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SIXTH YEAR — NUMBER 24
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WHEN WOODY WAS ROLLING—This picture, made by the
late Walter Sparks, Atlanta news photographer, caught Ranger
Arthur Woody (right) at the peak of success in wildlife restora
tion in the Chattahoochee National Forest. It was made in the
spring of 1939 near Rock Creek Lake while Woody explained to
Clint Davis, now with the Forest Service in Washington, why a
brook trout is superior t<r the rainbow. Woody died at his home
at Woody Gap June 10.
Ranger
Arthur
Woody
We stood where the forest flowed over the brow of the mountain
and swept downward in an emerald current to the narrow river valley.
It was one of those rare days in early summer without a wisp of
cloud, without a breath of air, and the valleys filled to the brim with
silence.
With a simple gesture of humility, Ranger Arthur Woody took off
his hat and crumpled it in his hand.
“I’m glad,” he said, “that these hills were mine for a little while.”
Arthur Woody was one of the few men I ever knew who had the
ability of preaching great sermons in a few simple words.
Woody Left an Enduring Monument
The Ranger lived out the years of his life under the shadow of
the southern Blue Ridge. He was brought up in a virgin, rugged land,
where a man walked or rode horseback and followed an Indian trail
from one settlement to another. The country was full of game—deer,
bear, grouse, squirrels. He was with his father when the elder Woody
killed the last deer in the mountains. At least a part of his life was
devoted to rectifying that mistake.
He helped the United States Forest Service purchase land for what
was first the Cherokee and later the Chattohoochee National Forest.
He helped establish the game refuges and management areas. He
bought deer with money out of his own pocket to restock the protected
areas. And he was replenishing what his people before him and their
neighbors had taken away.
By all the standards, Arthur Woody was a great man. They’ll
probably never chisel his features in marble for the Hall of Fame.
He has left a more enduring monument in the hundreds of square
miles of mountain hardwood forests, in the deer herds which have
spread throughout the mountain counties. He has left his name in the
hearts of those who love the out-of-doors, of those who follow the
white water of Cooper’s Creek, the Toccoa and the Chestatee with a
flyrod.
Continued on Page 2
Woody Buried;
Wildlife Loses
‘Best Friend’
The end of a rich and fruitful
life in the woods came to Ranger
Arthur Woody on June 10 at the
age of 61 and with his death the
South lost its foremost native con
servationist.
“The Ranger,” as he was affec
tionately known by hosts of hunt
ers and fishermen in Georgia and
over the South, died after a lin
gering illness caused by a series
of severe heart attacks.
His death came at his North
Georgia home only eight months
after his retirement as District
Ranger for the U. S. Forest Serv
ice. He was buried at Mt. Leb
anon Church Cemetery in the
shadow of Black Mountain where
he was born April 1, 1885.
Funeral services for Ranger
Woody were attended by a throng
of over 1,500 friends from all
walks of life and from all parts
of Georgia.
STICKLER FOR ‘SPECKS’
Woody was with- the Forest
Service 30 years, during which he,
established a national record in
forest fire prevention. He had
won numerous citations for his
work in restoration and protection
of timberland.
A true woodsman and ’student
of nature, Woody championed wild
life fundamentals. He preferred
to increase and improve native
species of game, leaving the ex
otics to the laboratory. Brook
trout, which he called “specks,”
were his favorite fish, and the tur
key was the bird for which he
worked to restore in the mountains
near his home at Woody Gap.
In his early years Woody was
an expert rifleman and fisher
man. Several times he bagged
wild turkeys in full flight with his
trusty rifle. He never lost his
touch with rifles and guns and at
Continued on Page 2
Sports Editors
Gamble Space
On Big Fish
COLUMBIA, S. C.—The Green
ville News and the Columbia Rec
ord are conducting fish contests
this summer, and Scoop Latimer,
News sports editor, and Eddie
Finlay, Record sports editor, have
made a wager on which paper will
have the largest bass entered.
The loser must run the picture,
of the winning fish on his sports
page. In the News contest no
weights are announced until the
end of the contest but the Rec
ord’s leader so far is an 11-pound,
14-ounce bass caught in Richland
county.
Hunting Results
Fail to Support
Game Estimates
Results in the bag at the end of the day don’t bear out
the figures in game surveys made by “competent” observers
in the South.
A survey recently compiled by a
leading manufacturer of arms and
ammunition, and consisting of fig
ures submitted by officials of
game and fish departments in 15
Southern states—including West
Virginia and Oklahoma—paints a
glowing picture of the abundance
of rabbits, squirrels and bobwhite
quail.
It takes brave souls, of course,
with above-average temerity, to
make a game estimate. But it
takes more than youthful enthu
siasm and good judgment to say
that the populations of these farm
game species will increase five,
and again 20, years from today.
FIGURES MISLEADING
Only one of the 15 states—
Georgia — reported findings that
match those of the man behind
the gun. The Georgia estimate
was based on the reports and kills
of hunters who have seen the sup
ply of quail gradually sldmp dim
ing the past 20 years, While some
predictions went overboard and
GAINING?—A recent survey
compiled by a large arms and
ammunition company shows that
game “guessers” believe the
population of bobwhite quail is
increasing in all states of the
South except Georgia. What do
you think?
placed the bird population of 1966
at four times its present count,
Georgia estimated a decline of 30
per cent.
At the .request of the manufac
turer whigh conducted the survey,
Continued on Page 8
Pay .\o More!
'T'HE rod and reel racket that flourished during the war
was J ust the beginning of worse things to come. We
do not subscribe to the common theory that all fishermen
are suckers and will buy anything, but many of them are
so starved for equipment that they are paying three and
tour prices for rods and reels.
These daylight holdups are being staged by certain
pawn shops, free lancers and other racketeers in Atlanta
and other Southern cities. It started when the OPA price
ceilings were abolished. The outlaws and wildcatters are
having a holiday at the expense of legitimate sporting
goods houses.
The black market operators are naming and getting
own Prices, so fantastic that they make Mike Jacobs’
$100 fight seats look like charitable donations. To be spe-
^’« W A Sa u a $ 1 : 90 °^ ean Cit >' casting reel that sold for
$b.50. Another victim ..showed us two Ocean City reels
made to retail for $6.^0 each. He had paid $15.95 apiece
tor them.
Reputable retail sporting goods houses could pull the
same kind of robberies and. get away with it. Instead,
tlmy are holding the price lines and going out of their
way to keep fishermen advised on fair prices. It seems to
us that they would have a justifiable complaint against
the m anu f ac t u r ers or jobbers who supply the stick-up
outfits.
We realize that rods and reels are not hitting the mar
ket as fast as many of us had hoped, but they are on the
way in increasing quantities. By fall most fishermen should
have enough to “fill in” until they can obtain their favorite
models.
i „I n the ] b ? st 1 interests of good fishing, and of the tackle
trade and industry, we earnestly ask the readers and
mends of Southern Outdoors to see the legitimate and
fair-minded dealers first. If you cannot wait, we suggest
that you first acquaint yourselves with fair prices and
retuse to pay more. Rods and reels generally are only 15
to 20 per cent higher than before the war. Pay no more!
yO r* '— J t r— >
EDITOR AND PUBLISHER.