHenry knows all about rabbits and marking them. i coco ?^oo«'>«^rwM-M'x^»'>^vinr>rir>r>faonoooooooeoeoooo 801 N. RIVER RD. McHENRY, HI. t f l t y Un 1 BUOY OQK NONE MOSPHBE AB OONHIHll tmsiK m ins m «i MONTH km KCOIf A "CAT-1 TAr. for mutt ktais,) ASK YOUK HOSTS, MM 4 LEAN. Join The CAPTAIN'S CLUB At Snug harbor IKYSNWHAttOrS FABULOUS HODAY FISH FRY -FRESH FROMTHESEA- •Finely Seasoned Baked Haddock •Lake Perch, Pan-Fried To Sizzling Perfection . *Lake Perch, ran-rnea io fizzling rejection J temnfmWYJ .Walleyed Pike, Tenderly Broiled By Chef Donate. foa C7o 28* Waltzd <Dn[ JUOQOOOOOOOOOOOPOOOOOOOOOOOO-- McHENRY OPTICIANS 1301 RIVERSIDE DR., McHENRY, ILLINOIS (Across from the Fox Hole) 385-9240 CLASSES MADE WHILE YOV WAIT! (Singfe Vision Only) Over 1,000 First Quality Metal or Plastic All Kids $15 Metal or Plastic Senior Citizens FRAMES With Purchase Of Lenses E M E R G E N C Y R E P A I R S & F R A M E R E P L A C E M E N T ! (815)385-9240 E3 D A I L Y 8 : 3 0 - 5 : 3 0 : S A T 8 : 3 0 - 3 W E D 8 : 3 0 - 1 He has been superintendent of the rabbit division at the fair for 20 years. For 10 yeftrs, he has been tattooing rabbits for 4-Hers. He's done it more than a thousand tunes. The tattoos aren't the born-to-be-wild kind or the the my-heart-belongs-to-so- and-so kind, although the latter is literally true. Rudolph uses numbers or letters or a combination of the two to mark the rabbits for identification purposes. He says the reason rabbits have been re­ quired to be tattooed for fair exhibition is that one year a windstorm blew over some tents. The result ?"Nobody could identify which was theirs," Rudolph says. While rabbits without tattoos are dis­ qualified in junior and open classes at the fair, Rudolph says rules for 4-Hers are not so strict But the youth are encouraged to have it done. Rudolph, 58, does the job to save the kids money. "It costs five bucks (dollars, that is) to have a vet tattoo a rabbit," Rudolph says. He doesn't charge the kids. "It costs less than a penny. A tube of tattoo ink will do 900 to 400 rabbits." In July at one sitting at the fairgrounds in Woodstock, Rudolph tattooed about 100 rabbits brought in in cages, buckets, card­ board boxes and children's arms. It took him less than two hours. He says he tattoos half the rabbits entered in the 4-H division. Larger rabbit raisers do it themselves. When Rudolph started out as superinten­ dent, 27 of the furry critters were shown. Now there are about 800. "It all started when my daughter brought.home (a rabbit) she got at a fun fair," Rudolph says. - Now he and his wife and his children and his grandchildren raise rabbits. Most of Rudolph's rabbits are used as breeding stock and he botchers others. ' "It tastes better than chicken," he says. Rudolph uses an "F" for "Frank" as part of theiattoo for Ms rabbits. His wife's rabbits are tattooed with her initials. Not only are the tattoos useful in identi­ fying rabbits if the fair tofts blow down, but 4-H kids also can keep better records because of it, Rudolph says. He said the tattoos do not necessarily need to be registered with anv rabbit association or Continued on page 55 Sh brother EP20 Personal Electronic Typewriter ...I# fits Into your briefcase! Just Brother's advanced electronic expertise has created a revolu­ tionary handy personal typewriter. Printing is by a dot matrix heat transfer printing system on plain paper using a carbon ribbon. The battery-powered operation is perfectly silent, and corrections can be made on a 16-digit display before printing. A calculating function will handle the four basic functions, and a second shift function will print extra characters from international languages. A cut-off device shuts off the power automatically. All this convenience weighs just over five pounds, measures 12"x1%"x7", and fits into any conventional briefcase. -WE SERVICE WHAT WE SELL-- " knuth'a P.O. KNUTH CO. INC. Office Machine Division 228 Main St. Woodstock, III. 33S-3S35 Page 34--Shaw/Free Press Media Group, Inc. 1983 Fair Guide Fair features