Georgia April 1979 75 1 &* pe**m'!$SM George Busbee Governor Joe D. Tanner Commissioner BOARD OF NATURAL RESOURCES J. Wimbric Walker Chairman McRae-- 8th District Sam Cofer Vice Chairman St. Simons Island Coastal District Mary Bailey Izard Secretary Atlanta-- 5th District Dolan E. Brown -- Twin City 1 st District J. Leonard Eubanks Pelham--2nd District Alton Draughon -- Pinehorst 3rd District Linda S. Billingsley Atlanta--4th District Marvin Billups, Jr. Atlanta-- 6th District Lloyd L. Summer, Jr. Rome-- 7th District Donald J. Carter -- Gainesville 9th District Walter W. Eaves Elberton-- 10th District Leonard E. Foote -- Waleska State-at-Large James H. Butler -- Marietta State-at-Large A. Leo Lanman, Jr. -- Roswell State-at-Large Wade H. Coleman Valdosta-- State-at-Large DIVISION DIRECTORS Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites Division Henry D. Struble, Director Game and Fish Division Leon Kirk land. Director Environmental Protection Division J. Leonard Ledbetter, Director Office of Information and Education Mike Hartman, Acting Director Office of Administrative Services James H. Pittman, Director Coastal Resources Division Robert J. Reimold, Director OutdOOrS \t) Georgia Volume 9 April 1979 Number 4 FEATURES Gen. Courtney Hodges: Precision Puncher Billy Townsend 3 The Masters Furman Bisher 7 Golf--A Georgia Tradition . . . Susan K. Wood 1 The Emperor of Golf Irwin Ross 13 Preserving an Island: Ossabaw . . . Lucy Justus 16 Focus: Georgia's Protected Species America's Eastern Bluebird . . . Rosalind Piatt 22 .... Granite Outcrop Plants Steve Bowling 25 Big Fish Contest, 1978 28 Outdoors in Touch . . . edited by Susan K. Wood 32 FRONT COVER: Herring gull, by Bob Busby. BACK COVER: A view of Ossabaw Island. Photo by Bill Bryant. Susan K. Wood Lucy Justus Dick Davis Liz Carmichael Jones Phone-656-5660 MAGAZINE STAFF Aaron Pass Editor Managing Editor Writer Writer Art Director Brenda Lauth . Michael Nunn Bob Busby Edward Brock Bill Bryant Circulation Manager Illustrator Photo Editor Photographer Photographer Outdoors in Georgia is the official monthly magazine of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, published at the Department's offices, Room 714, 270 Washington Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30334. Publication Number 217140. No advertising accepted. Subscriptions are $5 for one year or $9 for three years. Gift subscriptions must be prepaid. Printed by Williams Printing Company, Atlanta, Georgia. Copyright 1979, Outdoors in Georgia Magazine. Contributions are welcome, but the editors assume no responsibility or liability for loss or damage of articles, photographs, or illustrations. Second-class postage paid at Atlanta, Georgia. 29,000 copies printed at an approximate cost of $15,000. The Department of Natural Resources is an equal opportunity employer, and offers all persons the opportunity to compete and participate in each area of DNR employment regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, physical or mental handicap or other non-merit factors. Change of address: Please allow 8 weeks for address changes to become effective. Send old address as well as new address (old mailing label is preferred). ISSN0147-720X Outdoor Corpnjeptary Variety Is the Spice... We got a letter from a man the other day, a subscriber who just wanted to tell us that he really enjoyed reading our magazine because of the variety of information in it. Seems he'd been a subscriber since Georgia Game & Fish days and, though he thought he'd never say it, being a dedicated sportsman and all that, he really liked to read about rocks and history, plants and people and all that OIG offers almost as much as he likes reading hunting and fishing stories. This fellow went on to say that he particularly en- joyed Lucy Justus' story on rice culture in coastal Georgia in February's issue (I can't agree more; it was one of my favorites, too) and "Thin Sections" and "Lighthouses" in January. He closed by saying that he just thought we'd just like to know and to "keep up the good work." Well, Mr. Loyal Subscriber, we do like to hear from you and hope you know we are sincerely trying to keep up the work, and we're glad you think it's good. What we've got for you this month should present at least something for everyone. It's a real amalgamation. We've got articles on natural resources management, we bring you some history, a smattering of information for the fishermen and something about some very famous Georgians you might enjoy knowing about. In the famous person category, we introduce you to a military master, one General Courtney Hodges, born and raised in Perry, Georgia. Though not as flamboyant as George Patton, General Hodges ranked right up there in military circles with General Patton and Omar Bradley. We thank Mrs. Courtney Hodges for her gra- DNR cious assistance with this story, written by resident military buff and historian, Billy Townsend. Bob Jones, a more-well-known famous Georgian, was a master in an entirely different field, the game of A golf. life-long Atlanta resident, Bobby Jones was a golfing legend who will forever be idolized by golfers everywhere. Part of his appeal, part of his greatness, was earned not only because of his skillful execution of golf shots but also because of his ever-strong sense of priorities. Read about him in "The Emperor of Golf." Anyone who knows a driver from a seven-iron knows that you cannot think of Bobby Jones without thinking, in the same instant, of The Masters Golf Tournament. The Masters, a little get-together held every April over in Augusta, is only one of the four most prestigious golf tournaments in the entire world. The Masters brings together some of our most valuable resources: the unsurpassable beauty of our glistening, color-splashed spring; the friendliness and gentility for which the South is still famous; careful attention to nature; tradition that seems to always border on reverence. No one has written more eloquently about The Masters than Furman Bisher in his book Augusta Revisited: The Masters, An Inti- mate View, and we hope you'll enjoy these excerpts of Bisher's magnolia magic. But The Masters isn't the only professional golf tour- -- nament in this state there are three others you might like to know about. (See page 11.) Even if you're not a golfer, though thousands of you are, you'll have to admit that this is one outdoor activity or sport that's not at odds with nature. Wide open, green spaces, peace and quiet punctuated only by singing of birds, lapping of water and distant laughter of enjoyment (forget the -- gnashing of teeth) who could find fault with a game in which nature is a most important partner? Another form of natural resources management, though quite different, is occurring on Ossabaw Island, now a heritage preserve owned by the state. In many ways, Ossabaw Island is like a gem in the rough: though its worth is still unknown, it has an intriguing sparkle. Yet in this case, the value lies in keeping it uncut because to try to alter its state could mean destruction. Learn why when Lucy Justus tells you about "Preserving an Island: Ossabaw." To see what happens when valuable habitat is not preserved and when nature's balance is tampered with, read about the eastern bluebird, now an endangered species. In the other part of our continuing series on Georgia's protected species, you'll be reading about the protected and endangered plants that occur in the granite outcrop areas of the Piedmont. And for you fishermen who are planning to catch a real trophy this year, don't forget about the Big Fish Contest. Next year, you might be a winner like 10-yearold Link Henderson of Griffin whose prize-winning catch in 1978 was a 10 pound, 2-1/3 ounce largemouth bass. There's something for everyone this month, and we hope you enjoy it. April 1979 wmmmmmmmmmmmm 9W,*-J- Gen. Courtney Hodges: Remagen Bridge Aachen Bastogne- Battle of the Bulge- St. LoHuertgen Forest-Saint Mihiel Normandy All these places that bring memories of blood and vic- tory have one common strand. The presence of a reti- cent, purely professional sol- dier, born in Perry, Georgia. When the Georgia legisla- ture was considering honoring General Courtney Hodges by naming a new administrative building at Georgia Veterans Memorial State Park for him, I was asked to briefly research General Hodges' life. As a military history buff, I was familiar with the name but not the person. I checked general sources and was surprised by the lack of material. -- The Dictionary of American Biography nothing. -- -- Who's Who (1945) nothing. Books In Print no biographies. Georgia Department of Archives and His- -- tory one small clipping. Slowly the general sources yielded some material. Who Was Who had three column inches. The Encyclopedia Americana had several col- umn inches. The last source named gave me the facts to guide my research plus gave an indication of why there was little material around. Courtney Hodges lacked the personal color, eccen- tricity or flamboyance necessary to make good copy. His brilliant First Army was flanked on the right by George S. (Blood and Guts) Patton and on the left by Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery. In the First Army drive across France, Belgium and Germany, his three army corps equaled or bettered the accomplishments of others but the Press Corps did little to make him a last- ing household name. What was this man like? How did he accomplish all he did? These were questions I had to answer. There were few answers in the retrospective writing so I delved into the W.W.II periodicals. Time, Newsweek, Collier's and The New Yorker cov- ered Hodges. The cover story from Time entitled, "Pre- cise Puncher" began to build the skeleton, other articles filled in the muscles, and Volume II of the West Point Atlas of American Wars added the brains to the image of a man who certainly never pushed himself into print. Hodges was born in Perry, Georgia on January 5, 1887. The son of the editor of the Houston Home Jour- nal grew up in Perry and showed an early interest in the He military. joined the Perry Rifles, a local militia unit, and upon finishing high school, attended North Georgia College for one year. In 1904, Hodges entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. His career at West Point was all too brief. Hodges failed geometry and left after one year. The next seven months clerking in a grocery store in Perry was all Hodges could stand. He could fight his inclination no longer. He joined the U.S. Army at Fort McPherson as an enlisted man and served in the Army for the next 43 years. In these 43 years, Hodges held every rank in the Army except one, that of a five star general. Hodges quickly moved up the ranks in the 17th Infantry Regi- ment. Sergeant Hodges won the competitive examina- tion for a commission and made lieutenant only one year after his West Point classmates. Hodges was as- signed to the punitive expedition against Pancho Villa in Mexico and served with "Blackjack" Pershing in 1916. Three years later he was once again serving under Pershing, but it was in a little more significant campaign, World War I. Hodges entered France as a captain and left with the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel. He proved his personal courage and tenacity at the crossing April 1979 By Billy Townsend Interpretive Specialist of the Meuse River. Major Hodges took two companies to verify that the Germans had retreated. They had not. Hodges' command was pinned down all day, but they hung on to the bridgehead and became the spearhead for his entire brigade in the Meuse-Argonne offensive. This "first" won him the Distinguished Service Cross and was only one of the many "firsts" to Hodges' credit. Soon afterward, Hodges won the Silver Star for gallantry in the Saint Mihiel Offensive. With the end of W.W. I the Army was reduced in size and Hodges was reduced in rank to major, a rank he held for the next 14 years. The between-war-years were not wasted for Courtney Hodges. He was sharpening the skills that a modern army commander would need. He graduated from the Field Artillery School in 1920 and the War College in 1934. He also worked with the Army Air Corps to develop combined air-infantry tactics. Even Hodges' hobby was closely related to the mili- tary. He was an avid hunter and an expert skeet shooter and rifle shot. He captained the infantry team at the national matches at Camp Perry, Ohio twice during this period. During these peace-time years, Hodges scored his second "first." He was the first non-West Pointer to teach infantry tactics at West Point. In the closeknit world of the upper echelons of the small Army, Hodges worked with and under some people who would help him shape the modern world. In 1929 Hodges and another young major named Omar Bradley impressed Lt. Colonel George Catlett Marshall with their work at the Infantry School. In 1936 while serving as General Douglas MacArthur's Plans and Operations Officer in the Philippines, he came to the attention of Lt. Colonel Dwight David Eisenhower. Two years later, Colonel Hodges got another big break. He was made assistant commander of the Infantry School at Fort Benning; soon after, he was made commandant. In 1941, in the greatly enlarged Army, Hodges was made Chief of Infantry and promoted to major general. As Chief of Infantry, he was interested in all aspects of the infantry in an army that was as rapidly changing as the military technology. Hodges wanted the infantryman to remain "the queen of the battle," so he helped shape infantry technology and tactics. He pushed for the bazooka because he felt an infantryman should be able to stop a tank. He urged the adoption of the new style helmet to better protect his men. Hodges pushed the jeep and the semi-automatic carbine both of which became tremendously popular. In the complex and diversified field of tactics, Hodges helped develop the close coordination of artillery and formulated the infantry doctrine which incorporated the use of airborne troops. During the first two years of W.W. II, Hodges was busy building America's largest Army and building it well. As the Army went to the battlefields of the world, more field commanders were needed. Now Chief of Staff, George C. Marshall remembered Courtney Hodges and made him commander of the Third Army during the giant Louisiana maneuvers of 1943. Hodges proved he was more than a superb training officer and desk general. Marshall declared him "unbeatable in the kind of command that requires deliberate method, close-knit organization, the kind of mind that nothing can dis- tract." He was made deputy commander of the First Army under General Omar Bradley and sent to England to help prepare for the invasion of Europe. -- General Hodges had spent his entire adult life prepar- ing for this moment. He was a thorough professional scientist of warfare. He was the kind of man that is never heard of in peace but is prayed for in war. Hodges looked like a businessman and ran things that way. He was calm, sometimes even aloof. His temper was con- trolled, and he was not profane. He was quietly firm but could be ruthless when it came to sacking poorly per- forming subordinates. Hodges did not have the dogged look of Bradley, the flair of George Patton or the eccen- tricity of Bernard Montgomery. He did not appear on the front pages of newspapers but the soldiers of the First Army came to know and trust him. This First Army was part of the largest amphibious landing the world has ever seen. The First landed at Outdoors ii> Georgia U.S. Army Photos (Opposite page) Hodges shooting skeet on the "Hook Range" at Ft. Benning, Georgia, 1938. (This page, top photo) Aachen, Germany. Aided by the armored force, Co. M, 26th Infantry Regiment, moves to engage the enemy in Aachen. (Bottom photo) Pushing through Huertgen Forest near Vossenack, Germany. Omaha and Utah beaches and went on to capture Cher- bourg, the first major European seaport. The First Army pushed through the hedgerows until they smashed through at St. Lo. The newly arrived Third Army under General Patton zipped through this break and started pushing eastward. The First kept pace with the Third, but now they had a new commander. When Bradley took charge of the 12th Army Group (First and Third Armies), Courtney Hodges became the new commander. This army consisted of eight combat divisions and three mechanized cavalry groups. It included nine tank battalions, 12 tank destroyer battalions, 46 field artillery battalions plus engineers, anti-aircraft, chemical, quartermaster, transportation, ordnance and medi- -- cal units. Its number reached 250,000 men men to feed, clothe, arm, supply and fight. Hodges' First became the southern pincer that closed on the Falaise-Argentan pocket. In this action 10,000 Germans were killed and 50,000 were captured. Hodges did not slow down. The First moved eastward then northward and captured 25,000 prisoners at Mons. The 12th Army Group was ordered to break through Germany's West Wall or Seigfried Line. The First Army that had been first through Paris was first through the April 1979 famed "dragon teeth" of the West Wall. After breaking through near Aachen on October 13, Hodges faced a beautiful forest section called the Huertgen. Here for weeks the First fought a deadly battle of attrition where foxholes did not protect from shells exploding in the treetops. Hodges finally cleared the Huertgen Forest and prepared to capture the Roer River Dams that could floor and cut off all advances to the north. Before the Roer offensive could begin, the Germans had their own ideas. In a "quiet" sector in the Ardennes Forest, Hitler personally ordered an attack designed to cut the Allied Forces in two. The Germans struck along most of the First Army line and pushed it back to form a huge bulge that gave the battle its popular name. The 2nd Armored Division finally stopped the advancing 2nd Panzer Division, and by January 24, 1945, the Bulge had been reduced by the pounding of the First Army on the north and the Third from the south. By February the counterattacks had penetrated the West Wall at Prum and Germund, then preparations began to capture the Rhineland. On March 7, leading units of Hodges' 9th Armored Division captured the Ludendorff railroad bridge at Remagen and became the first allied unit to cross the Rhine. During this Rhineland U.S. Army Photo May 11, 1945. Front row, left to right: Lt. Gen. William H. Simpson, Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., Gen. Carl A. Spaatz, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gen. Omar N. Bradley, Gen. Courtney Hodges, Lt. Gen. Leonard T. Gerow. Standing, left to right: Brig. Gen. Ralph F. Stearley, Lt. Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenburg, Lt. Gen. Walter B. Smith, Maj. Gen. Otto P. Weiland, and Brig. Gen. Richard E. Nugent. Campaign, the First captured 95,000 prisoners. The next job for the First was to act as the southern pincer to enclose the Ruhr Pocket. When the First closed with the Ninth Army, it enclosed Model's Army Group B with some 350,000 troops. On April 18, 317,000 of these surrendered to the First and Ninth Armies. When the First again moved westward, it pocketed the entire German Eleventh Army in the Harz Mountains and captured it on April 12, 1945. Four days later the First Army met a Russian detachment on the Mulde River to join the Eastern and West- ern Fronts. Since landing on June 6, 1944 the First had fought through more than 500 miles of contested terri- tory across three countries. On May 8, Germany surrendered, but the First was not rejoicing as much as others were. On May 1, Hodges had learned that his Army was being transferred to the Pacific. The plans for the invasion of Japan's home islands included the First. Operation "Coronet" which was scheduled for 1946 in- cluded the First Army as the floating reserve with a landing on Houshu near Tokyo. Thankfully, the Japa- nese surrendered in August 1945, and the invasion did not have to take place. Allied Supreme Commander Eisenhower assessed Hodges in a report to his boss, Chief of Staff George C. Marshall: "... his drive, clearheaded thinking and tactical skill have shown even more brightly than they did in his pursuit across France, in which First Army's part was the most difficult given to any United States forma- tion but brilliantly and speedily executed . . . ." Eisen- hower was not through. He went on to say Hodges was the "scintillating star" of his command. Hodges went on to the Pacific where he witnessed the Japanese surrender from the decks of the Battleship Missouri. He returned to the U.S. where he remained commanding general of the First Army until he retired in 1949. In 1950 Hodges came out of retirement briefly to serve as a United Nations military adviser in Kashmir. Until his death in 1966, Hodges lived quietly in San Antonio, Texas. He worked in his garden, hunted, fished and read. In 1958 he was asked about the space age military. He answered, "Everyone has his opinion but one not in close touch should not sound off." Hodges had not changed. He was just as reticent as ever. Like MacArthur had stated of himself, Hodges was an old soldier fading away. General Hodges received a hero's welcome in Atlanta and in Perry in May 1945. He probably appreciated more the two steaks that a First Army soldier's father gave his Atlanta-based wife during those meat-scarce days for his first home dinner in 15 months. Hodges was not forgotten in Atlanta. The report of his death was on the front page of the Atlanta Constitution in January, 1 966. Strong memories linger on in the minds of the gen- eration of the news watchers of the 1940s and in the minds of the men who fought under him. Outdoors \\) Georgia By Furman Bisher Excerpts reprinted from The Masters by Furman Bisher. Copyright 1976 by Oxmoor House, Inc. w ' April 1979 .^iSi Photos by Frank Christian Clifford Roberts drove up to Knollwood Country Club one day in the middle of the Roaring '20s, presumably in his Pierce-Arrow or Franklin. Knollwood was located in Westchester County, where New York's wealthy went to the country for the weekend. He was a member. Bobby Jones was playing a friendly match at the club that day, and Roberts was pointedly "dropping in" to take a look at this young man of whom he had heard so much. Other details of the day grow vague, but the two were introduced and discovered they had mutual friends, among them an innkeeper named Walton Marshall, who divided his years between the Hotel Vanderbilt in New York and the Bon Air Vanderbilt in Augusta. Neither had the faintest glimmer of a notion at the time, but with this meeting the first seed of the Augusta National Golf Club was sown. . . . Augusta National, as it turned out, was the product of impulse. Roberts knew that in the back of Jones' mind was the idea of building a golf course to his own specifications and his own taste some time, some place. As they talked of it one day, Roberts blurted out, "Why not here in Augusta?" A beautiful blend of the minds took place on the spot. It was simply a matter next of finding the proper location, a piece of property that Jones would approve. In the fall of 1930, shortly after Jones had accomplished his Grand Slam, Roberts arrived in Atlanta with a lay of land in mind, requiring only Jones' visual approval and a plan of membership. There is next this vision of Bob Jones walking from the doorway of the old manor house, which is block-shaped like a fortress, and standing for the first time on the grassy overlook that has since become the terrace lawn of the Augusta National Golf Club. "The experience was unforgettable," Bob Jones wrote later. "It seemed that this land had been lying here for years just waiting for someone to lay a golf course upon it." What they had come upon was a gentle, rolling spread of hill and valley with a spring-fed stream that only a near century of preparation could have put in such perfect condition to receive a golf course. The moment of Bob Jones' first view of it came in December, 1930. By the next spring, having heard its ultimate call, the 365 acres of land began to come alive. While America was still a wilderness, Indians had camped upon this land, attracted by the spring that is the course's source of water, that feeds the lakes and Rae's Creek. De Soto and his marchers are said to have passed through it in their search for the Mississippi River. What the prospective founders of Augusta National Golf Club found there was a former nursery not so tenderly at- A tended for several years. family of Belgians had settled the property in 1857, and the nursery they created there was the first known in the South. They were of noble heritage. Baron Prosper Jules Alphonse Berckmans, motivating force behind the nursery, was a man of many splendors. Scholar, horticulturalist, landscape architect, botanist, and artist. He had arrived in this country in 1 850, having taken his leave of Belgium for political and religious reasons upon which there is no elaboration. He was followed into the nursery business by his two sons, Prosper Jules Alphonse, Jr., and Louis. The Berckmans' nursery made vast contributions to On the first tee, 1935: (left to right) Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Bobby Jones. American horticulture, and the Augusta National Golf Club has gone to great effort to preserve and showcase that bonus that came with its purchase. For instance, all the thousands of miles of privet hedge that grow in the United States can be traced back to the mother hedge that still thrives directly back of the practice tee near where all the monstrous wagons and trailers gather in a television community each week of the Masters. The wisteria vine that seems to writhe out of the ground at the corner of the clubhouse on the terrace lawn is said to be the oldest in the country. The massive oak that stands guard like some arrogant sentry over the entire spread, from clubhouse down the gentle hill to the focal spectating point where the 2nd and 7th greens and the 3rd tee abut, is over 200 years old. Markers are found about the grounds identifying the botanical significance of all the -- growth of historical note tree, shrub, and flowering plant. Old Berckmans had remarried, and at the time of his death in 1910 he willed the property to his young widow instead of the two sons. P. J. A., Jr., and Louis soon left the area and relocated elsewhere. The young widow, having no interest in the nursery, eventually sold the property and its commercial name, "Fruitlands," and for about 1 5 years prior to its discovery by Clifford Roberts and friends, the acreage had suffered for lack of attention. One of Augusta's most distinguished industrialists, Fielding Wallace, was appointed to handle the purchase for the Club and eventually became its first secretary. Also, he later became president of the U.S. Golf Association. (Around Augusta, his designation by the man on the street was unique: "The man who runs the Chinese hair factory," for his company imported the hair of Chinese women by the bales and produced mattresses and other products from it.) As the membership was being formed, one of the first moves made by Clifford Roberts and his group was to search for and locate the two Berckmans sons and induce them to return and spend the rest of their lives on the old family place. P. J. A., Jr., became the Club's first manager. Louis, having fared more prosperously, was able to become a dues-paying member and was appointed the Club's first treasurer. In the process, they made great contributions to the horticultural rejuvenation of the grounds. And so we have a story beginning with a happy ending, and all the peripheral segments of one broad narrative coming together in the fruition of the dream of one man and the vision of another, and for a poignant side effect, the reunion of two brothers with the old soil on which they once bounded about on shoeless feet. We take our fade-out as Bob Jones makes his solemn pronouncement as to the nature of Augusta National Golf Club and what it was all about at its origin. . . . "Our aim is to develop a golf course and a retreat of such nature, and of such excellence, that men of some means and devoted to the game of golf may find the Club worthwhile as an extra luxury where they may visit and play with kindred spirits from other parts of the nation." It has been achieved, never veering from course. "Unless I break down, I hope to participate every year, April 1979 regardless of how I am putting or where I finish" Bobby Jones at the first Augusta National Invitation Tournament (which would not become "Masters" offi- cially for four more years), March, 1934. . . . When it began, the Masters was nothing masterful at all, but a social affair that politely called itself Augusta National Invitation Tournament. The facilities of the Club were rather restricted, for it had not been con- structed with the idea of entertaining the whole member- ship at one swoop; and so the field of players was kept small, 61 to be exact. Bobby Jones himself made up the first guest list, comprised of golfers he considered "likely to grace the tournament because of their past accom- plishments in the game, their present stature, their promise, or even upon my own feeling of friendship for them." Once was enough of this. Jones realized there was no way he could invite all the friends he chose to favor, God and everybody being aware of the origin of the guest list. This was part of the appeal, being a guest of Bobby Jones. To avoid future embarrassments and to avoid ruffling feelings, a system of qualifications was set up by 1935, to Jones' great relief, and has prevailed, with variations, ever since. Winning itself was not the lone requirement. Certain sporting qualities were also insisted upon. Since these original requirements, qualification stan- dards for American golfers have undergone a variety of changes, but nearly 30 years passed before the Tourna- ment Committee felt compelled to put the red pencil to the invitation list. When the field bulged to 1 10 in 1962, some judicious restraints were applied. Invitations to PGA U.S. Open, British Open, championship, U.S. and British Amateur winners subsequently were limited to the winners of the past 10 years, with regret. The accumula- tion of past champions was assailing the fluidity of operations, cluttering up the course with creaking ancients who had no competitive chance and who had shouldered the tournament field uncomfortably close to that undesirable adjective "sprawling." A few years later, another cutback went into effect. U.S. and British Open champions and the PGA cham- pion were restricted to five-year invitations, U.S. and British Amateur champions to two, and thus it stands today. The only remaining lifetime invitations go to those who win the Masters. The remainder of the field is made up of the current Ryder Cup team; the Walker Cup and the World Amateur teams in alternating years; the first 24 finishers in the previous Masters; the first 16 finishers in the previous U.S. Open; the first eight finishers in the PGA previous championship; semi-finalists in the previous U.S. Amateur; and the winners of PGA tour tournaments classified as "major" for the previous 51 weeks; plus foreign players invited by rule of thumb, but always measured by their performances of the past year or the general excellence of their careers. . . . In its first year, the Masters offered a total purse of $5,000, modest even in 1934, made up by donations of Club members. The gallery was excitingly and unex- pectedly large, but Jones and Roberts operated by such non-compromising standards, bordering on extravagance, that the tournament suffered a substantial deficit. But the Masters was launched and there would be no turning back. The Masters to this day is the only tournament of stature that gives away pairing sheets, spectator guides, -- parking, checkroom service, and observation seating that's bleachers to racetracks and baseball parks with the price of an admission ticket. Concession prices are considerably below those of other tournaments. The Club also absorbs the 3 percent state tax, and it is not to be overlooked that profits from such an event usually are taxed to about 50 percent by the Internal Revenue Service. Whatever it may cost, the Masters maintains the most elaborate scoring system known to golf (and it originated most of it), such as the over (in green) and under (in red) hole-by-hole scores on the big boards. Not a piece of litter is allowed to survive any sundown on the Masters' grass. It was the first to uniform its caddies. It was the -- first to cover its course with a security force, the Pinker- ton men a great number of whom, by the way, are successful lawyers, dentists, doctors, and businessmen who take the week away from their offices and sign on to serve as their surest way of seeing the tournament. A spectator should never be surprised to find himself being directed about in the gallery by his own medical doctor. . . . wasn't until 1949 that the Masters champion was Itincluded among the exclusive green jacket wearers. Lloyd Mangrum, tied with Johnny Bulla as runner-up, held it while Sam Snead slipped into the first one awarded a winner. It became a Masters tradition, and today there's hardly a tournament played in the U.S. that the champion does not walk out with a blazer of some hue. But no one can see the green jacket except at the Masters for the Masters jacket is never allowed to be worn off the premises. Members 10 have been expelled for such violation. Of course the Masters champion also wins a check. A player gets $1,250 just for qualifying and showing up. Old-timers who don't strike a lick get $500 for appearing. But the champion also gets a replica of the Masters Trophy to take home, a gold medal, and a silver box engraved with the signatures of all the contestants. En route to all this, it is also possible for him to win a pair of crystal goblets for eagles, a vase for a hole in one, and if you're wondering what Gene Sarazen got for his double eagle in 1935, it was a large Steuben crystal bowl, awarded retroactively in 1968. . . . When the day is splashed with sunlight, and there is a touch of syrupy warmth in the air that plays on the horticultural outburst of Augusta National Golf Club grounds, there is no more beautiful place in American sport to be. Spring, it seems, has extracted every strain of color from the plants and shrubs and vines and trees. The green that covers its soil is so green it dazzles. In this respect, golf has its edge over all the other games at which we spectate. Football rips its grass up in chunks. Horses run on drab, bare earth. Automobiles race on surfaces black with asphalt and stained with oil. Boats leave a wake of sludge on their waters. Baseball is played against a background of girders and concrete and an encirclement of seats for its jury. Basketball and hockey take to the grimness of warehouse life. Golf wanders out among God's great outdoors, over hill and down into valley, through glen and glade. In no place has the natural beauty of the land been made so much a part of sport as here, where the Masters is played. There are greater golf courses. There are more spectacular golf courses. There are more excruciating tests of golf. There are other beautiful golf courses. But there is no great, spectacular, excruciating test of golf that is so beautiful as Augusta National. The key to it is that both the blossoming of spring and the arrival of the Masters coincide in all their natural and cultivated splendors. Outdoors \ty Georgia GOLF A Georgia Tradition By Susan K. Wood In the sport of golf, Georgia had a head start. The very first golf course in America was begun at Darien in 1736 by Scottish settlers of Georgia who brought memories of Scotland's links with them to the New World. In the next century, the thirty-sixth course registered in the nation was Jekyll Island's Oceanside course, registered in 1894 when the Jekyll Club's Hundred Millionaires began retreating to their new-found resort. With four 18-hole courses, Jekyll to- day is still quite a popular golfing and vacation retreat, though the Hundred Millionaires have been gone for over thirty years. Yes, Georgia has a reputation to uphold in the world of golf. For in Georgia we have the Masters, one of the world's most prestigious, most exemplary golf events. The Augusta National Golf Club, where played such notables as Dwight Eisenhower, is one-fourth of golf's Grand Slam. One of the loveliest courses any- where, Augusta National is breath- taking even without its annual con- PGA tingent of players, colorful spectators and the springtime majes- ty that is Masters Week. Masters' badges, your ticket to this spectacle, are valuable commodities. The wait- ing list for tickets has been closed since 1971 . But practice rounds, held the first three days of Masters Week, are open to anyone, and cameras are allowed. However prestigious the Masters is, there are, nevertheless, two other PGA tournaments in Georgia, too, and one LPGA event, all of which host the finest golfers in the world. The Atlanta Golf Classic, now in its eleventh year, is played annually at the rolling Atlanta Country Club on the banks of the Chattahoochee River. (In 1976, the Classic was pre- empted when the U.S. Open was played at the Atlanta Athletic Club, Bobby Jones' old club. It may also be pre-empted in 1981 when the PGA Championship will be played at the Athletic Club. At that point, Geor- gia will have played host to three of -- the Big Four of golf the only ex- ception being the British Open.) The Atlanta Classic has become a favorite among most of the big name golfers. Nicklaus has played at At- lanta every year, although since the '79 event has been changed to the week before the U.S. Open (June 7- ACC 10), he may not play this year. Most of the top money winners do make it a point to play in Atlanta. But the strenuous, near-mountainous course at Atlanta Country Club has in recent years kept such notables as Gene Littler and Arnold Palmer from playing. Like all golf tourneys, the -- Atlanta Classic is as much a social event as anything a major part of the fun is in watching the people who come. In the early fall, Columbus plays PGA host to yet another tour stop, the Southern Open. Sponsored jointly by the Columbus Chamber of Com- merce and Southern Airlines, the event, held at the Green Island Coun- try Club, attracts quite a few leading money winners and a fine contingent of up-and-coming players. Jerry Pate, a graduate of the University of Ala- bama who lived for a time in Geor- gia, has won the event the past two years. In recent years, the likes of Arnold Palmer and Gary Player and Ben Crenshaw have played the -- Southern Open an indication of the caliber of golf you can see there. Dates for this year's Southern Open: October 11-14. A relatively new stop on the ladies' tour has been held the last two years at the Brookfield West Golf and Country Club near Roswell in Cobb County. Formerly called the Lady Tara, the tournament, now sponsored by Anheiser-Busch, is this year called the Lady Michelob. Dates for this year May 1 1-13. Last year's Lady Tara was won by Janet Coles and saw almost all the big names in women's golf: Carol Mann, Sandra Post, Jan Stephenson, Laura Baugh, Debbie Austin. Geor- gia's Hollis Stacy of Savannah won the Lady Tara in 1977. This tourna- ment is a major LPGA stop and should host top women golfers again this year. As with the Atlanta Classic, the Lady Tara-Michelob's Wednes- day pro-am event is usually a fun, star-studded day. But you don't have to be a professional to enjoy a round on the golf course. There are hundreds of public and private golf courses from LaFayette to St. Marys to provide you ample opportunity. Three state -- parks offer golf courses, too Vic- toria Bryant near Royston (9 holes), McRae's Little Ocmulgee State Park (18 holes) and Hard Labor Creek -- near Rutledge ( 1 8 holes) as do the state-owned Lake Lanier Islands, Stone Mountain and Jekyll Island.* April 1979 11 !!!! IIIIHMII III IIIUIHIIIIII mmmmm v; ; Ml A jfc r ^P/ftvY 1 WS 1 *^ I* wJLst T*l [1 v ] VJ . . I 2 Six years after he retired from the headlines, Bobby Jones unexpectedly appeared at St. Andrews, Scotland, the ancient shrine of golf, for a quiet morning round with friends. No pub- lic announcement had been made to the Scots that Jones had arrived. Yet he teed off before a swarming, ex- cited mob of 5,000 spectators. Business houses closed down. Women and children came running to join the crowd. As the now-portly exchampion reached the third hole, virtually all of St. Andrews was on the -- course. In holiday spirit, more than 7,000 a greater gallery than many -- major championship drew trooped after him. Bob Jones hadn't played golf seri- ously for months, but for a brief time the flawless swing and the sure put- ting touch that no man ever equaled were his again. He dropped his final putt for a sub-par 72. "Our Bobby is back!" cried an old Scot, tears running down his face. At home or abroad, "Our Bobby" was box-office magic in the Golden Age of sports. He turned peaceful fan turnouts into stampeding herds, caused millions of duffers to spend huge sums trying to copy his famous stance, made public golf links a big business. By Irwin Ross Overshadowing even such greats as Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Leo Diegel and Tommy Armour, he gave golf its first universally accepted hero. When he quit in 1930 at a youthful 28, he had done more to popularize the sport in America than any man before. During a practice round by Jones at Pebble Beach, California in 1927, three fans fell into the ocean and a dozen others were injured in the crush. When he dropped the winning putt of the 1929 National Open at Mamaroneck, New York, 15,000 trampled each other and the police to touch him. Before the 1930 National Amateur, in which Jones was shooting for the final victory of his amazing "Grand Slam," the U.S. Marines were called out to guard him. "Will you need us if he loses?" the Marine commander asked. "He can't lose!" cried tournament heads. "Bobby Jones is the greatest golfer in the world!" The quiet Georgia lawyer proved it by closing out the match on the A -- 1 1th green. roar split the air then 1 8,000 rioted. Scores of persons were hurled down an embankment. Only by forming a flying wedge around him did the Marines save Jones from being torn apart. No athlete ever faced such a gnaw- ing mental handicap as the Georgian. -- His unequaled record 13 major -- championships in 8 years made him seem superhuman to the public. The crowds that overran the ropes to pack close around his fairway were sitting ducks for his screaming, low-hit drives. "I lived in mortal fear that I'd hit and kill somebody," Jones said. Commercial interests naturally saw in him a bonanza matched only by Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey. Yet he would take nothing from golf for himself, refusing more than a million dollars in all. He remained an ama- -- teur playing for the sheer love of --it -until the day he retired. "He has more character than any champion in our history," wrote the late sports expert O. B. Keeler, Bob- by's longtime Boswell. "In that is the key to his lasting appeal." Many wealthy men sought to subsidize him, but Jones paid his own way to tournaments by hard work in courtrooms and law offices. At times he entered international events with little or no practice. He was too busy taking degrees from Harvard and Georgia Tech and studying at Emory University, before passing the Georgia bar exam. April 1979 13 "First come my wife and children," he said. "Next comes my profession --the law. Finally, and never as a life in itself, comes golf." No scandal ever touched his name. Titles and prestige meant little to him. He had no vanity. Bobby Jones was a plain, shy, modest and devoted family man. The Scots and British idolized him for the manner in which he won the 1927 British Open. Handed the historic cup at St. Andrews, Jones re- plied simply: "Nothing would make me happier than to take home your trophy. But I cannot. It was played for here 30 years before I was born. Please honor me by allowing it to be kept here at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, where it belongs." His dignity and common sense in a crazy age earned a vast respect. When he returned from Interlachen in Minneapolis with his third crown of 1930, some 50,000 Atlantans declared a civic holiday and marched in the streets. Perhaps his most fitting memorial is the annual Masters Tournament at Augusta. Each year, the nation's golf aces compete over the beautiful dream course built by his admirers. For a few postwar years, Jones played in the Masters. It was his one appearance a year and 20,000 came out to watch. His haymaker swing and hula-hip action were rusty, but he always stayed right up with the nation's top golfers. "My golfing days are all over now," Jones said regretfully in 1951. "I just got the doctor's final report. The two operations for pressure on my spinal cord have brought little relief. Now they tell me I may never hit a golf ball again." Among experts, there is long, futile argument over how Jones would fare against today's par-wreckers. Scores have dropped, but so have courses been softened and equipment improved. Let it go that the Jones record is unique. At nine, he was playing against grown men in tournaments. At 14, he was in big-time competition and winning. At 21, he was National Open champion. After that, he ac- counted for 13 of the world's top titles: 4 U. S. Opens, 5 National Amateurs, one British Amateur, and 3 British Opens. Finally, there is the Grand Slam, perhaps the most notable sports achievement of all time. In 1930, Jones took on such tremendous low- scorers as Mac and Horton Smith, Bobby Cruickshank, Harry Cooper, Sarazen, Francis Ouimet, Diegel, Johnny Farrell, MacDonald Smith, Whiffy Cox, Armour and Hagen, and beat them all. He won in one year all four of the big championships: the U.S. Open and Amateur, the British Amateur and Open. (Today the "Big Four" tournaments are the U.S. Open, the British Open, the P.G.A. Championship and the Masters. No player has yet to re- -- cord a modern Grand Slam all four in one year.) The Jones story begins with a fight for life. Born on St. Patrick's Day in 1902, in Atlanta, he was a scrawny specimen whom seven doctors de- spaired of saving. Until he was five, Bobby could eat little because of a serious digestive ailment. Other kids scampered in West Peachtree Street; the Jones boy with the thin legs and big head sat on the porch and watched. Around 1908, when he was 6, the Jones family moved to an Atlanta suburb which was near a golf course. The senior Jones, a lawyer, took up the game with enthusiasm. Bobby tagged along, first to watch, then with a set of cut-down clubs. In time, the long walks strengthened his legs. Six years later club members were startled by a note on the bulletin board: "Bob Jones, Jr., age 12, today shot a 70, tying the course record." Older Atlantans who knew him well said that the change in his appearance the next few years was incredible. At 15, his once-frail frame had taken on a solid 165 pounds. There was never such a golf prod- igy as the reborn Bobby. He was Georgia state champion at 14 and went to the third round of the National Amateur, defeating an ex-titleholder, Eben Byers, along the way. At 15, he was Southern champion; at 17, runner-up in the Canadian Open and National Amateur. Such success, he admitted, made him cocky and hot-tempered. When he missed a shot, he threw his club at the nearest 14 Outdoors it? Georgia -- tree and press reports began to grow uncomplimentary. "Golf to me then was just a game at which to beat someone," he said. "And of course, I didn't know that the someone was myself. Harry Var- don, the great English star, helped me see the light." Playing the crusty Vardon at To- ledo in 1920, Bobby was his usual brash self. The two were about even when the youngster hit a miserable dribbler into a bunker. Thinking to ease his embarrassment, he called, "Did you ever see a worse shot?" "No," Vardon replied coldly. It was the only word he spoke to Jones during the match. Bobby learned the cruel facts of tournament golf too early. Because he was a boy wonder, sports writers drummed at the fact that he just missed winning in the big events. At 18, he was second in the Western Amateur and lost in the National Amateur semifinals. Word went around that the Jones boy lacked fortitude in the clinch. The climax came in the 1921 U.S. Amateur at St. Louis, when Bobby bowed before Willie Hunter, never his equal, in the third round. As he bitterly walked away, Jones heard a -- golf writer remark: "Sure he's the greatest shotmaker we have. But he hasn't the guts to win!" He was 21 when he went to the U.S. Open at Inwood, Long Island, in 1923. In seven years, Jones had played in 1 1 national championships without a victory. Golf, which had given him health, had become a plaguing, nerve-twisting thing. "I was sick of the pressure, of the self-doubt," he stated. "If the lane hadn't turned at Inwood, I think it would have gone straight on to end in the shadows." The shot with which he saved himself as a golfer came on the 1 8th hole of his title play-off at Inwood with the crafty Cruickshank. The crowd groaned when Jones' drive was sliced into the rough. It was a question of making a safe recovery to the fairway or risking everything on a 200-yard iron shot out of the brush to the green. Jones didn't hesitate. He walked to his ball, swung with all his power. It soared over the underbrush, flashed past the startled crowd, and fell al- most dead to the pin. The long strug- -- gle was over he had his first major championship. From 1923 on, Jones won a title a year, often two. Finally, he won all four. But the "Jones special" came in the 1930 U.S. Open at Interlachen. Lloyds of London was willing to wager 50-1 against his winning all four of the important titles of the year. Excitement was electric as he --faced the final putt on the 18th green the putt he needed to beat MacDonald Smith. "The ball was 40 feet from the cup, a terrible distance under such conditions, and between the two was an undulation green," an eyewitness described the dramatic moment. "Out came 'Calamity Jane,' his fabled put- ter. For just seconds he eyed the hole. Then, with utter coolness, he -- Up hit the ball hard. the slope it climbed, out into the sunlight it sped and, curving with the grain of the green, scurried into the cup for a birdie three! The gallery was in a frenzy. Bobby narrowly escaped with his clothes on." On November 17 that same year, the sports world was stunned when he announced that he was through. Thousands wired and wrote him to reconsider. Yet, once again, this was the sound logic of Jones exerting it- self. At best there could be nothing but anticlimax left. What sadder sight than a great champion who lingers too long? Wisely, Bobby Jones retired at his peak and went home to pick up his career in law. **** The Atlanta Journal Saturday, De- -- cember 18, 1971 ATLANTA Bobby Jones, the golfing great who overcame a sickly physique in his youth to win 13 ma- jor golf championships and the game's only Grand Slam, died today at the age of 69. Cause of death was bleeding and heart failure brought on by the rup- ture last week of an aneurism Jones had suffered for some time. A crip- pling spinal injury Jones endured more than 22 years had contributed to a weakened condition that had prevented surgery to correct the aneurism, his doctor said. Irwin Ross is a psychologist and golf enthusiast from Chi- April 1979 cago, Illinois. 15 reservingan #'1smtubi Jfc*i*4& 1% 1 2> C*- Mi Osswaw fyhucyJwtM Mi Ossabaw Island is 25,000 acres of high ground, marshes, beaches, dunes, streams, wildlife and history. The island was owned by one family from 1924 until 1978 when it was acquired by the state and dedicated as a Heritage Preserve. Since then the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has been learning about Ossabaw. Wisely managing an island abounding in both ancient and natural history requires immensely detailed study and considerable depth of understanding. Among Georgia's coastal islands, Ossabaw is something special. It is an excellent example not of the type of preservation which allows nothing to be touched, but of conservation: use with great respect for the land, its role in nature's plans, and its heritage value in the years to come. Ossabaw, inhabited for at least 4,000 years, was first used by prehistoric Indians. In the heyday of the Spanish main, it was a haven for pirates. In September 1 597, Ossabaw, like several other islands, was the scene of a massacre. Rebelling against the restraints of the Catholic Church, a young brave from Guale (now Amelia Island) set out to silence a Spanish priest who had reproved him. His anger then flared into a determination to kill all the priests he could find. On Ossabaw, Father Michael Aunon, hearing of the approaching marauders, said Mass and gave Communion to his companion, Brother Anthony Badajoz. The two were clubbed to death as they knelt in prayer. The island remained in Indian hands until May 17, 1760 when it was sold to settle claims by Mary Musgrove Bosomworth against the British Crown and James Edward Oglethorpe. Grey Elliott bought the island at public auction for 1,325 pounds, and it has had remarkably few owners since. By the antebellum era, it had been divided into four cotton plantations, worked by more than 1 ,000 slaves. Emancipation ended the plantation age on Ossabaw as elsewhere. Early in the twentieth century, Ossabaw came into the hands of a wealthy and foresighted doctor who maintained it as a family retreat. That physician, Dr. Henry Norton Torrey, from Detroit, bought the island in 1924. Dr. and Mrs. Torrey's guest book begins in 1926 with the signature of Henry Ford, the first of hundreds of Torrey family guests from the United States and foreign countries to be captivated by the Ossabaw mystique. While the owners of some islands subdivided their property for development, Dr. Torrey and his family worked to enhance and protect Ossabaw. 17 When Dr. Torrey died, he left the island in undivided shares to his heirs. His daughter Eleanor Torrey West, at the death of her mother, became the principal owner of Ossabaw with title to the family home and half the island. "When my mother died and left me an undivided half-interest and my brother's children (three nephews and one niece) the other undivided half-interest, I wanted to let just everybody come because I felt socially guilty to have this huge beach and everything all to myself," Mrs. West recalled. "My husband said, 'This is a great responsibility. You simply cannot ruin it by your feeling of guilt. Let's sit down and figure out a way we can share it that will not destroy it.' Of course, I immediately saw that, and it was exactly what I wanted." Sharing her island became a full-time career for Mrs. West and she devoted herself tirelessly to it. She and her husband, Clifford, established the Ossabaw Island Project Foundation, funded almost entirely by their donations. Through the foundation, Mrs. West opened her home and her island to scientists, teachers, artists, writers, theologians, photographers and craftsmen as a place to work, rest or seek inspiration. "I think this is the only place that is interdisciplinary and has no age limit," Mrs. West said. "People have the leisure to work and they are never tortured by any scheduling. It is not a think tank. They do their own work but they can communicate with others when they want." For a very nominal fee, such people can come to Ossabaw for varying periods of time. For those with worthwhile projects but little money, scholarships are available. Except for a brief space during the summer, which Mrs. West reserves for rest, she frequently has as many as 20 guests, and, although she has never advertised, she has more applications than she can accept. Her waiting list runs about two years in advance. -- Mrs. West also invited the very young school -- groups accompanied by their teachers to observe nature and revel in its beauty during brief excursions to the island. Some of the kids who come have never climbed a tree or seen a wild animal outside a zoo. Other things evolved from that beginning. The Genesis Project, started in 1970, brings students to the island to pursue individual studies. While working on their projects, they live in wooden shacks, tree houses and other shelters, grow their own vegetables, cook their own food and drink milk from the island cows. Schools which have been represented in the Genesis Project include Bryn Mawr, Georgia Tech, Princeton, Shorter, Emory, Furman, California State and the Universities of Georgia, Massachusetts, Oregon and Rhode Island. Ossabaw has also been used for scientific research by Pennsylvania State University, the University of Wisconsin, Shorter College, Emory University and the University of Georgia. Like her parents, Mrs. West was devoted to Ossabaw, but the problems of owning an island or other large tract of land are enormous. Such things as natural and heritage values of the land, for instance, are not considered when taxes are levied. Although Mrs. West could afford to maintain the island as private property, she felt sure her children in later years could not. Ten or more years ago, she began looking for someone -- to whom she could entrust the island a "landlord" who would protect it from the type of use she considered unacceptable. "I had three priorities," she said. "The first was the preservation of the land. I think the land is more important than any of us. The second was the people who live here. One of them has been on the island since the family came in 1924, and almost everybody else has been here for 25 or 30 years. I simply could not face their having to leave. The third priority was my work. And, behind everything, of course, was this idea of mine that you can preserve a piece of land and still use it." Mrs. West's search for a suitable steward was often frustrating and discouraging. Many seemingly promising avenues, both governmental and private, turned out to be dead ends. And some people who wanted to buy the island did not want it for things Mrs. West approved. "We were offered a lot of money for Ossabaw," she said. "Somebody asked me how much and I didn't know because we never followed through on any of it. As soon as we found out that it was for development, or that it wasn't a safe thing, we never went any farther with it. I didn't even find out the names of the people." Finally, through a $4 million gift to the state by Atlanta philanthropist Robert W. Woodruff and a donation by Mrs. West and the Torrey family, amounting to about $7 million, Georgia was able to buy Ossabaw. Mrs. West retained a life-interest in the main house. She and the seven island families will remain on Ossabaw, and her work will continue as before. The Ossabaw Island Project Foundation has been granted a Use Agreement for the non-exclusive use of certain areas of the marsh, marsh hammocks, islands and uplands on the northern portion of Ossabaw, permitting the foundation to continue its scientific, educational and cultural program, related research and other activities. The agreement is for five years with the option to renew for an additional three years. "I am absolutely thrilled that Ossabaw has been saved," she said. Three members of the Department of Natural Resources and their families will live on Ossabaw: a wildlife biologist, a wildlife technician and a mechanic. Biologist Jerry McCollum moved to Ossabaw in January 1978, five months before Ossabaw officially became state property, to begin the department's work. Much of his time during those first months was spent getting to know the island and its people. "I didn't do any talking," Jerry said. "I listened. I worked hard at learning about the people and what they did both for a living and for fun. As we become established, we will try as much as we can to work the Outdoors it? Georgia April 1979 Gib Johnston way we have always worked and to make changes slowly." While he listened during those early months, Jerry also worked on preliminary plans to be put into effect when ownership was officially transferred. Since the existing buildings and maintenance facilities on the island were leased back to the Ossabaw Foundation, DNR housing for the staff was one of the first needs that had to be met. The staff also needed a shop for maintaining vehicles. The shop is now complete and the houses are nearing completion. The homes, designed to blend as much as possible with the landscape, will be heated and cooled A mainly by passive solar energy. sun room on the south side will warm each house in winter by the same "greenhouse effect" which heated homes in ancient Greece. The only supplemental heat will be wood- burning heaters. During the summer, an intricate ventilation system will cool the houses by island breezes. "In some ways we are stepping back a decade or two to the time when people had to get up and think about whether the sun was going to shine, whether they ought 19 to build a fire or if it was getting cold and they needed to chop some wood," Jerry McCollum said. "If you live in town, you don't have to think about those things." Life on an island is different in many ways from life on the mainland. But in the opinion of Ossabaw's DNR residents, including the staff, any inconvenience is more than compensated for by the beauty and fascination of the island itself. It would take an exceptional person to dislike or be bored by Ossabaw. There are 1 1 miles of white sand beach where sea turtles come on summer nights to lay their eggs. And points where one can look across the shorelines of ancient oceans. There is an avenue of palms and one of live oaks, some of which are hundreds of years old. And several of the tabby slave cabins still stand. Fish, shrimp and crabs are available for the catching and not many minutes of a walk or drive around Ossabaw pass without sight of some form of wildlife. When Dr. Torrey bought the island in 1924, he estimated that wild cattle numbered 2,000 and hogs 10,000 and observed that both were descendants of domestic stock which had been wild for generations. Because of a tick problem with the cattle, Dr. Torrey brought Texas cowboys to the island to remove the herd. However, cattle were later restocked on the island. Ossabaw also has about 30 horses and 90 donkeys which range the island. The most immediate drastic change on the island will be the fencing or removal of feral cattle. "The relationship of recovery of vegetation to the reduction of feral stock is something we are interested in seeing," Jerry McCollum said. "I think there are some fairly good plant lists for what vegetation has been here in the past and it will be interesting to see what happens in the next 25 or 30 years. You would expect most of the naturally occurring island plants and coastal plain vegetation to be here, but they aren't now. A lot of them are missing. There are almost no spring wildflowers and relatively few during the summer as compared to those on the mainland. "I think many plants which have succumbed to grazing pressure will probably come back. It is difficult, but not impossible, for a feral population to destroy a particular species. It can be done but my guess is that there are still a few around and they will come back." DNR will be busy for some time to come conducting studies which will provide much more information about Ossabaw than is now available. In these studies, the department will benefit from the professional research program of the Ossabaw Foundation, with the two coordinating their activities in order to assure the maximum benefit from any particular research project. "Ossabaw is unique in many ways and it may be the finest effort ever made in Georgia to preserve a very unusual place," Jerry McCollum said. "This island deserves the very best work, whether it is research or management, that we can give it. "It is different from other islands although they have generally the same vegetation. There are differences 20 because of the culture of the island, the history of the island, the way it was used, who was doing the using, what has happened recently and what has happened over the long term. "The most significant differences, I think, may be the historical patterns that either divided or held together the islands and the kind of uses they have had over the years. It is going to be a long time before we know what the nature of the ecosystem is here at Ossabaw and before we can compare it to anything else. "Ossabaw is the way it is as much because of the use it has had as because of natural forces. I think people need to understand that. Ossabaw is an extremely special place and deserves special attention." Of the seven families who have lived on the island for years, most of them are delighted to see the state assume ownership because it represents the end of Mrs. West's long struggle to find an owner who would protect Ossabaw. "That attitude has made my job awfully easy in some ways," Jerry McCollum said. "It has been a hectic and time-consuming job with 16-hour days as a rule and 20-hour days sometimes. But without the cooperation of the people living here, I wouldn't have half the things completed that are completed." For many years, Mrs. West's dream, her goal for Ossabaw, has been to share the island in a useful, non-destructive way. That is also the goal of Natural Resources Commissioner Joe Tanner. Commissioner Tanner believes the real significance of Ossabaw will be in the future. "If you look down the road 50 or 100 years, or even less, when other states have destroyed their coastal areas with unwise development or overdevelopment, Georgia will have one of the unique places in the world," he said. -- -- "Free enterprise business and industries make long-term investments fully realizing it will be a long time before they reap the kind of benefits they might expect from that investment. I don't think government We ought to be any different. ought to make long-term investments too and that is what we have been fortunate enough to do at Ossabaw. I think just the natural ecosystems of the area are well worth more than the state put into the island. "The ecosystems of Ossabaw are very important to the state. If we never did anything with the island except let the natural processes work, it would be a good investment. The beaches, dunes and marshes are important in protecting the mainland. There are some 15,000 acres of saltwater marshes around this island, in addition to the fresh water marshes. This estaurine area is exceedingly important to our commercial fishing program on the Georgia coast. "Anything we do with Ossabaw needs to be done with the sensitivity of recognizing how fragile it is, how ever-changing it is, how the beaches build up, how they erode away, and that any public use made, whether it is educational, scientific, or whatever, has to be made within the constraints of the island itself." Outdoors ip Georgia focus: mmm% )jp)@(gD(ig 22 America's Eastern Bluebird By Rosalind Piatt "The bluebird carries the sky on his back," wrote Henry David Thoreau. From the rural habitats of open woods, clearings, roadsides and orchards, to suburban gardens and city parts, it was once common to see a small, bright blue songbird foraging for insects or singing his melodious courtship song. Friend to the farmer and a welcome sight to weary winter eyes, this gentle harbinger of spring ranged from the Atlantic to the Rockies. That was fifty years ago. Today, the eastern bluebird {Sialia sialis) is struggling for survival. Found exclusively in North America, the eastern bluebird is one of three closely related bluebird species and, like the robin, is a member of the thrush family. The male bluebird sports a bright blue back and tail, rufous throat and breast, and white underparts. The female of the species resembles the male but is much duller in color, appearing brownish blue on the head, nape and A back. mature bluebird is 6V2 to IVi inches long, from the beak to the tip of the tail. Bluebird populations have been drastically reduced within the past 25 or 30 years by as much as 90 percent. Severe winter weather in the South can be cited as one factor in the bluebird's decline, although, historically, the populations overcame winter losses within three or four years. The bluebird's failure to recover from an unusually harsh 1958 winter points to other reasons for its precari- ous position. Increased application and potency of pesticides, espe- cially the persistent chlorinated hydrocarbons, are believed to have severely restricted the bluebird's use of favored habitats such as orchards and gardens. Hard pesticides are gradually being phased out by less harmful chemicals, and, hopefully, biological controls will eventually supplant their use altogether. Again, other factors must be involved in the bluebird's sharp decline. Two major reasons are seen as responsible for the plight of the eastern bluebird: a serious shortage of suitable nesting sites and severe competition from other bird species for nest sites which are available. When nesting begins in the early spring, bluebirds, which are strictly cavity nesters, seek out an existing Outdoors ii? Georgia BUILDING A BLUEBIRD HOUSE Bluebird nesting boxes are simple to construct, using these plans. Use boards 3/4" thick. A hinge may be used on top instead of the dowel, with the top held down by a hook and eye on each side of the box. si&v vtew 1Vi" wood screw wtfft wasfie top cut ararigle fUtsn with Back + 10W Sitdite gvr 1 recess , So item 74 sA-A W 1' z JoweC Jl T t^"fioCes Sack 1fa sioke 10W o oo ooo 5 /1 x" H 7/fM WH" ?' cavity in which to start nest construction. Usually at a height of five to 20 feet above ground, cavities in rotting trees, branches or stumps, wooden posts or constructed birdhouses are utilized as nest sites. The female lays a clutch of from three to six pale blue or white eggs in a nest neatly constructed of dry grass or other plant material. Incubation, performed almost exclusively by the female, usually takes 13 or 14 days. Hatchlings remain in the nest from 1 5 to 20 days and are fed by both parents every few minutes during daylight hours. Once they have April 1979 fledged, the young birds are cared for by the male parent, while the female builds a new nest and lays a second clutch. As many as three broods may be raised within a season in Georgia and other states in the southern part of the bluebird's range. The bluebird is primarily an insectivore, and its diet consists chiefly of grasshoppers, beetles and other insects, many of which are injurious to crops and gardens. Berries and other occasional fruits may be eaten during June and July. 23 Available bluebird nesting sites have been sharply reduced through removal of dead trees in timber management and through the modern practice of replacing wooden posts with metal ones. However, the real doomsday for the bluebird came, unwittingly, in the 1850s with the introduction of the house sparrow into the United States and, more seriously, in 1890 when a small group of bird lovers calling themselves the Acclimatization Society released in New York's Central Park 80 starlings imported from England. Their goal was to establish in America all of the bird species mentioned in Shakespeare's plays. The house sparrows and especially the larger, belligerent starlings proved to be highly adaptable and aggressive birds which quickly usurped the nesting cavities used by the bluebirds. While starlings and sparrows can nest in locations other than cavities, the bluebirds are left with no alternative, and, hence, the bluebird population has dwindled to its present low ebb. How You Can Help Seldom can individual effort alone be significantly effective in recovering the population of a rare wildlife species. Yet, in the case of the eastern bluebird, simple construction of starling-proof bluebird houses can save this songbird from being eliminated altogether. It has been clearly demonstrated that these efforts can help bluebird populations recover locally within a few years. Conservationists are calling for a nationwide commitment to construct bluebird houses and "bluebird trails." The trail consists of a series of nesting boxes spaced approximately 100 yards or more apart, in suitable locations, in such a way that they can be monitored weekly by foot or car to remove sparrow nests and old bluebird nests. While bluebirds will nest in almost any kind of box which will accommodate them, a few simple requirements must be met to insure that the nesting box will not be disturbed by competitors. The key to construction is the size of the entrance hole: it must be large enough to allow the bluebirds to enter and small enough to prohibit starlings. The entrance hole of the box should 24 be exactly 1 V2 inches in diameter and should be not less than six inches above the floor. If the box is any shal- lower, starlings can reach through the hole with their heads and destroy eggs or young birds. Dimensions of the inside floor may be from 4x4 to 5x5 inches; the smaller dimensions tend to discourage house sparrows which build a bulky nest. Drainage holes should be located near the floor corners. Design the top of the box so that it opens easily for observation, cleaning and removal of possible sparrow nests. If the box is to be painted, which is not necessary but will prolong the life of the box, several points should be adhered to: 1 ) use a -- light color to avoid heat absorption; 2) exterior-type latex paints are best do not use lead-based paints or chemical wood preservatives; and 3) do not paint the inside of the box or the inside rim of the entrance hole. The construction plans shown here for a simple nesting box have been developed and well-tested, and their wide use has proved them highly successful. An extremely important factor in the success of blue- bird nesting boxes is suitable location. Today, bluebirds nest primarily in areas outside of cities and large towns. Thus, outlying suburbs, small towns and rural areas are likely to find more potential nesters. Box location should be in an open area (bluebirds seldom nest in deep shade), preferably with scattered trees and at a considerable dis- tance from buildings, and in an area free from heavy pesticide or herbicide use. A bluebird nesting pair will tenaciously defend its terri- tory against all other bluebirds (although not against other bird species), and therefore, nest boxes should be spaced about 100 yards apart. Ideally, the box should face an open area with a tree or fence 25 to 100 feet in front of it, to offer the young birds a close, protected resting place on their first flight. To avoid predation by snakes, raccoons, skunks and cats, it is best to mount the nest boxes on posts rather than trees. Metal posts are good deterrents, especially when coated with soft automobile grease or equipped with protective sheet metal collars or conical guards at least 18 inches wide attached just below the boxes. Height of the box should be from three to five feet above ground. Since bluebirds select their nest site very early in the season, boxes should be mounted by February 15, though boxes set out any time before the first of August may be utilized by late nesters. In order for a nest box to accommodate the two or three broods which may be raised by bluebirds each season, the bluebird nest should be removed as soon as the young birds leave. Each Febru- ary the boxes should receive a thorough cleaning and any needed repairs, with care taken to keep the drainage holes open. Dramatically, the bluebird's destiny rests, not in legis- lation or in conference room discussions, but rather in the hands of individuals who are motivated to help pre- serve America's wildlife heritage. Active participation in the effort to house the bluebird can be fun, and, if large numbers of people become involved, can reverse the population trend of this charming and valuable songbird who "carries the sky on his back." Outdoors it? Georgia April 1979 Granite Outcrop Plants Whitlow-wort (Draba aprica) By Steve Bowling Botanist, Game and Fish Division The granite outcrops are among the most unique and beautiful plant habitats to be found in Georgia. Their rock garden-like display of flowers in the early spring is different from that of any other plant community and can be breathtaking in its beauty. Four of Georgia's protected plants grow almost exclusively in this habitat. Granite outcrops occur in Alabama and North and South Carolina, but they are particularly abundant in the Piedmont of Georgia. Though they can be seen throughout the central portion of Georgia, most granite outcrops occur to the east of Atlanta. Stone Mountain is probably the best known of all of them. Stone Mountain began its formation over 300 million years ago. While Georgia's other granite outcrops vary in age, most were formed in a similar fashion. Molten rock pushed its way into the rock above and gradually cooled. Then the surrounding rock very slowly eroded away to leave the exposed granite. Once exposed, the granite itself began eroding even more slowly. Some outcrops wore down to produce "flat rocks" while others, like Stone Mountain, retained a dome shape. Through the millions of years since these outcrops were first exposed, several plants have evolved that are uniquely adapted to this harsh environment of thin soil, full sun and seasonal heat and drought. Some of these grow nowhere else in the world, and all of them illustrate how plants constantly seek to colonize bare rock and soil. The first to cling to the rock are the lichens and mosses. They exude a weak acid that together with rainwater, which is also slightly acid, slowly dissolves the rock. Small, shallow depressions begin to form and fill with grit, some acidic humus and rainwater. This hastens the dissolving, and slowly the depressions grow deeper. When between one-half and three inches of grit has collected, the first seed-bearing plant, diamorpha, invades the depressions. Diamorpha (Sedum smallii) is a strikingly attractive plant no more than two or three inches tall, with red leaves, and tiny (one-fourth inch) pinkish-white flowers. It is known as a winter annual, because the plant grows through the winter and in the spring blooms, sets seed and dies. The seeds lie dormant through the heat 25 Granite outcrop depression in spring bloom. Red: Diamorpha (in V2S inches of soil). White: Sandwort (in 3-6 inches of soil). Yellow: Wooly Ragwort (in 6-15 inches of soil). Below, Dwarf stonecrop (Sedum pusillum) and drought of the summer to sprout only with the return of rain and cool weather in the fall. When a depression grows deep enough to have be- tween three and six inches of soil, large, branching lichens and the sandwort (Arenaria uniflora) appear. Sandwort is another low winter annual with half-inch white flowers that bloom along with those of the diamorpha. When the soil reaches a depth of six to 15 inches, the large, shag-rug-like haircap moss (Polytrichum commune) and perennials such as wooly ragwort (Senecio tomentosus) and sunnybells (Schoenolirion croceum) appear. Wooly ragwort is about a foot high with gray- felty leaves and, in spring, a cluster of yellow daisy-like flowers. The sunnybells flower at the same time with spikes of small, orange-yellow, star-shaped blooms. If a depression gets deep enough to have more than 15 inches of soil, it may support a shrub or small tree such as loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), black cherry (Prunus serotina) or serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea) . However, in drought years these often die. Because even the deeper depressions grow gradually shallower toward their edges, the first three groups of plants mentioned above may occur in colorful concentric rings or half-rings around the deeper portion. This gives a bull's-eye or off-center bull's-eye appearance. The granite outcrops are most attractive in the early spring when all of the species mentioned above are blooming, creating a "dish garden" effect in the rock de- pressions. The hot, dry summer months produce no spec- tacular floral displays; however, there are a few species that thrive and bloom even then. Among these are fame- flower (Talinum teretifolium) with its small magenta flowers and Curtiss' milkwort (Polygala curtissii) with heads of small pink and yellow flowers. In the fall there is the spectacular display of the Confederate daisy (Viguiera ported) with its bright yellow flowers filling all but the shallowest depressions. 26 j4tBS3 Four of Georgia's protected plants occur on the granite outcrops. These are quillwort, amphianthus, whitlowwort and dwarf stonecrop. Quillwort (Isoetes melanospora) is an inconspicuous plant that resembles a short (two inch) tuft of grass. It grows submerged in water on the bottom of a relatively uncommon type of rock depression which has a shallow (one-half to three inches deep) layer of soil in the bottom but a high enough rim to hold water during the wetter times of the year. When the pool goes dry, the quillwort goes dormant until the rains come again. The quillwort grows only on granite outcrops in the Piedmont of Georgia. It is listed as threatened by the state of Georgia and is being studied for possible endangered or threatened status under federal law. Amphianthus (Amphianthus pusillus) is another inconspicuous plant that grows in the same water-filled depressions as the quillwort. It is unusual because it has leaves and flowers that float on the surface of the water and others that form a tiny rosette under the water. The Outdoors ipGcortjia Leonard E. Foote ^^.^flf^Vf "% ~"~ im ' ^^-^f^fS^ss^, ***^Q w im F *" SktV^, - J ^^~ 8*-ai&*v-k*''.-'!>3^ ^^BBS^ '^WPp^sSi --- - , - * - September display of Confederate daisy (Viguiera ported). small (one-eighth inch) white flowers above the water open for pollination while those below the water remain closed and pollinate themselves. Amphianthus is a winter annual that blooms, sets seed and dies in the spring be- fore the pool of water disappears for the summer. When late fall rains come, the seeds sprout, and it begins its life cycle again. It grows only on the Piedmont granite outcrops of Georgia and one place in Alabama and another in South Carolina. Amphianthus is listed as endangered by the state of Georgia and has been proposed for endangered status under federal law. Whitlow-wort (Draba aprica) is another small (onefoot or less), easily missed plant that has a wand of small (one-fourth inch), white, four-petalled flowers. It grows in the shallow soil on and around the edge of granite outcrops. Being a winter annual, it blooms in the spring, sets seed and dies before the summer. Whitlow-wort is found in the Piedmont of Georgia and South Carolina and also in Arkansas and Missouri. It also is listed as endangered by the state of Georgia and has been proposed for endangered status under federal law. Dwarf stonecrop (Sedum pusillum) closely resembles the related diamorpha, but its leaves are blue-green in- stead of red and are longer and more cylindrical instead of short and rounded. Though it does not make the display that the red diamorpha does, it is an attractive plant sometimes making low (two inch), loose patches. It is another winter annual, the small (one-fourth inch), four- petalled white flowers appearing in the spring. Dwarf stonecrop usually grows under or near cedar trees in the shallow soil on and around the edge of granite outcrops, in the Piedmont of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Apparently the red cedar extracts calcium from April 1979 the granite and concentrates it in its leaves. The humus formed by the leaves it sheds provides necessary calcium for the dwarf stonecrop. Because it is dependent on this unusual relationship, dwarf stonecrop is threatened by the cutting of red cedar on the outcrops for picnic fires. It is listed as threatened by the state of Georgia and is being studied for possible endangered or threatened status under federal law. There are several reasons why quillwort, amphianthus, whitlow-wort and dwarf stonecrop are considered en- dangered or threatened. To begin with, these species are naturally rare due to their restricted habitat and limited range. Those activities of man that adversely affect them merely make them rarer. The plants themselves are de- signed to grow under harsh conditions and appear to be able to withstand a surprising amount of abuse. How- ever, they cannot survive the change or destruction of their habitat. Some of the things that adversely affect them and other outcrop plants are quarrying, trash dumping and littering, picnic fires and being run over by recreation vehicles or trampled by too many feet. Not realizing that the plants will not survive away from the granite outcrops, some people collect them for dish gardens, terrariums and rock gardens. The granite outcrops are beautiful and fascinating places to visit and may be enjoyed without harming them provided the visitor is careful to avoid the activities just mentioned. The best time of the year to see a granite outcrop is from the last week in March through the first two weeks in April. Another good time is mid-September when the Confederate daisy is in bloom. Stone Mountain Memorial Park and Panola Mountain State Park, both near Atlanta, are excellent places to see granite outcrops. 27 Big Fish Contest By Aaron Pass It was either a poor fishing season or nobody wanted to invest in the postage necessary to enter the Outdoors in Georgia Big Fish Contest. We received the lowest number of entries in years. Probably most of you are like me, you kept intending to get around to it and never did. There's a frozen brown trout in my freezer that I've been going to send to a taxidermist for almost a year. The low level of participation will certainly not dim the happiness of the winners, however. They will get their names on the annual revolving trophies for black and white bass. The white bass winner will receive merchandise prizes from Pflueger which will be presented at the annual meeting of the Georgia Wildlife Federation which cosponsors the contest. This year's winner of the black bass award will be the youngest ever to have his name chiseled onto the black bass trophy. Ten-year-old Link Henderson of Griffin reeled in a 10 lb. 2-1/3 oz. largemouth out of Harrell's Lake to claim the prize. The old white bass pro, Mike Gozdick, is getting the family name on the Pflueger trophy one more time (this makes the fourth time). He caught a 3 lb. 2Vi oz. out of Lake Lanier. We're thinking about using ditto marks from now on. A 2 lb. 10 oz. redear sunfish (shellcracker) caught by McAdoo Shepherd of Warner Robins took the largest bream this year. This year we've decided to add a new dimension. Over the years we've had a number of entries from folks who have caught unusual fish. Some of the species are very rare and others are seldom fished for, consequently they are not included on our contest list. Still these are valid, verified state records and although they are not eligible for prizes, we feel that they do deserve recognition. In 1972, Elden Mercer of Fargo caught a 1 lb. 3Vi oz. redfin pickerel in Cypress Creek. His "unofficial" state record stood until 1977 when Tillman Booth of Millwood caught a 1 lb. 8 oz. redfin out of Surveyor's Creek in Clinch County. His is the current record. The redfin pickerel (Esox americus americus) is found almost statewide but is most abundant in the blackwater creeks and swamps of South Georgia. It is an aggressive little fish related to the chain pick- -- erel (Esox niger) also known as the jackfish; however, its small size makes it less important as a sport fish than its larger relative. Bass anglers take note, we have another state record on another black bass species. This one is called the Suwannee Bass (Micropterus notius) and it is indigenous to the Suwannee and Ochlocknee river systems in Georgia and Florida. It seems to prefer cool, clean spring-fed waters and limestone and other rocky shoal areas. It is regularly taken by fishermen, particularly in the Santa Fe River in Florida. The state record specimen was taken by Tommy Lee Cooper of Cairo on the Ochlocknee River in 1974. It weighed 3 lbs. and is the largest recorded in Georgia. Another nice catch on a normally obscure fish was James Andrews' 5 lb. 8 oz. brown bullhead taken from the O. F. Veal pond near Sandersville in 1976. The brown bullhead (also called a "speckled cat") is a common pond and reservoir resident. Andrews' catch was a real whopper, since brown bullheads in the 2-3 lb. range are usually considered big. Probably the top glamour trophy of the past season was caught by T. G. Dunn of Clarkesville. Dunn was fishing in Tallulah Lake last summer when he hooked up with a real fish. After the struggle he had a 13 lb. 8 oz., 39 inch long northern pike (Esox lucius). The pike is a close relative of the common chain pickerel or jackfish but is a northern species and not native to Georgia. This fish's presence here was explained by Russ England, fisheries biologist for DNR. It seems that from 1973-77 both northern pike and pike x pickerel hybrids were introduced into several north Georgia lakes. The purpose of 28 Outdoors it? Georgia the experiment was to find a shallow water predator to utilize high bream and yellow perch concentrations and to provide anglers with a high quality sportfish. T. G. Dunn, who now holds the state record for northern, will probably agree with the latter objective. Another northern fish which occasionally shows up in Georgia creels is the sauger (Stizostedion ca- nadense), a member of the walleye- yellow perch family. Sauger are native to the North and Midwest but were stocked in Georgia in the late sixties. Randall Kerlin caught a 3 lb. 1 oz. sauger in Clark Hill last March which gave him a state record. The reports of these unusual fish are valued since they add to the department's knowledge of what is being caught where. Although the new state record holders for redfin pickerel, Suwannee bass, brown bullhead, northern pike and sauger won't get a rod and reel, they will get a certificate noting their achievements. After all, a state record doesn't come along every day. 1978 Contest Winners Largemouth Bass Link Henderson, 10-2 1/3/Harrell's Lake, April 1, 1978 Smallmouth Bass Beau Turner, 5-4/King Catfish Lake, October 7, 1978 White Bass Mike Gozdick, 3-2 Vi /Lake Lanier, March 28, 1978 Striped Bass Bob Mobley, 22-4/Jackson Lake, March 27, 1978 Bluegill Frank Littleton 2-1 /Pond #4, May 26, 1978; Thomas E. Yeary, 1-8/Private Pond, November 12, 1978 Redear Sunfish (Shellcracker) McAdoo Shepherd, 2-10 /J. M. Shepherd Pond, May 29, 1978 Walleye Gene Crump, 8-3 / Lake Lanier, April 20, 1978 Carp John E. Brown, 20-4/Lake Doren, July 12, 1978 Channel Catfish Kermit DeLoach, 29/Altamaha Riv- er, December 9, 1978 Georgia Records BASS, LARGEMOUTH WORLD RECORD 22 lbs., 4 oz.--George Perry Brunswick, Montgomery Lake June 2, 1932 Minimum Weight for Certificate - 10 lbs. BASS, SPOTTED (KENTUCKY) 7 lbs., 12 oz.-- Robert Kincaid Blue Ridge, Lake Nottely March 8, 1972 Minimum Weight for Certificate: 5 lbs. Wor'd Record: 8 lbs., 10V2 oz. BASS, SMALLMOUTH 7 lb., 2 oz.-Jack Hall Cleveland, TN, Lake Chatuge March 28, 1973 Minimum Weight for Certificate 5 lbs. World Record: 11 lbs., 15 oz. BASS, SHOAL (ALSO "FLINT RIVER") WORLD RECORD 8 lbs., 3 oz--David Hubbard Thomaston, Flint River October 23, 1977 Minimum Weight for Certificate: 5 lbs. This fish is listed by Field & Stream as a world record redeye bass BASS, REDEYE (COOSA) 2 lbs., 10 oz.--John R. Cockburn, Jr. Dalton, Jacks River July 4, 1967 Minimum Weight for Certificate- 2 lbs. World Record: 8 lbs., 3 oz. SUWANNEE RIVER BASS 3 lbs.--Tommy Lee Cooper Ochlocknee River May 5, 1 974 BASS, WHITE 5 lbs., 1 oz.--J. M. Hobbins Atlanta, Lake Lanier June 16, 1971 Minimum Weight for Certificate: 3 lbs. World Record: 5 lbs., 5 oz. BASS, STRIPED 63 Ibs.-Kelley A. Ward Dublin, Oconee River May 30, 1967 Minimum Weight for Certificate: 20 lbs. World Record: 72 lbs. BLUEGILL Gumm 3 lbs., 5 oz.-- P. F. Atlanta, Shamrock Lake July 19, 1972 Minimum Weight for Certificate: IV2 lbs. World Record: 4 lbs., 12 oz. SUNFISH, REDEAR (SHELLCRACKER) -- 3 lbs., 6 oz. Terry Sapp Macon, Ocmulgee River July 3, 1975 Minimum Weight for Certificate- 2 lbs. World Record: 4 lbs., 8 oz. SUNFISH, REDBREAST 1 lb., 4% oz.-- Julius Williams Douglas, Satilla River May 7, 1977 Minimum Weight for Certificate: 1 V* lbs. No Wor'd Record WARMOUTH WORLD RECORD 2 lbs-- Carlton Robbins Sylvania, Private Pond May 4, 1974 Minimum Weight for Certificate: 1 lb. CRAPPIE, BLACK 4 lb., 4 oz.-- Tie: Shirley Lavender Athens, Acree's Lake June 1, 1971 Steve Cheek East Point, Lake Spivey March, 1975 Minimum Weight for Certificate: 3 lbs. World Record: 5 lbs. CRAPPIE, WHITE oz-- 4 lbs., 11 Lewis I. Little Macon, Brickyard Lake May 31, 1972 Minimum Weight for Certificate: 3 lbs. World Record: 5 lbs., 3 oz. TROUT, BROOK 5 lbs., 5 oz.-- James Harper Austell, Waters Creek September 3, 1973 Minimum Weight for Certificate: 15" or 2 lbs. World Record: 14 lbs., 8 oz. TROUT, BROWN 18 lbs., 2 oz-- William M. Lowery Marietta, Rock Creek May 6, 1967 Minimum Weight for Certificate: 18" or 5 lbs. Wor'd Record: 39 lbs., 8 ozs. TROUT, RAINBOW 12 lbs., 4 oz-- John Whitaker Ellijay, Coosawattee River May 31, 1966 Minimum Weight for Certificate: 24" or 6 lbs. World Record: 42 lbs., 2 oz. April 1979 29 PERCH, YELLOW No Official State Record Minimum Weight for Certificate: IVi lbs. World Record: 4 lbs., V/i oz. WALLEYE 1 1 lbs.-- Steven Kenny Atlana, Lake Burton April 13, 1963 Minimum Weight for Certificate: 5 lbs. World Record: 25 lbs. CATFISH, CHANNEL 44 lbs., 12 oz.-- Bobby M. Smith wick Vidalia, Altamaha River May 18, 1972 Minimum Weight for Certificate: 15 lbs. World Record: 58 lbs. CATFISH, FLATHEAD 51 lbs., 15 oz.-- Hoyt McDaniel Suches, Lake Nottely June 2, 1969 Minimum Weight for Certificate: 15 lbs. World Record: 76 lbs. MUSKELLUNGE 38 lbs.--Rube Golden Atlanta, Blue Ridge Lake June, 1957 Minimum Weight for Certificate: Any Weight World Record: 69 lbs., 15 oz. PICKEREL, CHAIN (JACKFISH) World Record 9 lbs., 6 oz.-- Baxley McQuaig, Jr. Homerville February, 1961 Minimum Weight for Certificate: 5 lbs. BOWFIN 16 lbs.-- Charles O. Conley Stephen Foster State Park May 25, 1976 Minimum Weight for Certificate: 8 lbs. World Record: 19 lbs., 12 oz. GAR, LONG NOSE No Official State Record Minimum Weight for Certificate: 15 lbs. World Record: 50 lbs., 5 oz. CARP 35 lbs., 12 oz-- Rev. Donald Clark Locust Grove, Lake Jackson 1972 Minimum Weight for Certificate: 20 lbs. World Record: 55 lbs., 5 oz. NORTHERN PIKE 13 lbs., 8 oz--T. G. Dunn Tallulah Lake June 30, 1978 REDFIN PICKEREL 1 lb., 8 oz.--Tillman Booth Surveyor's Creek May 24, 1977 SAUGER 3 lbs., 1 oz.-- Randell Kerbin Clark Hill Lake March 11, 1978 BROWN BULLHEAD 5 lbs., 8 oz.--James Wil iam Andrews O. F. Neal Pond May 22, 1978 Fisheries Management Region I Kim Primmer, Supervisor Gary Beisser Region II Rich Fatora, Supervisor Robert Klant Calhoun Office P.O. Box 519 Calhoun, GA 30701 (404)629-1259 Route 13, Box 322A Gainesville, GA 30501 (404) 532-5301 Russ England Region III Don Johnson, Supervisor Tim Hess Burton Fish Hatchery Route 1 Clarkesville, GA 30523 (404)947-3112 Route 2 GA Social Circle, 30279 (404) 557-2591 (404)656-4817 Royce Harrington McDuffie Public Fishing Area Jerry Germann Route 1 Dearing, GA 30808 (404)595-1619 Region IV Wayne Thomaston, Route 3, Box 7A Supervisor Fort Valley, GA 31030 LesAger (912)825-6354 Frank Ellis Manchester Office P.O. Box 152 Manchester, GA 31816 (404) 846-8448 Region V Russ Ober, Supervisor Lee Keefer Reggie Weaver Paul Loska Tom Scott Region VI Dan Holder, Supervisor Ron Michaels Charles Coomer Mike Geihsler Jim Nix Region VII Carl Hall, Supervisor Jon Hornsby Stan Cook Bob Rees 2024 Newton Rd. Albany, GA 31701 (912)439-4256 Steve Cocke Fish Hatchery Dawson, GA31742 (912) 995-4486 P.O. Drawer 1528 Waycross, GA 31501 (912)285-6094 Bowen Mill Hatchery Rt. 1 Fitzgerald, GA 31750 (912)423-2988 Metter Office P.O. Box 358 Metter, GA 31439 (912)685-6424 Demeries Creek Office Rt. 1, Box219R Richmond Hill, GA 31324 (912) 944-2222 (912)727-2112 Richmond Hill Hatchery Richmond Hill, GA 31324 (912)756-3691 30 Outdoors in Georgia Big Fish Contest Rules 1. Have the fish weighed, measured, and entered at any Game and Fish Division fisheries management office. If this is impossible, have the fish weighed on a certified scale in the presence of two witnesses. Both witnesses and the owner of the scale (if not a witness) must provide an address and phone number. (If the fish is weighed and measured at a Game and Fish Office, the verifying official should sign the blank.) 2. Witnesses must be of legal age, and may not be members of the entrant's immediate family. 3. The truth of the entry blank must be attested before a qualified officer such as a notary public, justice of the peace, sheriff, municipal clerk, postmaster, member of a state or local law enforcement agency, or wildlife ranger. 4. If the fish is not weighed and measured at a Game and Fish office, the fish must be frozen whole and maintained for 30 days from the date of postmark on the entry blank. This is for identification purposes. At the expiration of this 30-day term the entrant may assume that there is no question, and may dispose of the fish in whatever manner he desires. 5. No fish will be accepted as a state rec- ord unless verified by a Fisheries Biologist. 6. Mounted fish are not suitable for identifi- cation. No potential state record or contest winner will be verified after it has been mounted. 7. Judges reserve the right to inspect any fish entered in this contest, and the right to take any fish to another authority for identification. Judges reserve the right to disqualify any entry which does not fulfill the rules set forth. 8. The judges of this contest are the Executive Director of the Georgia Wildlife Federation, the Editor of Outdoors in Georgia maga- zine, and Fisheries Biologists of the Game and PRINT OR TYPE ALL INFORMATION Kind of Fish Weight .lbs. _ozs. Length Girth _in. Bait Used- Type Tackle_ Where Caught (name of lake or stream). Location of Lake or Stream (county or nearest town). Date Caught Angler- Home Address. City and State- Telephone Numbers: Business. Home. Fishing License Number: "I hereby swear that the above statements are true; that in taking this fish I complied with the contest rules and Georgia State Fishing Regulations, and that the witnesses hereto saw this fish weighed and measured. I consent to the use of my name in connection with the Georgia Big Fish Contest." (Signature of Angler) We, the undersigned, witnessed the weighing and measuring of the fish described above and verify the weight and measurements given. 1. Signature Address Phone 2. Signature- Address Phone- 3. Owner, of scaleSworn to and ascribed before me this Phoneday of_ ., 19_ (Signature of a qualified officer-- see rule 3) Title:. . GA Send all entries to: Outdoors in Georgia, Room 719, 270 Washington Street, Atlanta, 30334. Fish Division of the Department of Natural Resources. Decisions of the judges wili be final. 9. Neither the Department of Natural Resources, the Georgia Wildlife Federation, nor any of their designees will be responsible for loss or damage to fish entered in this contest. 10. Contest prizes from Garcia and Pflueger will be awarded annually to: the largest largemouth bass, white bass, bream, trout, and the holder of any state record taken in the contest year. 11. In case of multiple records in a single season, the last record holder for that year will receive the prize. All record-breaking entries will be identified and the angler awarded a certificate. 12. The name of the annual winners in the largemouth and white bass contest, the weight of their fish, and date of catch will be inscribed on trophies kept at the Atlanta office of the Department of Natural Resources. 13. Fish caught after December 31 will be entered in the following year's contest. Entries should be made as soon as possible after the fish is caught. The deadline is January 15. 14. There is no entry fee. 15. Any angler, resident or non-resident, who holds a valid Georgia fishing license, may enter the contest by completing the official entry farm. 16. Fish must be caught on sporting tackle, and be hooked and landed by the entrant. 17. Fish must be caught in the State of Georgia during the legal angling season for the species taken, and in observance of all pertinent fishing laws and regulations. 18. Any angler may submit as many entries as he wishes. Certificates will be awarded for all fish surpassing the minimum standards in the chart regardless of the year caught, but contest prizes will be awarded only in the season immediately past. In the event of a tie, duplicate awards will be given. 19. A clear, sideview, black-and-white or color photograph of the fish, preferably with the angler, must be submitted with each entry. This photo becomes the property of Outdoors in Georgia. 20. Affidavits should be mailed to Big Fish Contest, Outdoors in Georgia, Room 719, 270 Washington Street, Atlanta, GA 30334. HOW TO MEASURE A FISH: Girth should be measured around the largest part of the body as shown in diagram. Length: Measure along a flat surface from the extremity of the mouth to the extremity of the tail. April 1979 31 Outdoors Toucl> \t) edited by Susan K. Wood Sam Cofer (left) and Wimbric Walker (right) WIMBRIC WALKER ELECTED BOARD CHAIRMAN J. Wimbric Walker of McRae is the new chairman of the Board of Natural Resources. Walker, who represents the Eighth District, has been a member of the Board since 1975. He succeeds Lloyd L. Summer, Jr., of Rome. Elected as vice-chairman at the January Board meeting was Sam Cofer of St. Simons Island. Cofer has represented the Coastal District since March 1976. The newly elected secretary of the Board of Natural Resources is Mary Bailey Izard of Atlanta. Mrs. Izard, who represents the Fifth District, is beginning her sixth year on the board. NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION WORKSHOP Again this year, Georgia youths between the ages of 15-18 will have the opportunity to participate in a Natural Resources Conservation Workshop sponsored by the Georgia Chapter of the Soil Conservation Society of America and the Georgia Association of Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisors. In past years, two workshops have been held annually. Last year, each had approximately 140 participants. This year, however, there will be only one workshop with an expected participation of 275-300 young people. The workshop is scheduled the week of June 17-22 at South Georgia College in Douglas. Workshops have been held for the past 18 years and have been instrumental in pointing numerous young people toward a career in one of the many fields of natural resources conservation. Douglass Pope of the Soil Conservation Service in Albany is workshop director. Counselors and instructors are professionals representing numerous state and federal conservation agencies. According to Pope, "Not only is the week full of fun and excitement for the participants, but also they have the privilege of sharing with top-flight representatives of all the various state and federal conservation agencies. Through personal contact and specific classroom instruction, each student leaves the workshop having been exposed to the duties and responsibilities of each agency, whether it be wildlife conservation, soil conservation, forestry or whatever." Classroom instruction covers all the areas of natural resources conservation such as soil and water conservation, wildlife management and law enforcement, forest protection and much more. Also, during field trips the students see first hand how fisheries biologists conduct balance checks on farm ponds, how game biologists capture wild turkeys with a cannon net, or some similar management techniques. At the end of the workshop, many prizes and awards are presented to the most outstanding participants. The student who obtains the highest academic score during the week is awarded a college scholar- srip. The cost per student for the workshop is $55. However, this expense is met by local sponsors in each county. If you would like an application for the Natural Resources Conservation Workshop or would like to sponsor a young person, contact one of the following agencies: Soil Conservation Service County Extension Service U.S. Forest Service Georgia Forestry Commission Conservation Rangers of the Georgia Department Natural Resources, Game & Fish Division. GEORGIA ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY'S SPRING WORKSHOP The Georgia Ornithological Society has planned a special weekend of bird study, scheduled for April 20-22 at Valdosta State College. The programs are designed for beginning bird watchers as well as more experienced birders. The weekend will get underway Friday evening at 8 p.m. in the Regional Education Center with an illustrated lecture by Dr. Bill Cribbs on the Okefenokee 32 Outdoors it? Georgia Swamp. Saturday will feature guided field trips and a presentation on Florida's Corkscrew Swamp bird sanctuary operated by the National Audubon Society. On Sunday, additional field trips are planned. Registration is $3 per person. For more information, write Franklin McCamey, Georgia Ornithological Society, 4676 Andover Court, Doraville 30360. SPECIAL EVENTS IN APRIL DNR's Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites Division begins a full schedule of programs and special events in April. For more information, call (404) 656-7092 or the parks listed below. Outdoor Skills Workshop Fort Mountain State Park April 6-7 Canoeing, map and compass use, survival, backpacking, rock climbing, camp cookery and outdoor safety are a few of the skills you will see demonstrated. Chatsworth. (404) 695-2621 Environmental Education Unicoi State Park All month Special arrangements can be made to provide your school, scout or youth group with a leader to assist in interpreting the flora and fauna of Unicoi State Park. Reservations are required. Helen. (404) 878-2201 Discover Skidaway Skidaway Island State Park April 6-8 Learn about the natural history of this inland barrier island where you can see a variety of wildlife including warblers and songbirds starting their spring migration and wading birds feeding in the salt marsh. Savannah. (912) 352-8599 Basket Weaving Festival Midway Museum April 7-8 Demonstrations of basket weaving with various natural materials and different designs. Midway. (912) 884-5837 And That Was The Way It Was? Kolomoki Mounds State Park April 6-8 From evidence gathered by archaeologists we can piece together what the life of the Kolomoki Indians was like. See for yourself. Blakely. (912) 723-5296 Rural Springtime Jarrell Plantation Every weekend in April Spring activities on the farm. The mule will be hitched to the plow and planting will be going on. The steam engine will be in operation, and you can also see demonstrations of blacksmithing, soapmaking, sewing, quilting. Juliette. (912) 986-5172 Spring Wildflowers Providence Canyon State Park April 21-22 Rhododendron, mountain laurel, trillium and other wildflowers will be in bloom in the canyon, called Georgia's "Little Grand Canyon." Lumpkin. (912) 838-6202 April 1979 Birding in the Okefenokee Stephen C. Foster State Park April 27-29 DNR naturalists will take you on tours of the swamp where you can see some of the swamp's many bird species as well as alligators and swamp flowers that will be in bloom. Birdwalks, boat tours and birding workshops. Fargo. (912) 637-5274. Gates open from 6:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. Black Rock Mountain Discovery Black Rock Mountain State Park April 28-29 Workshops and field trips with staff naturalists will help you dis- cover Georgia's highest state park. Spring wildflowers, migrating birds and animals reviving from a winter hibernation will highlight the weekend. Mountain City. (404) 746-2141 33 w *n ?* *$ 9 * >j> 1J..J. r : Hj ptfjort''.'' <-: .. j; } <| '