Loran Smith: Quail hunting as important as peanuts and the Dawgs in Early County

BLAKELY – If you don’t have culinary affection for fried quail and peanuts, you might not enjoy spending time in this town of 5,000.   There is a plethora of other dining choices, but fried Bob White and a container of boiled peanuts are always making somebody’s day in this agri-business hotspot.

Blakely is known as the “Peanut Capital of the world,” which is certainly apropos.  Early County grows more peanuts than any county in the nation.

There’s more to appreciate about the seat of Early County, including the ultimate in downhome hospitality, a courthouse square than reminds you of the one in Oxford, Mississippi, and a citizenry that bring food to wakes, share vegetables with friends and neighbors, and practices the Golden Rule.

Today, the rich soil here produces, in addition to peanuts, cotton, grain, and corn.  It is also quail country.  There is a “Quail Motel,” and when you are downtown you likely will move about, at some point, on Bob White Avenue.

Any reference to Bob White brings about recall of two south Georgia hunters bragging about their bird dogs, one adamant that he had a bird dog with “the best nose there ever was.”  To substantiate his claim, he put down his tailgate and set his English Pointer free, whereupon the birddog circled the block and came to a sudden stop.  He pointed his nose at a young boy in that classic stance, stiffly erect with his tail pointed firmly upward and his left front leg stylishly folded under his breast.

“Look at that,” the proud owner exclaimed.   His companion scoffed at the scene and said, “That don’t mean nothing. That dog is pointing at that boy.”  The birddog’s owner then advised, “Come with me.”  He went over and began interrogating the boy in the street.  “Son, you have a bird in your pocket?”  The kid shook his head negatively, “No sir, I don’t.”

The birddog owner then asked, “You been quail hunting today?  You had your hands on a quail bird?”  The answer was a convincing, “No sir.”  The dog’s owner wasn’t finished.  “Son what’s your name?”  The kid, said, “Bob.”  Then, he asked, “What is your last name?”  “White,” the kid smiled.

You hear stories like that in towns such as Blakely where quail hunting is very important — as much for the emotional benefits as anything of economic value. The two major sporting interests in deep south Georgia are quail hunting and Georgia football. Everybody loves the Dawgs and dogs, as in birddogs.  Bumper stickers, painted mailboxes and yard signs confirm the Georgia connection.  The abundance of quail plantations is as prevalent as caps sporting the red and black “G.”

Loran Smith: Road trip was a reminder that small town life is a good life

My first quail hunt was in Blakely.  I came as the guest of a grand gentleman by the name of S. G. (Guy) Maddox who owned the cotton gin, the First State Bank and with a son-in-law, Bill Young, of Lexington, Ky., developed Jif peanut butter.

As the guest of Lynwood Anglin, David Atkins, and the Methodist Men’s Ministry, I spent the night in the former home of Guy Maddox, which the bank uses as a guest house for business friends and customers.  Maddox was the first $500 contributor to the athletic scholarship fund at Georgia.  That was a big deal in his day.  UGA’s as well.

I had stayed in that same house for a quail hunt in the late 1960s along with Jim Whatley, Georgia baseball coach, and one of Maddox’s best friends.  We quail hunted with Jack Clifton who was a local baseball player of repute.  My sojourn here was a flashback to an era of good times.

After visiting with longtime friends Nelson and Libby Hattaway, who have spent much time in Athens over the years, I was up early the next morning for a downhome breakfast with Brad Hughes, publisher of the very successful Early County News, at Smitty’s restaurant, where chef-owner Trey Harrell will make your day with the best downhome breakfast you will find in the peanut capital of the world.

I met up with Al Hutchins, a former assistant to Guy Maddox, who remains employed by the bank to oversee the old homestead.  Hutchins is a member of the city council and enjoys great memories of his days with Maddox.  “This October will be 54 years that I worked for that man, and his family,” Hutchins says.  “Nobody ever treated me better than S. G. Maddox.  He was good to his employees, and he was good to his friends and neighbors.”

In Blakely/Early County those altruistic qualities are as traditional as quail and peanuts.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Quail hunting and peanuts are most important in Blakely, Georgia