Concrete, camels, and careful attention

It's not every day you see a camel walking along the side of the road when driving down the highway. But that's exactly what you'll see when you go by Clance Shirrel's business, Concrete Castings, in Jackson.

"Miss C brings a lot of people in," Shirrel said referring to the humped-back creature walking back and forth near the entrance. "It's a way of advertisement, I guess you could say."

But once you stop in, a camel is just one of the many critters you'll see walking about the small area of land. Pigs, goats, ducks, and even a wallaby will greet you with an oink, quack, or a look in their eye that makes you think they'll attack you at any second. (I was later reassured by Mr. Shirrel that they're all harmless.)

Some of the animals are even for sale. I could only imagine my family's reaction had I brought home a baby goat.

There is a trick to seeing these animals, however; you must first walk through hundreds upon hundreds of decorative statues and fountains. After all, concrete is Shirrel's business.

It all began at Cape Ready Mix Concrete, where Shirrel worked until 1982 when he decided to open up a small business in Chaffee, Mo., called Concrete Castings.

He later moved it to Jackson in 1985 where it still operates today.

"Concrete has always been an interest of mine for years," Shirrel told me while petting Miss C as she began licking my notebook. "There's just so many different shapes you can form it into."

Buying the molds of the statues from surrounding states, he and his wife bring them back to Jackson where the detail and painting is done meticulously by hand and the finished products sit outside waiting for camel-curious consumers to purchase the goods.

It was about the time that Shirrel was to give me a tour of his different creations when a car pulled up. Figuring I should let him greet his customer, I sat down in a chair and was prepared to wait.

"Oh, that's just my friend Lon," he said, "We've been friends for a hundred years or more. He comes here for the animals."

Lon Maxey, the 86-year-old retired owner of General Sign Co., walked into the workshed and sat down as Shirrel continued to chisel away at the mold of a fairly large decorative fountain. We introduced ourselves and immediately began discussing the un-Missourian-like creatures that Shirrel has bought at swaps in Fruitland and in Waterloo, Ill.

Swaps, simply put, are auctions where animals are brought in from throughout the country and sold right here in the heartland. Miss C, the 16-month-old camel, had been bought for $5,000 at a recent swap.

"You have to be around an animal to realize how smart they are," Maxey tells me. "And if you're not careful, they'll outsmart you."

After walking around and discussing the thousands of different sculptures available for sale, I finally let Shirrel get back to work. There was one problem, though: A family of ducks had taken shelter under my car in the hour I was there.

"Just start your car," he said. "They'll know to get out of your way."

sdereign@semissourian.com