Preserving Traditions

While many flock to the big city to make their fortunes and enjoy the lights, untold millions of Americans sit back and enjoy a more laid back feel. Activities like sitting on the front porch sipping iced tea, petting the dog, hunting, fishing and enjoying family activities are all part of the lifestyle -it’s the South. At the borderline where Virginia meets North Carolina a fine example of the that lifestyle is preserved. Northampton County, NC is situated along Highway 158 and the Roanoke River, covering 536 square miles of pure country. Trees, fields and occasionally a little town dots the landscape with a few people mulling around. The air is clean, the sky is blue and wildlife is prolific. It’s no wonder hunters from elsewhere are always looking for a reason to visit. . Dock Boone, owner of Lily Pond Creek Hunting Lodge, has just the fix for them. With over 35,000 acres, abundant tree stands and trained guides to make sure his guests are safe and secure, Dock and his staff give hunters the opportunity to relax and enjoy some of the most beautiful scenery in the state. Heading out to Jackson, NC on a hot summer day, a bright yellow crop duster made its dive over fields of corn, already six feet tall and growing. An unassuming sign stood proud in the massive yard of the complex. Craig Copeland was on the yard tractor mowing. The sandy lane was lined with old oaks that stood like sentinels in front of the recently renovated but well loved farm house. Dock was at the back of the house in the kitchen with his daughter, Laurel. Both are friendly and full of hospitality, they offered some water, cold from the refrigerator. An impressively large handmade dining table with several chairs greeted us as we moved through the dining area. Dock explained that it was made by a local craftsman as we moved towards the living room. The lodge decor is definitely masculine but uncluttered and comfortable. Furniture seems to wrap you in a hug when you sit down. The walls supported numerous hunting trophies, mostly deer and a few electronic amenities for guests to enjoy. “I’ll tell you how it all started,” he said in an unassuming tone. “I started hunting when I was 12 years old, on a regular basis. We had five siblings in my family - four boys and one girl. I had never hunted a lot, mostly on Thanksgiving. I remember daddy taking me out of school to go hunting. He introduced me to hunting but it was only on special occasions,” When Dock was twelve his oldest brother, Terry, joined a hunting club and he started hunting with that group. He met Barry Bryant, who became a lifelong friend and the two spent many years enjoying the outdoors and sharing stories. “It was my life,” Dock reminisced. “Northampton County is big and it’s one of the top deer hunting regions in the state. I became that guy that people call when they want to go hunting and need somebody local to show them around. I became a guide at a young age.” In his late teens, Dock's sister married “Jimbo” McLean. He and Jimbo hit it off and Dock introduced him to Northampton County’s myriad of wildlife. “I hunted everything from deer to dove,” Dock noted. “Me and him and Barry, we were always fishing or hunting or doing something outdoors.” Dock attended NC State University and got his degree in horticulture, when Charlie Edwards, according to Dock, started a hunting lodge “down the street.” “I came and talked to him about a guide job. He hired me to be his bird dog trainer, which I didn’t know a thing about so it lasted about two weeks.” Dock wanted to hunt. It was his passion, so when Gil Cutchen started Occoneechee hunting lodge nearby, he jumped at the chance. “Gill and I had nine clients the first year,” he said. Three years later, his family’s old homeplace went up for sale and Dock bought what is now the lodge from his cousin. “That was in 1997 and we’ve been here since,” he said with an air of pride in his voice. And proud he should be, it’s not easy to keep any business open for almost 25 years. Having a hunting lodge presents its own special challenges but Dock said he’s been blessed. He has an inordinate amount of repeat business and as if that isn’t enough, there are so many of those clients that, over the years, have become good friends. “I believe the thing that sets us apart is that when you get here you feel like family. It’s relaxed, like a second home, or like their own camp. We’re kinda laid back. We get along with everybody. It’s not a starched environment.” Dock proceeded, saying that there are many of his clients, that if he had learned of their passing he would stop everything to attend their funeral and in the South that says something.“They feel like family,” he said, adding that two of his clients had their ashes scattered on the property.

For deer season, most of his clients come from Pennsylvania because they have a short hunting season. A little trek down to North Carolina gives them an extra week to hunt and extra meat for the freezer. “Now, bear hunting parties are a different thing,” Dock said. People generally come from Texas, Ohio and Tennessee for bear camp. “We’ve had people from Europe, Canada, California, but most come from the east coast,” he said. Their stay ranges from three to six days and they are semi guided. Transportation, tracking and dragging kills, meals and other amenities are included in his services. “We have stands located all over the county,” he said. “We have about five hunters per guide. We are usually up in the morning before light and take them out. We pick the group up at 10, then have breakfast. After that they can shoot skeet or watch TV but most of the guys take a nap, especially the 45 first day. Then we go back out about two, so the day is full of hunting. But we do have the skeet range if they want to shoot their guns. At night we have supper. They have a shelter to hang out in or they can drive to town if they want too. They can do pretty much anything they want.” Dock said that it’s the experience that makes people come back year after year and many times it comes down to how you treat the guests that’s the key. He recalled Claire Saunders who was the “best” cook Lily Pond has had since it began. She was well known for her breakfasts which included dishes like blackberry cobbler and scrumptious casseroles. On the other hand, Will Joyner could cook, he never offered a great deal of variety but he was an entertainer. “Will was a comedian,” he said. “He had a way of watching people and he could pick up on their idiosyncrasies and then imitate them. He kept something going all the time”.

Prominent personalities don’t have to come in human form at Lily Pond Lodge. Dock said for many years his dachshund, named “Weenie” was a welcomed attraction, devoted animal and member of the family. While her dedication was legendary, she was better known as a tracker. Believe it or not, Dachshunds were originally bred for tracking and hunting badgers and other burrowing animals. Weenie was famous for tracking deer and once she found one, Dock noted, it was best for everyone else to leave it alone. “She would ride in the hunter’s laps in the truck,” he said. “But once she got on the track of a deer me and Craig were he only ones that could get her off. Many times we had to drag her out with the deer.” When asked what his favorite thing about hunting was, Dock relayed that he actually enjoyed tracking the best, especially bear. Sometimes hunters make a bad shot and when that happens Dock has to ensure the health and safety of those in his care. Tracking a wounded deer is one thing. It takes some skill but tracking a bear means literally crawling around on your stomach through some of the thickest places on earth and not knowing where it is. “It could turn into something bad but it hasn’t so far,” he said, noting that there have been times he’s spent as many as 15 hours tracking then dragging. Dock said he loves his business and his customers but he’s a little disappointed that the economic impact of outdoor industries is so often overlooked. In fact, a recent report, Hunting in America - An Economic Force for Conservation, found that Americans spent spent $9.88 billion annually in the hunting and sporting sectors while hunters contribute $23.8 million to state, local and federal taxes per day. That money is used to support the operation of wildlife agencies and conservation efforts. “We are an asset,” Dock said. “We bring in money from outside the state. There is good and bad in everything but that fact is kind of overlooked. I’ve had two hunters from Pennsylvania and Massachusetts move down here permanently and a lot of other people that talk about it.” Dock also tries to ensure that his business is a benefit to the local farmers while working with the local hunting clubs to make sure they still have a place to hunt. He said he understands the dynamics of the industry and that today it’s hard to find a friend to let you hunt their land. Having three children and a job that has required him to get up before dawn, leave his family and stay gone until after dusk,

Dock said he’s sometimes concerned about missing out on his family but he knows he did what he had to do to put food on the table. Recently his daughter Laurel surprised him by writing a Facebook post to congratulate him for 25 years of being in business. As he read it off his phone, you could tell that it touched his heart. Laurel reminisced about her fondest memories at the Lodge, recalling things like riding the mule through the mud and hunting whenever she liked. She said she was grateful for the opportunity to grow up around her dad’s friends and having the opportunity to listen to them talk when they were little. “It is just so cool to me because these people have been coming back from all over the country for years and years to this little one stoplight town in North Carolina to go hunting,” she said. “I’m so blessed to be a part of this business because it’s not something many people get to experience. My most favorite part about the lodge is getting to see new faces every year, but again seeing those familiar faces that have been coming ever since I was little, and even before I was born and seeing them connect with my dad and knowing that this is all his doing. With a lot of great help from guides, cooks, friends, etc. I am so blessed to have such a hard working dedicated dad and cheers to 25 years.” Dock looked up from that post. Perhaps there was the trace of a tear in his eye, nevertheless, he said, “I do worry sometimes that I wasn’t good enough but I guess that’s something.” he said as he slipped the phone back into his pocket.

Lily Pond Creek offers hunting packages for Whitetail Deer, trophy Black Bear, Eastern Turkey, upland birds and Striped Bass fishing. To learn more about Lily Pond Creek Hunting Lodge visit their website at lilypondcreek.com