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Town dog Fred dies, will be remembered with monument
Rockford's adopted mascot, Fred the dog, died on December 23, 2002 in a Birmingham animal hospital from a mysterious animal bite. Fred had been a celebrated fixture of the community since he showed up and was nursed back to health in 1993. Though he mostly hung out at Ken's Package Store, he gained popularity through a regular newspaper column, "A Dog's Life," about his activities and encounters, and then national recognition after he was profiled on cable TV's Animal Planet. Fred has been buried behind the Old Rock Jail. A permanent monument is planned. Signs at the town limits still advertise Rockford as "Home of Fred the Town Dog."
[12/28/2002]- Address:
- Palm St., Rockford, AL
- Directions:
- Grave marker behind the Old Rock Jail. Start your Fred the Dog Crawl at Ken's Package Store.
I don't know if this is new, but in addition to the many mounted and taxidermied animals in the museum, the remains of the Spear Chunker himself are now on display in the form of a container of his cremated ashes. It's somehow appropriate, although it would have been better if he had been speared.
[Zoz, 09/25/2016]Spear Hunting Museum:- Address:
- 20216 State Hwy 59, Summerdale, AL
- Directions:
- I-10 exit 44, then ten miles south on Hwy 59.
- Hours:
- Tu-Sa 1-5 (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 251-989-7700
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
Spear Chunking in Alabama
The Spear Hunting Museum, which opened quietly in December 2006, is as much about its founder as it is about spear hunting. The founder is Gene Morris, who proudly calls himself "The Greatest Living Spear Hunter in the World." He drives a Chevy Blazer that he purchased, according to the museum's curator, Sharon Henson, because it was the only car with a blank tailgate on which he could have painted, "The Greatest Living Spear Hunter in the World." Morris's other nickname is "Spear Chunker," which is written on his hats, on the labels that are affixed to his camos, and on the license plate on the front of his car.
Morris, a retired Air Force colonel, has killed close to 400 animals using only spears. "I stopped hunting with guns in 1968," he told us, "basically because it had just gotten too easy." Morris went from guns to bow hunting, to hunting with two-handed spears, to hunting with one spear in each hand, killing two animals at once. He's accomplished that feat 17 times thus far.
The Museum showcases many of the animals that Morris has killed with spears, including an African lioness, an American bison, and a menagerie of alligators, cougars, and deer. Also on display are African spears that Morris has collected on his hunting trips, and two bent spears that Morris was holding when he fell 21 feet out of a tree into a pack of wild boar. (Morris does most of his spear hunting from trees.)
Morris, who is 73, sometimes gives spear chunking demonstrations on Saturday afternoons in the Museum's back yard. His years of practical experience have led him to design his own spear, which he sells in the Museum gift shop. "It's a 4-sided blade, two feet long," he told us. "It's a massive, unreal killing machine."
We asked Morris why he felt that there was a need for a spear hunting museum, or for spear hunting in general. He told us that he believes that hunting is under attack from special interest groups and from "bleeding hearts that think that hunters are just out to satisfy a kill instinct." Spear hunting, according to Morris, "is an expansion of hunting. They're out to stop all hunting, and I'm out to expand it."
To that end, Morris is often away on spear hunting trips, and visitors should call first to see if the Spear Hunting Museum is open or if Morris has hung out the "Gone Hunting" sign. He told us that he was heading back to Africa in a week or so, where he hoped to spear a male lion and, someday, an elephant. "People ask me, 'How you ever gonna get an elephant?'" he told us. "And I say, 'Well, I'm just gonna get up in a tree higher than I was when I got the Cape Buffalo.'"
[08/18/2007]- Summerdale, Alabama - Alligator Alley - Home Of Captain Crunch
This is a great alligator farm -- there are over 200 alligators. They are very friendly and you get up close and personal with all of the animals. You even hold them! Don't miss this one, you won't regret it.
[The Krekes, 07/25/2010]Alligator Alley, Home Of Captain Crunch:- Address:
- 19950 County Road 71, Summerdale, AL
- Directions:
- Northeast of town. I-10 exit 44. Drive south on Hwy 59 for 11 miles. Turn left onto Couch Plant Rd. In a half-mile it will intersect CR-71, and the entrance to Alligator Alley will be straight ahead.
- Hours:
- Daily 10-5 (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 251-946-2483
- Admission:
- Adults $17, Seniors and children $15
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
- Valley, Alabama - Robot Soldier and Dog
According to the plaque, "Sarge and his service dog, Scrappy, were created by local artist Chuck Moore to honor the men, women, and animals who have served our country. Sarge and Scrappy were crafted from machinery parts from the local textile mills. Dedicated on June 7, 2019."
[Mandy Cain, 02/09/2021]Robot Soldier and Dog:- Address:
- 3419 20th Ave., Valley, AL
- Directions:
- I-85 exit 79, then turn south on US-29/20th Ave. Drive about one mile. Turn right at the stoplight onto 35th St. E. You'll see the statues on the right, next to the flagpole.
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Gene Morris did pass away while hunting, but he was felled by a heart attack, not a spear.