I love hunting in the south, and love meeting local people when I’m there.

When I hunted at Timberview Lodge, Porterville, Mississippi, owners Ike and Betty Hopper invited me along to visit with one of their friends, Jack Dudley.

When we arrived, Dudley’s grandson Dan Calvert was in the process of re-securing one tomato plant to the TV antenna - on top of the two-story house! I was soon to learn that not only was Dudley a tomato-growing champion, he also was a turkey calling champion. And Dudley never used any manufactured turkey calls, he called only with his mouth.

Dudley, a native of Scooba, Miss., has been calling turkeys and growing tomatoes for most of his life. When he was a youngster, he practiced daily calling back and forth with a neighbor’s turkeys, until eventually he could call them over to his house. In 1967, through the urging of a friend named Red Frost, Dudley entered a state turkey calling contest, and finished third behind the national champion.

In 1968 he won the Mississippi State Championship and the Mississippi Open. In 1969, he won the National Championship. That same year, a 45 LP record was made with Dudley describing how to mimic his calling techniques – the record was sold in every state. Soon, Dudley was performing turkey-calling exhibitions, both in person and through radio and TV.

His domination of Mississippi calling contests caused sponsors to urge him to retire so that more competitors would enter. In 1970, he was presented with a Retiring State Champion Trophy. Former champions could enter the King of Kings Champions competition, which Dudley won in 1971 and 1977. The 1977 win came over Preston Pittman, who had been tutored by Dudley since he was 13. Pittman won the Mississippi Championship from 1973-1975, and the 1975 National Championship.

Dudley once even put on a turkey-calling exhibition for Bear Bryant’s 1971 University of Alabama football team. He also was featured on a Paul Harvey radio broadcast, and on Atlanta TV programs. He once did an exhibition for the Mississippi State Legislature and they passed a Concurrent Resolution commending him. Dudley also has written an instructional book about turkey calling, which has sold in 40 states.

“I always wanted to be famous for something,” Dudley said. “I didn’t think I’d make it in the movies.”

After retiring from competitive turkey calling contests, Dudley embarked on competitive tomato raising. In 1980, one of his plants grew to 17-1/2 feet tall and yielded 385 tomatoes. In the years to come, using nothing more than “Miracle Gro” and lots of intensive labor, his plants grew and produced even more. In 1997, he grew plants 16-1/2 feet high and pulled about 1,500 tomatoes. In 1998, he had eight plants at heights of about 18 feet that yielded 2,300 tomatoes. In 1999, eight plants produced 2,851 tomatoes.

“I’ve been experimenting for a few years,” Dudley said. “I don’t use anything, but water and Miracle Gro. And what I know to do to them, but that’s got to be a secret.”

Unable to resist the fun of exhibiting turkey calling abilities, Dudley teamed up with four other champion callers to create a group called The Fearsome Five. Fearsome Five members include Dudley, Tony Kinton, Otha Barham, Robert Hembree and Brandon Bennett.

“I was just as proud of all those who have come after me,” Dudley said. “And I’m also proud that everybody who knows me always has plenty of tomatoes.”

Jack Lewis Dudley, at age 69, died Nov. 8, 2008.

Response from Pennsylvania

Turkey Management Plan Input

I recently submitted my thoughts about turkey management. I had thought that fishers might be killing them on roost. But I was wrong; here’s the response I got: “Fishers are formidable predators, but turkeys are not sought after by them. Fishers mainly climb trees to search in tree cavities for squirrels, woodpeckers, etc. Roosting turkeys would feel vibrations of and hear a fisher climbing a tree and fly off. Great horned owls are successful in killing roosting turkeys due to their silent flight. As habitat conditions become poor, predators can more easily locate turkeys, especially nesting hens and their young. I believe our best course is improving habitat. Thank you for continuing your habitat improvements on your property.” — PGC Wild Turkey Biologist Mary Jo Casalena