small tales: from the boys of Ducktown by Kathy White Casey A collection of small tales which grew from the families, neighbors and surrounding communites of Ducktown. This humor filled collection will enchant and refresh anyone seeking to "set a spell" and listen to the tales which were told from the boys of Ducktown. Comments about small tales: from the boys of Ducktown: -Those Ducktown Boys sound like Little Rascals to me.... -I enjoyed going back to the "good old days".... -I had such pleasant memories of growing up in Ducktown.... -I read the first third of the book and loved it. Please send another copy for my father.... Cost: $10 (This includes all shipping and handling charges) All orders are prepaid to: Kathy White Casey for correspondence and addresses regarding small tales or Ducktown and Amite County email us at: kathy.casey@us.army.mil |
The winter afternoon sunshine plays across the fields of Ducktown, leaving them embraced with the sweet flavor of remembrance. |
Where is Ducktown? Ducktown is a beautiful place of endless barefoot summers, where the catfish love to roam the swift currents of the west fork of the lovely Amite River and where boys can enjoy themselves after a hard day of work in the fields with a big watermelon and a joke or two. Ducktown is located in the southwest corner of Amite County, Mississippi. The name Ducktown cannot be located on an ordinary map, but rest assured, it is not an imaginary place. It is bordered only by the imaginations of those who choose to visit the rolling fields, the narrow creeks or rivers along its boundaries and the kindness of the people, young and old, who choose this bit of red earth for their familiy's heritage. The main highway, which runs north and south through the area, is Mississippi Highway 569. It is this highway which leads northward to Liberty and south to Louisiana. Many of the visitors who travel Mississippi Highway 569 South, hurry along, passing the beauty and charm which is Ducktown. The many roads which transverse the area around Ducktown have changed from gravel to blacktop and have adopted names such as Street, Lower Centreville Road, Ebenezer Church Road or Bethel Church Road. Of course, there are many dusty roads which meander through the hearts and minds of each person who has lived or visited there. Roads which have been covered over by trees and time, but not by the hearts of those who traveled them. The churches which serve the Ducktown community are Bethel Baptist Church, Ebenezer Baptist Church and Unity Presbyterian. These churches are the backbone of the community. The neighbors and families which have gathered at these houses of worship for decades have povided the rich, caring and supportive threads which bind the Ducktown community together. The county seat of Liberty is just a few miles north of Ducktown. Liberty became the county seat in 1809 when Amite County was formed from Wilkinson County. Many of the families which settled in early Ducktown and Liberty were pioneers from South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and other eastern states in search of rich new farming land. The cheap price for their land grants and the hope of fufilled dreams drew many settlers to southwest Mississippi. Many settlers brought their families and thus, the county began to grow as did their expectations. The patchwork which is Ducktown, and the families which have lived there, remain in the hearts and spirits of all who have been enchanted by the tall pines which whisper their night songs and the breezes which skip along the golden fields. If you find yourself lonesome for the spirit of Ducktown, follow the boys as they give visitors a glimpse of those barefoot days in which they roamed the roads and paths down to Batchelor Bridge, the Dynamite Hole and of course, to Liberty. |
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small tales: from the boys of Ducktown by Kathy White Casey A collection of small tales which grew from the families, neighbors and surrounding communites of Ducktown. This humor filled collection will enchant and refresh anyone seeking to "set a spell" and listen to the tales which were told from the boys of Ducktown. Comments about small tales: from the boys of Ducktown: -Those Ducktown Boys sound like Little Rascals to me.... -I enjoyed going back to the "good old days".... -I had such pleasant memories of growing up in Ducktown.... -I read the first third of the book and loved it. Please send another copy for my father.... Cost: $10 (This includes all shipping and handling charges) All orders are prepaid to: Kathy White Casey for correspondence and addresses regarding small tales or Ducktown and Amite County email us at: kathy.casey@us.army.mil |
The Ducktown Boys in their "Sunday Best" about 1922. Left to Right: Sidney, Raymond, Edwin and Davis |
This page was last updated on: June 4, 2002
Welcome to Ducktown |
Maude and her oldest sons about 1914. Top Row: Maude and Wexler Bottom Row: Sidney, Forrest and Davis |
Amite Link |
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MS GENWEB |
Duck Family Descendants |
This is just one of the stories included in small tales: from the boys of Ducktown Somewhere in between the following lines lies the truth of what really happened on a Fourth of July morning during the 1920s near Batchelor Bridge, on the west fork of the Amite River. For as many times as I have asked for the story, from my Daddy or his brothers, there are just that many versions. With good faith and a love for their storytelling abilities I give you affectionately, The Dynamite Story One of the brothers had a great plan to do some easy fishing just above Batchelor Bridge on the morning of the Fourth of July. They prepared a large fishing hole in the bend above the bridge by baiting it for several weeks. Baiting the fishing hole would guarantee the really big ones would be feeding when the boys were able to make it down to the bridge for their little fishing expedition. First, they needed to devise a plan to get Grandpaw, who was the game warden in Amite County and the surrounding areas, out of town so they could pull off their little fishing excursion. Now Grandpaw was one of the first game wardens in those parts and he took his job extremely serious. The boys, however, did not. Had Grandpaw known what the boys were going to do that Fourth of July morning, he would have whooped their backsides and personally brought them to jail. (This part of the story could never be stressed enough!) The boys got their fellow partner in their little fishing expedition, Red, to call up Grandpaw and tell him someone was shooting squirrels down towards Gillsburg. So that fateful Fourth of July morning, Grandpaw, being the serious game warden he was, left well before daylight to catch the phantom out-of-season hunters. As soon as Grandpaw was out of sight, Wexler, Edwin, Sid, Davis and Raymond, and their neighbors, Robert and Doc and a few other local boys, grabbed up 15 - 1/2 lb sticks of dynamite and headed on down to Batchelor Bridge. Setting up several wide fishing nets down river, not wanting to lose a single fish, the fishing began. Tossing eight sticks of dynamite into the river, the boys expected to reap a bounty of fish and make it home before Grandpaw. The bind didn't hold on the dynamite. Soon up popped the caps and off they floated down the river. Doc quipped, "Heck boys, we still got seven more sticks!" You can sumise what happened next. Tying the sticks securely and making sure the caps were tight, off they threw the last seven sticks of dynamite: KABOOM! Not only did those seven sticks explode just as they hit the water, but so did the first eight! The force of the explosion laid the trees back and momentarily dried the riverbed to a sandy bottom. The boys were knocked flat on the ground; their ears ringing and their hearts jumping. Their survival was a miracle in itself, but more important to them was gathering in the fish. The fish were now scattered on the banks and in the drifts along the river. Hundreds were floating nearby in the dry hole, they were no match for fifteen sticks of dynamite! With the consequence of the explosion evident, and fear of what could be next, their enlisted help quickly headed home. The brothers had come to fish and there was certainly no use letting this excellent opportunity go to waste. Let the gathering begin. Wexler volunteered to wade out into the swirling, muddy water to retrieve a buffalo guessed at thity-five pounds. Certainly it was the largest buffalo any of the boys had seen come out of that part of the Amite River. The other boys gathered tin washtubs of catfish, perch and buffalo as the fish kept popping up dead on the surface of the water. Their nets sagging from the weight of fish, the boys left nothing for the turtles or gars. Even now, many years later, one of the brothers recalls how he was smitten with remorse, perhaps even a tear in his eye, for the next few weeks as fish continued to die and be caught in drifts and eddies along the river. It was a real waste of good fish! No one knew if Grandpaw ever found out about those out-of-season squirrel hunters or the blast at Batchelor Bridge and if you ask the brothers, they sure aren't telling, they're still too busy cleaning fish! And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both ships, so that they began to sink. Luke 5:6-7 The Holy Bible KJV |
The Ducktown Boys about 1926 Left to Right: Raymond, Sid, Edwin and Cecil |
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