Editor’s note: Former Carroll County Extension Agent Richard Cooper was a longtime columnist with The Conservative as the county agent and later under the header of “Richard’s Rovings.” Recently, his daughter Linda Perkins discovered a box of his columns from the 1950s and 1960s. Seeing the relevance of his words today, The Conservative will reprint portions of his columns as a feature “From the Archives with Mr. Cooper.”
October 13, 1966
As the wise old gander assembles his flock up in Canada at this time of the year, preparing to lead them on their annual flight to wintering grounds in the South, we can imagine what crosses his mind as he gets himself in shape. Many of those that string out in the V behind him will be making their first trip; some have made it several times, but he has honked his way unerringly over this route for many years. Somehow he has escaped the booming guns of men crouched in sand pits and the hungry jaws of the swamp varmints.
The day of departure dawns. Amid much honking and wing-flapping, the old gander gets his flock organized and air-borne, with the prongs of the V, some 40 or more geese long, and him at the point. Several circles are necessary to gain the proper altitude and for him to complete his instructions; then he points his broad bill directly toward his destination.
Several days and nights pass by the time the flock crosses the Tennessee-Mississippi line, and the trip has been routine. “Before long,” honks the gander over his shoulder, “we will be over Carroll County, and I want to point out a few things to you. When I first started these trips, the air was usually filled with smoke, even up here, because the people in the county were known far and wide for burning off their fields and woods. This is not the case now, as they have come to know the evils of this burning and have the forest service to help them keep down fires that may get started.”
By this time they will be over the northern part of the county, and in a pleased voice, the old gander will continue, “All of the pretty green below represents the progress that has been made in re-forestation, pasture improvement, and planting of winter grazing crops. Those small dark specks you see out in the open areas are some of as good cattle as there are in the state. These farmers have learned a lot in recent years, and their standard of living is much higher. All of those modern, comfortable homes were formerly unpainted shacks. That is because people can now secure financing to get this work done.”
Below the scenery has become so pleasant to the eye that the old gander may reduce the beat of his wings and more or less cruise around a little.
“Years ago,” he continues, with a far-away look in his eye, “the only place we could ever spend the night was in some muddy swamp or on a swollen river if there had been a recent rain. Now I wish you would look at all those glittering man-made lakes below! Not only do they make our trip pleasant and offer us accommodations, but they also prevent flooding of the land in seasons of high rainfall, provide water for livestock and wildlife, make irrigation possible in some areas, and allow recreation to be part of the economy of the county.”
An urgent look crosses his face as he steps up the tempo of his wing beats and heads toward the swamps of Louisiana. “I’d like for us to spend the night on No. 6 there, “ he concludes, “but there are still some people around that don’t keep up with the dates for when the hunting seasons begin and end. We’d best get away from them.”
