โSorry, Michael couldnโt make it, heโs busy building a dirt bike track,โ Ryan Wakenigg says as he climbs down from his large, white pickup truck.ย Bone Collectorโsย marketing manager and I were slated to meetย Michael Waddellย for lunch at the Whistling Pig Cafรฉ in Pine Mountain, Georgia. But Waddellโs morning had other ideas.
Itโs a clear, cold afternoon a few days after Christmas, and Waddell had just given his six-year-old son Waylon a dirt bike. So, he did what any dad with 500 acres and access to a skid steer does: He woke up and built him a dirt bike track.
This was my first indication that Michael Waddellโchampion turkey caller-turned hunting show hostโwas every bit the guy you see cleaning his own kills on TV. Heโs a diligent, honest, legitimate southern boy who despite his success still values hard work and doing the job right. Even if that means doing all the work himself.
After a lunch of smoked brisket and chicken taters, Wakenigg and I roll through a pair of gates with โDDโ emblazoned in iron. The letters stand forย Downton Dixie, the name Waddell and his wife Christie gave the 500-acre farm they call home. Itโs a tribute to their favorite TV showย Downton Abbey.
We slowly creep through a meticulous grove of barren Georgia pecan trees before arriving in front of the dirt bike track. Waddell drives a skid steer as it bounces over freshly graded jumps and ramps, while boys on bikes and buggies speed around him. Waddell looks up from his morningโs road work, waves at us, and jumps out. โWeโve been waitinโ for ya!โ he says, greeting me like I was his best friend coming into town for the weekend, even though weโd never met. โGlad we got that water pipe fixed for you, boy, woulda hated to have you have to get a room out in town.โ
He is referring to the water pipe in his guest barn that froze over Christmas weekend. The โbarn,โ designed for the Waddellsโ house guests, is an elevated apartment that he has graciously invited me to stay in for the night. It stands over a work bay where Waddell, his sons, and his father work on the farmโs heavy equipment. When consecutive days of freezing weather caused a pipe to burst, he and his father spent the day after Christmas repairing it. No one was hired. Like everything on this farm, it was a family effort.
https://www.bonecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/The-Bone-Collectors-Ultimate-South-Georgia-Dream-Yard.webp4231210Bone Collectorhttps://www.bonecollector.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/bc-logo-white.pngBone Collector2024-05-31 15:46:102024-05-31 15:46:11Bone Collector Crew Collects Turkey Hunting World Record Grand Slam
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