I especially enjoyed listening to the latest episode of the
“Gettin’ Outdoors Podcast,” which is hosted by well-known Wilcox County
outdoorsman, James “Big Daddy” Lawler. The latest episode, which was released
on March 14, was almost entirely about the start of turkey season and featured
special guest David Hawley of the Wild Turkey Report. As I traveled down the
road, listening to the podcast on my iPhone, I got to thinking about an unusual
Wilcox County turkey story that I read years ago.
In 1981, the University of Alabama Press published a book called
“Ghosts and Goosebumps: Ghost Stories, Tall Tales and Superstitions from
Alabama” by Jack and Olivia Solomon. Most of the stories in this book were gathered during field
investigations made between 1958 and 1962 by Troy State University students
enrolled in an introductory folklore course. The book also includes folk tales
from the Alabama Slave Narratives gathered in Alabama by field workers in the
National Writers’ Project: Folklore Division of the Works Progress
Administration.
In a section of the book called “The Tales,” readers will
find a story titled “The Turkey Calling Champion,” as told by Bonnie Dean.
According to this tall tale, a Wilcox County man won the title of champion
Turkey Caller, and, as things go, a somewhat unusual story was told about this
outstanding turkey hunter.
A “story is told that this man was out hunting turkey one
day, and he was lying down behind a big log, using it for a blind. He started
to call at short intervals, and it wasn’t long before a big gobbler started to
answer. He could hear the big gobbler as he got closer and closer, but he could
not see him because of the log.
“He knew if he raised up to look over the log, the turkey
would see him, so he reached through the hole (under the log) and grabbed. The
man couldn’t pull the turkey under the log through the hole because the turkey
was so big. He didn’t know what to do since he knew he wouldn’t have time to
let loose, grab his gun and shoot the turkey, so he finally decided what to do.
He let loose the gobbler, picked up his call and called the turkey around to
his side of the log and killed him.”
Now I know as well as the rest of you that this tale sounds
a little hard to believe, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not true. After all,
the man in this story was not your average turkey hunter. He was a champion
turkey caller. Of course, if he could call a turkey around a log after grabbing
it through a hole, his calling skills were truly extraordinary.
In the end, I’d like to hear from anyone in the reading
audience who might be able to shed more light on this tale. Who was Bonnie
Dean? Who was the unnamed champion turkey caller in her story? When and exactly
where did this turkey calling incident supposedly happen? Also, let me hear
from you if you have your own tall tale you’d like to share, especially if it
has to do with hunting and fishing.
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