EP 169: Jon Nesbitt: The Davy Crockett Hunting Club

Reelfoot Forward

The Davy Crockett Hunting Club is a waterfowl hunting club in Northwest Tennessee. It began in the 1940’s when respected duck hunt guide and chief clerk of Union City’s Davy Crockett Hotel, Ralph Morton, came up with the idea of forming a club for the many hunters that came to the region each year to hunt. The hunting exploits, innumerable anecdotes, tales, accounts, truths and fabrications about the club have become the stuff of Tennessee legend. Morton’s vision and his passion to share the sport of waterfowl hunting with others has evolved into one of the oldest and most respected hunting clubs in the nation. Jon Nesbitt, who began hunting with the club as a young boy, has been researching and writing about the history of the club along with the joys and challenges experienced through the years by those who enjoy the sport in West Tennessee. In this episode, he shares his personal story, a bit more about the club and how he went about gathering memorabilia, research materials and personal stories about the club. In Discovery Park’s new, permanent exhibit, “Duck, Duck, Goose: Waterfowl of the Mississippi Flyway,” discover how a combination of federal land protections and private land conservation unites the government, landowners, hunters, scientists, conservationists and other nature lovers to protect and restore waterfowl populations and the land needed for them to thrive. This episode is sponsored by The Hatchie River Conservancy.