EP: 452 | The Men Who Raised Us

In this special Father’s Day episode, we share some heartfelt stories about the fathers who shaped our lives. We asked members of the Mossy Oak team to reflect on their dads and the memories that still mean the most to them, and the responses were incredible.

From life lessons learned in the woods to moments that still bring a smile years later, these stories remind us of the lasting impact fathers have on who we become. We enjoyed putting this episode together so much that we plan to make it an annual tradition.

We hope these memories inspire you to reflect on the people who helped shape your own journey. 

Listen, Enjoy, and Happy Father’s Day.

Transcript

SPEAKER_06 0:00

I'm Jeff Foxworthy, and welcome to Gamekeeper Podcast. If you want to learn more about farming for wildlife and habitat management, everybody, you are in the right place. Join the Gamekeeper crew direct from Australia Land Enhancement Studios as they discuss the latest wildlife and habitat management practices. News and of course honey. There's no telling what you'll learn, but I'm going to tell you, I bet it's interesting. Enjoy.

SPEAKER_09 0:26

We're live in three, two, one. All right, guys. Father's Day is a big day. Huge day. I mean, it's look, Mother's Day is super important. Not any, I mean, Mother's Day is we're not saying Father's Day is just as important as Mother's Father's. Absolutely. But we're all fathers. And we've it it's it we've seen and experienced, and it there's so many. Well, we owe so much to our dads. I mean, I'm looking around the room, Dudley. You've you lost yours early uh that had a big impact on your life. Uh Lanny, I've been around, heard you tell stories about your dad, toxic Mr. Fox. Been a tough year for sure, but uh what an impact he had.

SPEAKER_04 1:01

You know, I I've gotten literally a thousand people say, I'm so sorry, and I tell every one of them, do not be sorry. Just be sad, that's fine, but don't be sorry. He lived in 95 and a half.

SPEAKER_09 1:13

He was he was a father he was a father to a lot of people besides me. Aside from our relationship with our heavenly father, being a father, being a dad, that's one of our top callings. Oh, I believe it is my highest.

SPEAKER_04 1:26

For this conversation, Bobby, it occurred to me too that um you know, there's so many gifts that are life outdoors, and it specifically, let's be selfish here. It's hunting and fishing, especially hunting, can give you, and there there's really not quite another sport or pastime or use of your time in life. Is it sway like the dad and the son going hunting together? And I mean, we're all been a you know, hunting and fishing, both uh benefactors of that, and it it has shaped not only who we are, because because it shaped who I am, and then the people that I've bonded with here and the the family we have for 40 years, yeah, it has shaped this brand. You know, because without that relationship, there would be no mossy up.

SPEAKER_09 2:12

About that.

SPEAKER_04 2:13

So it's that important. And so it's just sometimes we're just trying to point out things that you shouldn't take for granted because the more grateful you are, the richer your life is, more than anything that happens. And the more things come to you, uh, and the more good you do, the more fun, you know, whatever. Everything works when you're grateful. And when you start thinking about all those other gifts that the sport and a you know, being raised in a family, in an outdoor family, and that, but and I'm not knocking there's something so special about the dad and the daughter. I have that, Bobby especially. But, you know, the father and the son especially.

SPEAKER_09 2:50

Yeah. Yeah. Well, you know, as fathers, we're we're we we've got we're providers and we're protectors. We we got so many so much responsibility, but raising those kids and pointing them in the right direction, that's that is a well, that's that's a it's a lot to do, and it's heavy, but it but then again, it's just so much fun.

SPEAKER_04 3:08

Y'all heard me say it a hundred times, but someone it's they're they're new and their you know wife's pregnant or you know, she talking to her too in in any way, and then you find out they had the child, and every time y'all heard me say it, I said, now you know why you're actually here. You thought it was your own selfish butt over the time till this, and even maybe your wife, it's it's just as important, but now you know why you're here, and they go, Yeah, I do, you know, because they really get it. Yeah, and it just it's just it's just unbelievable the dimension it brings on in life. And I have to say though when they're grandfather's day too, because the grandkids thing is Bobby's Bobby Nano's, is another entirely different, you know, incredibly rich dimension.

SPEAKER_09 3:55

Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_04 3:56

And then it I don't know what it is. I wish I could put it into words and describe to people. They know it out there. It's like that magic of spending that time with them out in God's creation. And it might just be riding the four-wheeler, it might be fishing, it might be riding around, it might be hiking or climbing or swimming or you know, even on the river with you know, a jet ski or something. It's still participating out there where nature is. And there's just something magic about it. I mean, you just I I know most people listen to this, almost all of them are get it already, but man, we can't spread that to enough people in this world.

SPEAKER_09 4:30

Yeah. I got a few quotes here. Landon, let's see if you can get it. You had some quotes. A father carries pictures where his money used to be. Who said that, you think? I thought I was. Probably called Tim Allen. Before I got married, I had six theories about raising children. Now I have six children and no theories. My father didn't tell me how to live, he lived, and he let me watch him do it. I thought that was strong. That's actually right down the middle. Dad, a son's first hero and a daughter's first love. That's a pretty good one.

SPEAKER_04 5:05

That's a really good one.

SPEAKER_09 5:06

Yep. And the heart of a father is a masterpiece of nature. I thought those were all really good quotes. They are good. They are. Yep. So what I wanted to do today, hopefully we can pull this off, is everybody tell a little bit, some some memory that they might have. And we've got uh we got we got a lot of folks that'll be coming in here and explain this. So this should be good. But this is a tribute to fathers. This is be out on Father's Day weekend, and we just want to make everybody be a little bit reflective and like Toxie said, be have a heart of gratitude. Richie, I'm gonna look at you. Yeah, so you're starting off with me.

SPEAKER_01 5:39

That's great.

SPEAKER_09 5:39

Yeah, grew up over there in Columbus, Mississippi on the spot.

SPEAKER_01 5:44

Yeah, so grew up there. Uh, you know, me and dad, you know, hunting and fishing when we were when I was a kid growing up. Uh, you know, my dad wasn't big into sports, but I was, and but he didn't, you know, he might didn't mind that. You know, he was at every practice, took me everywhere, you know, uh, and he was you know along along for the ride on that. You know, I was in Boy Scouts, he was my scout master. Uh, so that was cool, some cool memories there. And when you talked about when you brought this idea up, I was trying to think of, you know, there's a lot of you know, little memories you remember back in, you know, but when you're kids or growing up, and like, you know, maybe not big huge events and stuff, but there's one particular event where uh I'd say we were when I was, I don't know, 10, something like that, 10, 12, when we were in a hunt club over in North Mississippi, and it was one afternoon we were at the hunt club by ourselves, and I had my 22, and I wanted to do some you know target practice, and we just found these uh um I don't know, this all these jugs laying on you know this on the ground there and what on that. So I went and set them up, right? And they're they were filled with rocks and stuff like that. We're like, what are these for? What anyway? So we like set them out and started shooting them, and I shot them all up and you know, they had you know, just goofing around and whatnot. And next time, next weekend we got to camp, all the other guys were there at camp and they were like, Where'd our uh jugs go that we were gonna use for our deer drive this weekend? Yeah, they got holes in them, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 7:08

Well, they shaking the jugs and making the rocks make noise, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 7:12

Oh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

So but yeah, so yeah, my dad was very important in my life. You know, taught me the importance of a handshake, you know, look looking someone in the eye, we're talking to them. If you borrow something from somebody, you're turning back, you turn it, you know, same condition or better. And you know, my dad, yeah, uh perseverance is you know one of a big word I feel to describe, you know. So, but yeah, you know, hopefully I can you know try to pass it on to my kids. I try. Uh there's sometimes when I was a kid too, I feel like I took it for granted. Oh yeah. I think everybody, you know, it might have been a little moment, but but still taking it for granted and you know, and you know, maybe looking back on that, which I didn't, but I I enjoy the memories now. You know, I'd really you know, we'll we'll go fly fishing up in Montana or you know, go on an elk hunt. You know, I I got an elk 10 years ago and it was with him on horseback. No, wow. So it was it was a great memory, you know. So but uh but yeah, there we go. Well, I'll say this, Richie.

SPEAKER_09 8:06

Uh I met your dad. Yep, and uh I I think he and your mother they did a great job with you. You turned out really well.

SPEAKER_08 8:15

I like trying to talk about Richie. Totally redeemed yourself. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 8:21

They do they did. They did. All right, Dud. I know that this may be tough.

SPEAKER_08 8:26

I just no, it's gonna be tough.

SPEAKER_02 8:29

Um, so I had a cool dad, his name was Dudley. Um, he was granddaddy Dud. He was Uncle Dud. Uh he was Uncle Dud, even though he wasn't biologically an uncle. Um let's see, where do I go here? Um, I just remember growing up always really, really looking up to him. If he would ask me to do something, I would just hustle and do it. Uh, I just I wanted to please him, you know. Um, but from a young age, uh I just went everywhere with him and he really, really didn't ever say no, you know, unless it was like a dad's trip or something. Now, sports on the other hand, you know, I'm I'm glad your dad was so supportive of sports. But uh Big Dud was uh, you know, what just I I felt so sorry for him with spring soccer season, you know, uh because uh he went turkey hunting every single weekend. Um in fact there's a couple pictures. Uh one of my one of my pictures during soccer season, uh I had face paint on on my face with the with the green picture. That's straight from the field. That's cool. That's very you know, and and I think what really did him in was uh he volunteered to be the commissioner uh during uh one of my little league seasons, and uh that just that just put him over the top. He just couldn't handle it anymore. But uh anyway, uh thankfully I kind of grew out of sports too because I liked hunting and fishing so much, and I just love following him around. Uh he never got cold. Uh he probably didn't do everything right, you know. He would take me on the really cold mornings, uh, he would take me duck hunting when there weren't any ducks out. Gosh, the the times we went quail hunting and never even flushed a quail, but I was still there just following him. You know, I remember stepping in his footsteps. Um we've talked about that a lot. He would take those big long steps and I would try to reach it and step in his footprints. Um I don't know. But uh so uh when he was in Vietnam, he got a virus uh and it almost killed him. And uh ever since then, um, I just remember he went to the doctor a lot and uh he would get these things put on his chest and they would record his heart rate, and uh he tried to kind of hide it from us. That he knew it was worse than what he was kind of leading us to believe. Um and uh, you know, I didn't know this, but he wasn't supposed to pick up heavy stuff, um, and he did it just all the time. Uh um at a once he got a little older, um, and his job allowed him to take Wednesdays off. And uh so he would go to the farm and work on Wednesdays, and I'd have to be at school, but uh he would get off early on Fridays and go work at the farm, and I would go with him and stay, and he would be off on the tractor and just let me just kind of roam the place, and it was awesome. Um took me turkey hunting, deer hunting, uh, took a lot of my friends hunting, uh and uh, you know, a couple of my buddies, you know, he was like their father figure and and took them on their first hunts and first deer, first turkey with a couple of my other buddies. Um and then uh one day uh when I was 17 years old, I was sitting up in my room, probably supposed to be doing some homework. Um, and uh he knocked on my door and um he um came in, uh gave me a key to the tractor. And uh, you know, it's like I want you to have this, I had it made for you. Um, I've taught you how to do all of this stuff at the farm, you know how to drive the tractor. Uh I feel comfortable with you being on it by yourself. Um, you know, uh, you know how to check, you know, turn the water off and drain the water. Uh you know, uh taught you how to use the box blade for the roads. Um and uh I want you to have this. So the couple summers before he was going up there in the heat of the summer building all these shooting houses. Um, a couple of them are still there to this day, uh, you know, 30 something years later. Um and uh he handed me the design work on how to make those. Wow. And he also handed me a um a sheet from all of his turkey and deer hunts he had kept up over the years of every turkey and deer he had harvested. Um and he was you know, he just said, I'm proud of you, son. You've learned how to do all of this, and uh, you know, maybe someday you'll be doing it by yourself. I really didn't know what to think about that, but um the next day we traveled to Oxford, Mississippi, and he had a heart attack and died uh in the grove at an old Miss football game. Oh my gosh. And uh so he knew, you know, he knew what was coming, and uh he was just the greatest dad ever. Of course, a lot of people will say that about their dad too, and I'm sure that's true. But um anyway, he um I didn't know that he kind of had that agenda for me going. Um and uh so he taught me well, and I'm really happy. I wouldn't uh I'm sure I miss him to this day. Think about him every day. Um his friends call me and tell me how much they miss him. Um, and one, you know, it was a tough experience. Uh it was traumatic, you know, losing your best friend at such a young age. But, you know, all of his best friends took me under their wing. Um one of them gave me a membership to their duck camp, and um I was going up there all the time, and so I had all these new dads. And uh, and so I don't know. It that's just part of God's plan. And I'm I'm happy all that in a in a weird way, I'm I'm happy all that happened. I have all these new cool dads now, and I know my dad's in heaven, and he's he's proud of me. I'm you know, working in the hunting industry. I I kind of wish he, you know, was here to see all of that, but um, you know, I'm I'm thankful for what I had. A lot of people didn't there's people that didn't have a good dad, and their dad may still be alive, and uh you know it's never too late. No, and I'm just so thankful that I had those 17 years with him, you know. And um, you know, I'm thankful that I didn't develop his heart condition, you know. Um he died when he was 43, and I'm I'm now 50, and I've got an awesome family. Wow, I've got my own little Dud. I've I've got my own Kate in Belmont and uh a beautiful wife Kelly, and um I've got an awesome stepdad Ronnie. And so uh life goes on, and um I'm just I'm trying to be as much like my dad and stepdad as I can be. Um, I don't think I'll ever be able to get to that level, but um I'm gonna try.

SPEAKER_04 15:47

He'd probably want you to be your own, he'd he'd love that he's the example for you, but I bet he'd want you to just be your own man too. Right. Yeah. I know this, I know so much about him from listening to you, and I know people that knew him too. I guarantee you he is so proud of exactly where you are and what you're the the influence you're able to have with people about the things that I mean, you know. Because he gave you I mean, you had it, I mean you're part your mom too, but he he gave you a gift for that because you can see when it's not something in your wheelhouse and you won't, you know, you just don't show any interest or whatever, or not even the aptitude, and it gets in your wheelhouse he gave you, and you're no I'm not trying to say this to blow smoke. You're basically a genius about it. You know, because you know you know that. But it's such a cool gift he gave you from all those years of bringing you up. And I mean that gets me over to thinking about I think the best thing might and I say it all the time, not thinking about it until you ask me to put me on the spot what to talk about in a little bit, is like he's and then the most important thing they did was set the well first most important thing is truly as much as possible unconditionally love you. That's the number one thing, no matter what. And and you know, but but um setting the example and you know, this example is just who they are, they're not trying to be an example to do that for you, they're an example just being who they are, and that's 24-7, and however long you have with them, it's indelible. And so that's the thing I think about mine. He was such a good example for so many people, right? Similar to Dudley, I know from talking to people, your dad was known as a such an avid outdoorsman and a great hunter, he really was, and so my dad obviously was also Yeah, and it makes you want to be a good woodsman, yeah. Even at, you know, and he he never preached about anything, but he would just dislike the way he went through, you know. And my rite of passage, I wouldn't trade it for anything. My rite of passage and hunting was squirrel hunting with him. You know, and he's got a 22. Now I had a shotgun, but he had that 22. And so, you know, there's a lot of stealth and woodsmanship involved. You just don't trump through the woods till you flush one and shoot at them. And uh I I I praise God every day that I was raised that way. That was years and years of that before I ever got to go deer hunting, you know, and then right after that was Turkey Hun. And it it's kind of ingrained it in me. I mean, I guarantee you that's part of what made you love trees.

unknown 18:16

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:17

Like you do and be obsessed with it, and then become a genius at it.

SPEAKER_02 18:20

Lots of squirrel hunting.

SPEAKER_04 18:21

And then the tuberculosis thing, people out there might not know that he had tuberculosis and was left for dead, basically. He was flat on his back, unable to do anything for 24 months straight. And then he recovered some and then had a relapse, and they thought for sure he was done. Then it was another 12 months flat on his back. And so, I mean, he's always one thing he has been famous for is his patience. And he needed it with me. But uh he is just the patience of Joe. But I mean, you know, I realized going through that one, he was already a patient person, but it really ingrained in him. Uh, and actually they gave as a Hail Mary gave him an ex- They took out two-thirds of one of his lungs, so only had a third of his lung all these years, one side, and they gave him an experimental drug just as a Hail Mary, and it turned out to be the one that would actually cure it.

SPEAKER_03 19:14

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 19:14

Gave him way too much. But I mean, so he's a miracle to have ever been here to start with, which is me being a miracle. And it's I as we talk about, you know, you gotta count your blessings, what could have happened, and you wouldn't have never had your dad at all. Oh, yeah, we talk about it all the time. So, yeah, so however many years you have for your dad, cherish them. Just cherish them. Absolutely. And uh the the the longer, you know, I became the dad, he became the child when he started getting a lot older, and then we were really, you know, and they documented it's really cool how they filmed some of it, just taking them hunting and getting them out and stuff. But um, but the last thing when it was evident he was going down pretty bad. I didn't know quite how bad at the time, and maybe a week or two before we lost him. Week, a little over a week, and he was having trouble even talking and stuff, and he looked at me and his hands were shaking like this, and he had them. I'm holding my hands about in front of my shoulders a foot or so, and they were just shaking. He talked to me and I said, Daddy, you okay? He said, Son, what is it, Daddy? He said, I want you to know I love you so much. That so was so long. Oh my gosh. I was like, that sums up the gift of that relationship right there. And so much that I know that so much, and I never even had anything he ever did other than when he reprimanded me for stuff I needed it real bad. Ever let me doubt that love. So, I mean, it's just helping me be so secure in things. Y'all know me, I'm not a big worrier. I may worry you to death trying to get something done, but I'm not a worrier at all. And so I just didn't have any insecurities from that, you know. Yeah, what a what a great example. Oh my gosh, you know, it just hopefully more and more, you know, there's a lot more stuff going, even in his death, tributes coming out and things we're doing and whatever, but just telling his story, getting his way of and and again, it was just by he wasn't the last thing he was was flashy and emphatic and like uh charismatic or you know, salesman-like at all. He was actually the opposite of that, but he did everything by the example.

SPEAKER_02 21:24

One thing I think about him is he he treated everybody like they were very important, he could care less if you were a king.

SPEAKER_04 21:31

Now, it could have slanted the needle if he knew you had a lot of turkeys and you might let him have. But other than that, Dudley's right. He would he treated that's what I kind of started to try to see. You said it better. He he cared about everybody. And I'll tell you what else he helped me to do when I would get advice about all this stuff. And he would his grand, my grandmother was famous for that. They said it at her funeral, and the preacher said, I've never known anybody like Miss Maureen that could find the Good in everybody out there. And I thought, what a cool way to be if I could. And I noticed that that's the way Daddy was. Yeah. He could find the good. I mean, if someone had done something to be reprimanded inside the business, he was like, son, you know, um, instead of uh talking to you might ought to just have a kind word and set an example for him and a little pat on the ass, and you know, it might go a lot further than just chewing someone out, you know. He's right. Likely it did. Yeah. So anyway, that's that's woven itself into the fabric. Everything goes on with this brand. And uh, I don't know. There's I I can't even I say grateful so much. I don't know if I can even there's a strong enough word for oh yeah. Oh, the glory to God, that's all I can say. That's right.

SPEAKER_09 22:48

What a great example. It's it's it's uh oh, it's amazing. Yeah. So Lanham, we'll look at you. I'm gonna look at you, Bobby. I'm going last. Okay. Well, not we got a lot of other people that are there coming. Well, okay, we're going last today.

SPEAKER_04 22:59

Yeah, we want to hear from as many as we can here.

SPEAKER_09 23:02

So, yeah, so you know, grew up in uh over in Montgomery, and my dad was from a little place, a little community called Tallacey, and it was on the Tallapoosa River. He grew his my grandfather worked for the Alabama Power Company, and my they lived at this uh it was called uh Thurlow Dam. And there were three little three sections of the Talapusa that it were were dammed up with Martin Dam, Thurlow, and Yates, and they lived on what was called the middle pond, and he loved to fish. They would fit they would row a boat miles up and down this river fishing. And so when I got I mean, I just my earliest memories were going fishing with him, getting up in the dark, buying crickets, going to the bait shop and looking at the count and minnows and just all that is just I mean, I just have all kinds of memories of that and being in the boat and eating things that you would never eat except on the bar, you know, and you'd stay all day long. But we never, I mean, we always caught a lot of fish, but he never caught any big fish. Whenever, you know, on the river, you just occasionally you would catch a three or four pounder, but that would that would they kind of topped out at that. And and we we were just trying to catch fish, not targeting stuff. But as I grew up, I never ever ever remember saying, Hey, let's go fishing this weekend, that he didn't take me fishing that weekend.

SPEAKER_04 24:23

I mean, there's always a lot of common a lot of commonality in what we both said too that move heaven and earth to to go do and be together and whatnot.

SPEAKER_09 24:33

But so as you know, life moves on and uh everybody gets busy and stuff. I move over here and I I may have told the story one time, but it was just such a cool story to me. But um I was working here at Mallsheck and it was at a show in Birmingham, and it was in July, hot, just I mean it's like it is right now, and uh and Dan Moultrie gave me a key and said, Go, don't you go fishing in my place because I mentioned I wanted to take my dad someplace. So uh dad was retired and he met me and uh we went and and fished, and it was like the most magical day. We caught about 20 fish over five pounds, all of them on top water. I mean, some of them pushed in eight pounds. It was just it was the time of his life. And I can still remember there's some pictures in my office now. I I know what picture you're talking about of uh of that day, and it I've never experienced another day like it. And just how everything just lined up that day and and worked, and I I still cherish that you know the memory of that. But but uh, you know, as looking back on the things that I know he had to do to be able to have a little boat for us to go and uh the it's the trouble that it is to have all that kind of stuff, and but to but to make a way and always have have the make an opportunity to go do, I recognize that now and certainly appreciate it more than I did then. It's uh being a dad is just there's a lot of sacrifice, and you don't realize it until you get to that position.

SPEAKER_08 26:04

Oh, and when you're dad, you're not sacrificing, it's what you you know, it's what you wanted.

SPEAKER_04 26:07

But he didn't he did that exactly. I wrote the word sacrifice, I didn't say it a minute ago, but it wasn't sacrifice to him is what he that's just him being him. Yeah, he he could have done it any other way than just be submissive to what your needs are, you know.

SPEAKER_09 26:23

Yeah, so I I had it good. I don't have anything to complain about. I I had a great example as well, and uh he was a very he was a deacon in the church and he set up set a great example there of how a man's supposed to live. And so, yeah, I had it, I had it good. What about you, Laney?

SPEAKER_08 26:41

Well, uh like Richie, I'm blessed to still have my my dad. He's you know right across the street from me. He has been uh a huge, huge part of my life, you know, uh since a very early age.

SPEAKER_07 26:54

All the way back, all the way back.

SPEAKER_08 26:57

Always remember it. He has, and like y'all, you know, um he actually um one of the things I I do remember he was in the um heavy equipment business when I was was young uh and he got offered a uh uh uh a big corporate job um and he was he had to move to Memphis, Tennessee, you know, and uh it was huge for him because it was a position that he had been you know working to get and uh was flattered to be offered by it. Um and then when they said he had to live in live in Memphis, he said, uh, no, I'm not gonna live there. You know, that's not where you know I'm gonna raise my kids. Uh just didn't so uh he he actually would travel from Tupelo uh to Memphis every week. So he was gone during the week a lot, like y'all are talking about. But on the weekends, you know, when he came home, it was it was outdoor time, no matter what it was, where whether they were grabbling or fishing or or hunting or camping or or anything. Uh, you know, he was he was always front and center, uh, ready to go. And, you know, still to this day, just excited to to get out and do anything outdoors. You know, I think about um more than anything, all the lessons, you know, that that he taught me through being, you know, outdoors. Um my I tell uh one of the funniest ones is, you know, learned out about the birds and the bees because of the deer rut. You know, I'm like, why is that why is he chasing her? You know, what are they doing, you know, uh, and those kind of things. And not only those lessons, but more than anything, spiritual lessons, lessons in faith. Um, he is always sure to ground me and and you know, be sure to know that I was in uh very blessed to be where I was and in God's creation uh and taught me um always to respect that uh that that uh more than anything. So um, you know, uh that's huge. Obviously, the lessons he taught me and the time that he spent uh that he still spends with me. Uh still get to check in with him, you know, all the time. He's not near as active as he used to be, but he listens to the podcast, you know, each week and comments on it and calls me and uh talks about it. So I'm I'm very blessed to have him and and you know, and and he's taught me what to do with my voice, you know. Uh so uh no matter what it is, you know, I've got one that really loves anything hunting, fishing outside, and I've got another one that still loves outside, but might not be, you know, loves the camping and the hiking and uh looking at plants aspect of it. So uh it it really is. I just try to um, you know, use what he taught me to um more than anything spend quality time with them, let them know that that I love them, and then you know, ensure that instill those enduring qualities, you know, that are so important to us here, uh, which are you know faith family and and outdoors. So um, you know, uh there you go. Yeah, he's a larger than life character. He is a large knife character. Very much. Yep. Very large in life. He was the one of the uh first people in North Mississippi to kill a white-tailed deer. Um, you know, and we still have it. I need to bring it up here, you know, that old Muley right there. But uh so he was a uh early on celebrated deer hunter. Um so it's it's really ingrained, you know, in my family, in my culture, uh uh of everything. His proudest moment is when my kids started deer hunting, you know, and he'll get his camera, you know, three generations of deer hunters, here we go, you know. So is he still stockpiling ammo and all that kind of stuff? Oh, yeah, no, he's a prepper. He's a you know, he was uh, you know, interesting enough, when we um after I uh went into college and actually came here, he turned into a mountaineer. Uh he went to climbing mountains and climbed, I don't know how many of uh three or four of the magnificent peaks. Uh and he's always been a huge outdoor adventurer. Um and he instilled that, you know, in me too. I probably might be a little bit more of a homeboy than than he is, honestly. And and more than anything, too, he instilled the about taking care of things for the future for me. Just like, you know, uh you're gonna be able to do that. It's interesting.

SPEAKER_04 31:06

He really didn't know Deddy that terribly much, but he didn't a little bit. But they served on that waterway board together and they were so drawn to each other.

SPEAKER_08 31:14

Two P's in a big thing.

SPEAKER_04 31:15

And it wasn't like, yeah, it was like you want to something comes up that's important, that's who we talked to. They were saying Deddy, I mean, he was he was a giant Steve fan. Big Steve.

SPEAKER_08 31:25

Big Steve, big Steve.

SPEAKER_04 31:26

He was a giant big Steve fan after they spent that time together. I thought it was so cool. And there's because there's I mean, they're not necessarily similar in appearance or you know, whatever, talking and stuff too, but it in their the way they're made, they were very similar. So they were drawn to each other. Yeah, and I was I thought that was so cool because there was a chemistry there just like it is here.

SPEAKER_08 31:47

Yeah, he uh yes, they remind me of each other. There's no doubt about it.

SPEAKER_04 31:51

Big Steve Wallace. Yeah, like yeah. The thing about daddy that I didn't mention, I'll be guaranteed Big Steve is because he you know he seems like such a kind, quiet kind of guy, but when he drew a line. Don't cross it. And he never, I mean, the thing about it, he never drew many. Yeah, but let me tell you something. If he drew a line, you better not buck him. You better not cross him.

SPEAKER_08 32:17

Now he still he still draws those lines. He'll look at me and I say, okay, wait, wait.

SPEAKER_04 32:22

Listening to Lanny's stories, I'd there be similar on that.

SPEAKER_09 32:26

Well, guys, why don't we listen to some more stories? We got some other folks lined up, and then we'll come back and close this thing. This has been good. We've got uh Carcy Young. Carsi was uh one of the first employees at Mossy Oak. He's been around a long time. He's uh we all love Carcy and can't wait to hear hear his story.

SPEAKER_05 32:46

My dad started taking me hunting. Uh he didn't have a bird dog, so I would I was the next best thing. Picking up doves uh with him when I was I guess six or seven. And along about eight, I probably got to start going and sitting with him uh carrying a single shot 410 and he would try to help me with that knowing where to shoot and everything, and he uh he really helped my shooting because I'm I'm left-handed but I'm right eye dominant. So I tried to shoot left-handed and I couldn't hit anything. And finally he figured out that I was I think it's called cross-eyed dominant and uh shooting right-handed and my shooting improved um substantially then. And we h dove hunted together and I don't know, along about ten he started taking me duck hunting. He was he loved duck hunting. His nickname was Big Duck. And uh you know, getting up three o'clock, three thirty in the morning, and he'd usually have a friend come over and they'd cook breakfast in the kitchen and we'd get in in he his old Jeep and drive what seemed like forever and get out and walk walk through through the w muddy water and um but getting to getting to watch the world wake up in a duck blind with your dad uh is pretty special. And we had a lot of mornings like that and I don't know what what I'd give to have one more with him. It's just magical being in the outdoors with him. He wasn't a deer hunter, but we we squirrel hunted a lot together and later on uh after we had turkeys here, we turkey hunted together a little bit. Uh he was more of a uh set a decoy out and sit and wait on one to come than I was. I was a little more cut and run kind. But we we did turkey hunt together some and um wouldn't trade it for the world. Uh squirrel hunting. He had a when I was I don't know nine, ten, eleven, twelve through there, we had a squirrel dog named Tiger, and we would squirrel hunt in October a lot of times, and it would be my dad and Mr. Fox and uh Mr. John C. Jameson and the men would carry rifles. And that would be uh me and Toxie and the two Jamesons, Sonny and Brian, we would carry shotguns. So the dog would tree and the men, you know, we'd kind of surround the tree and start looking, and one of the men would almost always find the squirrel first and shoot up there to make the squirrel move. And when he did, everybody would open up. It sounded like a small war. But I have a lot of fond memories of walking through the woods, uh woods with uh Toxie and Sonny and Brian and our dads. That was that was real special too.

SPEAKER_09 36:42

All right, next up we've got uh Jess Rayleigh. Jess started here as a young man, he's been here quite a while himself. Uh he's a lot of fun. He's a great dad to his two sons, and I can't wait to hear Jess's story. I've actually got two stories.

SPEAKER_03 36:56

One of my favorites is uh my grandpa. We were going, I was young, I was I don't know, I couldn't have been more than eight or nine, and he had this little skiff, and you know, we grew up on the coast, so we weren't around a whole lot of woods down there, so we mainly fished, you know, saltwater fish. Uh never really got into bass fishing until I came up to North Mississippi and and started fishing with you know some of the folks around Mossy Oak here. But uh the the one of the the more rememberable stories, more memorable stories was uh we were going, I was living at with or staying at my mom's for one weekend, and my grandpa came over that night and he was like, We're gonna go fishing in the morning, let's you know, be over here around 7.38, I'll come get you up and I'll have the boat ready, we'll go. And uh we got up, went out there, went to um, got in a truck, had old suburban, one of those old like 79 big body suburbans with a boat hooked to it, had it all loaded up, got in the truck, left, went to Hardy's, got a biscuit, and get out on the boat, and we go and we were we were going to catch um a lot of fun, especially if you're a little kid, but white trout and grandmother, and we were hammering them, loading, just absolutely loaded the boat up. I don't know, probably caught 50 or 60 of them, just old dead shrimp, sling it out there, let them bite, pull them in sometimes one or you know, two at a time. And I was like, Papa, I know we had breakfast this morning. What uh what are we gonna eat for lunch? He's like, Oh, don't worry about that. Let's keep fishing, we'll we'll eat lunch later. I got something planned. And uh so we go on, keep loading, keep catching, putting them in putting them in the boat, and finally, I don't know, it got to be 10 or 11 o'clock, and I was like, Papa, I'm I'm getting pretty hungry, and the bite had slowed down a little bit already, and I was uh you know, kind of thinking, oh, we're gonna go in. He's like, I got something special for us. Uh pull up the anchor and and motor over to a different spot. And I had been looking, but he had brought his oyster tongs. And for anybody that doesn't know who oyster what oyster tongs are, these big long, basically a rake at the bottom, but they're like, you know, 15, 16 feet, 18 feet long, uh, two rakes that that are joined at the middle, and you and you shimmy them down and you and you get oysters off the bottom. Well, I'd never done this. Like I said, I was just a little boy, eight or nine, and um pull up, throw the anchor down, and he starts putting these oyster rakes in the bottom, gets down there, shuffles them down, gets them up, and pulls up, you know, I don't know, five, ten, fifteen oysters. And uh he's like, all right, we're gonna here's lunch. And I'm like, what the hell? Again, you know, young man, and it's like these rocks come off the bottom. And I've been around oysters before and really wasn't too fond of them, especially at that age, eating them raw. And he brings, I was like, he's like, We're gonna we're gonna eat these. And I was like, uh, he pulls out a you know a pack of white crackers and a bottle of crystal hot sauce and um an oyster knife and starts opening them right there on the boat, shucking them out, and hands me one. He's like, Here, here's your lunch. And at that point, I'm like, whatever. So uh yeah, we we went out, hammered a bunch of little you know, white trout and ground mullet, and and ate oysters on the boat, and that was uh that was you know one of the better days, more memorable days that that I've had on the water, and it was it was with him. Yeah, so for the next one, one of my favorite stories, it wasn't with a dad or grandpa or uncle or anything with that, but it was it was with Bobby, Cole, called him Uncle Bob anyway. We uh I was new to North Mississippi. I'd been you know up here at Mississippi State for a while and started working at Mossy Oak, and he had knew that I liked to fish. He was like, Jess, come on, one day we're gonna go fishing. Or, you know, I'll take you fishing. I got a good spot with some big fish. And I, you know, didn't grow up bass fishing because we were you know saltwater and that's just kind of what you did, but um didn't have a really a reason to go bass fishing that much. Um so but Bobby's like, Well, I got a spot, a real good spot. And I had been, you know, bass fishing up here with Tim and some other folks out at Gin Lakes and Starville and out at the ballpark here, and we always kept Toxie was like, hey, every bass under two pounds or or you know, two and a half pounds, keep them. Y'all eat them, do whatever you want with them. You know, Bobby's talking about going to catch some big fish. I'm thinking, you know, if we can fill the freezer. And uh we get out there and he uh on the boat, meet him that morning. He's got this, you know, this special leg with big bass. I'm thinking, oh, we're about to we're about to do it up. Out, trolling around, and Bobby hooks into the first bass, and it's a good one, I don't know, four or five pounds. And uh he pulls it up, gets it in the boat, hands me his blackberry at the time. That's how long ago it was, 2008 or nine, and uh hands me his blackberry, he's like, take my picture with it, and he's holding it up and he's showing it off, and this and that. And I take his picture and I was like, Well, where's the ice chest? He's like, he kind of looks at me funny, and uh and then like slips the bass back in the water and it swims off. And I'm like, Bobby, and he's like, What? He's like he said it swam off good. She's she's gonna be all right, she's fine. I'm like, Yeah, that's kind of the problem. He's like, What are you talking about? I was like, we're not keeping these. He's like, no, these little redneck, we're not we're letting all these go. Uh anyway, and that's when I learned that uh letting the big bass go is the thing to do in some of those private ponds because we were always keeping the little ones, and I genuinely had no idea. But uh yeah, shout out to Bobby for taking me bass fishing and catching bigger bass for the first time. It's a good day.

SPEAKER_09 42:31

Next up is David Hawley, who's uh boy, yeah, I tell you what, he's an avid turkey hunter. Uh got indoctrinated into hunting at a young age with his dad, Chris, and uh this ought to be a good story.

SPEAKER_10 42:46

You know, when I think about hunting with my dad and all the memories we've shared, it's really hard to single out just one story or just one memory because we've just had so many. Told someone the other day that I think of all the mornings that I've broken daylight in the spring, um, and I've been blessed to break a lot over my 32 years now turkey hunting. I think I've been with my dad on 50% of those mornings. And so that's something I really, you know, don't take for granted because I've had a lot of friends that, you know, their dads, um, they lost their dads early on in age, and you know, or either their dads didn't hunt or things like that. And so I'm just very blessed to be able to do that with my dad, in addition to living, you know, right across the pasture from from my mom and dad, and you know, all that we're able to do at work and things like that. But, you know, of all the lessons that I learned from dad about hunting and about life, I think the thing that really, the two things that really stick out are first of all, you know, he told me to never compromise um my integrity, you know, to harvest a turkey or harvest a deer or whatever it may be. Uh you never want an asterisk by your name. You never want someone to say, well, you know, he's really good at Hunting turkeys, but um, you know, he didn't do it the right way. And so um that's something he really stressed at an early age. And then the second thing, and this is probably the most important, you know, he made it clear to us that you know turkeys are our passion, but it's not our purpose in life. You know, hunting is our passion, but it's not our purpose in life. Um, you know, it's God, it's family, it's the land that we're being blessed with to take care of. Um turkeys and deer and all the things that we love to do, the pursuits we love to do, you know, that's our passion, but that connects us to our purpose, but it's not our purpose. And so it's really important that I pass that down to my kids too, that you know, these things that we enjoy, we enjoy them together, and we're never going to um let it cloud our judgment. So, Dad, I just I love you and I'm grateful for everything that you have taught me and uh all the lessons you've given us, and just pray that we have many more day breaks together and sharing the the uh wonderful memories in God's great outdoors.

SPEAKER_09 45:01

This next story is going to be really special. We've got Sarah Francis Hayes Stubbs. She has been immersed in Moss Yoke as long as anybody. It's great to get a female perspective on things, and uh Toxie ought to really enjoy this one.

SPEAKER_00 45:15

When I think back on growing up uh and hunting with my dad and and being in this whole outdoor world, it's um mostly I think about my first time killing a deer. Um I was about eight years old and it was Christmas Day, and dad and I went and I killed my first deer with him, and it was so much fun, and it's such a fun memory. And then every year after that we went on Christmas afternoon, that was our thing. Um, every year we'd go try to get a deer, and uh, I never um took that for granted that that was like our special time, just me and him, no one else was there. Um, didn't want anyone else to go. I just wanted it to be me and dad, and um, that's such a special memory for me. And then when it killed my first turkey, it was kind of the same thing. It was just the two of us. Um, we he roosted it, went out and roost saw the turkey roost the night before, went to that spot, it flew down, it was like the perfect hunt. Um, and I could just I could hear his heart beating so fast. He was so nervous, making me even more nervous than I was. And um, and I got the turkey and he was so excited, and then we walked around for hours looking for one for him, and he got one too. And that's such a special memory, too, is my first turkey with him. And and then recently he went for Evie's first turkey, and that was so cool to see him as a grandfather now, um, and how excited he was, and kind of reliving my first turkey with him through Evie killing one now and seeing it through like a mother's eyes watching was really special. And there's a video of him just absolutely overjoyed running through the woods towards Evie after she gets her turkey, and it is just one of the coolest videos, and um it's just you know, one of those things that I will cherish forever growing up and hunting with dad and having that special time with him and watching him get doing that with my girls now is just so special.

SPEAKER_09 47:12

Those are some great stories and some great people, and it it's uh boy, it's uh you know, it when everybody starts talking about their dad, the father, how much it means to them, it's just it's so special. And we didn't get to have everybody coming on here.

SPEAKER_08 47:28

No, and we'll and we'll get to some more folks, but uh these are some special stories. Yeah, very special. You know, it's being you know, somebody somebody has to introduce you to the outdoors, you know, and um you know, if it if it was your father, you're you're very fortunate. And if you got introduced in any other way, it's it's fortunate too, but it's a really special uh thing, you know, the time you get to spend, you know, with your dad, with your father, the lessons you learn, you know, uh just every bit, it really defines you. Um define me as a person growing up.

SPEAKER_04 48:00

So special stuff. It does. It it kind of, you know, first of all, it it is literally all these things and our jobs that are so important. It literally is right there, tied through the top of being a great husband, hopefully. Yes, it's uh being a father is is baby job one of all. And and it also reminded me when you talked about the the whole, you know, us living this outdoor life and and uh you know, trying to inspire and help people understand how important it is to having your best life. Um, that you know, we should be acting as fathers with our relationship to the outdoors because, like you said, it takes someone to mentor and take and introduce you. So even if someone doesn't have a lot of people that are tremendously like outdoors people didn't get taken by their dad necessarily, it was someone else that had a mentor. So that person's acting as a father for that outdoors, too. And so I guess the point of that is that the fatherhood in many, many forms in our life are so important, and we do take that responsibility as our top here at Mossy Oak. And uh it's a reverent kind of thing, you know. I think about mine, and I know how he just being his old simple self inspired so many people, but he was my daddy, you know. Yeah, and so um it it it took many more forms than just him being my actual, you know, paternal father and whatnot. Um and so I mean he he set that he set the example more than me or anybody here about being a daddy to people. He did being a father, he sure did, yeah.

SPEAKER_09 49:39

Yep, yeah, you know, and the whole father thing, you know, guys, if you've still got your dad, oh my gosh, don't take it for granted. Cherish every day. Call him if you can't when you can, talk to him when you can, and and and the same for with mothers as well. But uh and it even I'm even reminded of our through all this, I mean, how much we love our children, how much as a father we love them. But our I think about our heavenly father and the adult. He must be you know, so it just it's it's uh it's a it's a really tight circle. And when you just kind of sit back and think about love and fathers, it's uh it's boy, it's something special.

SPEAKER_04 50:19

Well, you know, and not to get too preachy, but uh there's a lot wrong with the world today because of lack of fatherhood. That's right. In all kind of different forms, and so I think it just points out that you know for us to help people understand, you're just missing one of the most um fulfilling. I mean, if you want to you got so much time on earth you're gone in a blink when you want to be stuff that's fulfilling to you. There is almost nothing um you know, here on earth like being a good father, and not just the father to your own children, but you know, having that fatherly um towards others, you know, which is like caring for people and looking out for people, and you know, there's a whole kind of spiritual mentality about being a good father. So I mean, I guess our point is hopefully, you know, our position is with the outdoors and caring for the earth, but also that being a good father and father figure too. Because if you're not and you're hearing this, you're missing out on the most re almost most rewarding things you can have in life.

SPEAKER_07 51:31

So please, yes, uh, let's all strive.

SPEAKER_04 51:34

And you know, and the good thing about I I I cherish so much, I'm so grateful, or I'm so surrounded by great people and great fathers here within the confines of this Mossy Oak brand that it is, you know. I I think they talk about me being inspired. Let me tell you, I get all my inspiration from the rest of y'all, like you can't imagine. So thank you for that. On Father's Day, I want to say I'm grateful to everybody out there.

SPEAKER_09 51:56

Yeah. Well, I tell you what, guys, y'all enjoy Father's Day.

SPEAKER_04 52:00

Yeah, I will. It's gonna be my first one without him. Yeah, yeah. What do you think about you? But I'll be um that just makes me more grateful for the blessing I had 95 and a half years. That's right.

SPEAKER_09 52:09

That's a good thing you you you got the right attitude. Oh man. Won't you say goodbye, Lanny? Goodbye, Lanny. Get us out of here, Richie. Out of way, Bobby.

SPEAKER_06 52:18

Thanks for tuning in to this week's episode of the Game Keeper Podcast. And be sure to tune in again. Subscribe to Game Keeper Farming for Wildlife magazine, and don't miss the Mafio Properties Fitz Full of Dirt podcast with my good buddy Ronnie Guster.