Fall Flight in Alabama
BY LORETTA GILLESPIE
Frosty mornings, the sun a silver-pink ribbon on the horizon, lapping of water against the wooden hull of a small boat, warm flannel and rubber waders; all these evoke the time honored tradition of the first duck hunt of the year.
Daily
On Nov. 25, the first day of duck hunting season, men and boys (and perhaps a few brave women) rose well before the break of day, donned their waders and prepared to spend a day hidden in a duck blind, maybe with a dog. They listened for that familiar call, the one that has haunted this part of the world since the days when Cherokee Indians brought bow and arrows to the water’s edge to test their skill and hunt for food.
Madison’s Vic Daily has spent seventeen years accumulating the history and folk lore of the regions long legacy of waterfowling. Daily’s book, “Fall Flight In Alabama; Waterfowling the Tennessee River Valley” is, according to former Gov. Fob James, “the bible of waterfowling.”
For the historian, as well as the duck hunter, Daily’s book is a must. He chronicles the terrain, civilization, cultivation and the rich heritage of this place we call home. Generations of Alabamians have given Daily their testimony as to how it was to hunt in the days before and after the TVA dammed the Tennessee River.
One such hunter recalled that it was his job to inspect the undersides of the Keller Memorial Bridge and the recently completed Wheeler Dam for bombs after World War II began.
“I was assigned to night duty,” recalled Euel Garrison to Daily. “We used boats and lanterns to inspect the face of the dam and bridge pilings for sabotage bombs. That was hard work on those January nights when the temps were in the single digits with 20 mph winds and three –foot waves.
Wrestling that boat for three of four hours in the rough waters would really wear you out. After a long night of inspection, we would catch three or four hours of sleep, go duck hunting and then go to work.”
Daily’s book hit the shelves last fall, and has done well. He has donated dozens of books to conservation organizations like Ducks Unlimited and Delta Waterfowl.
Area artists’ Dennis Minor and Scott Garmmer provided the artwork. Minor, who is the current Ducks Unlimited International Artist of the Year for the unprecedented second time, did the painting for the cover, while Grammer did the custom artwork for the contents of the book.
“I would encourage anyone who has an interest in writing a book to get started because it will probably take a lot longer than you originally imagined,” laughed Daily. “Fall Flight has been a great experience for me, and an item that I can mark off of my Bucket List.”
Fall Flight in Alabama is beautifully done, and would make a wonderful gift for any hunter. You can find them at Madison Station Antiques, or online at Fallflightinalabama.com/
