If you weren’t lucky enough to spot the hawk at the Cash Saver the other week or if you prefer to see birds sitting over a nest of eggs rather than on top shelves of egg cartons, the park rangers at T.O. Fuller State Park can point you in the right direction (and they can teach you a little bit about the birds you see, too).
This Thursday, Park Ranger Jessica Gossett is hosting the park’s third session of her birding series, during which birding beginners can learn about bird conservation, common birds in the Mid-South, and seasonal changes in bird populations, behavior, and appearance. This session is all about winter birds in the wetlands. After learning the ins and outs of the birding life, birders will get a chance to do some birding of their own, documenting the waterfowl and other wildlife in the wetlands along Riverport Road.
“At this moment, I know we have a bunch of starlings, and we do have some Carolina wren, some eastern bluebirds but those are hard to find because they are small and huddle up,” says Park Ranger Decoda Muller. “But mostly right now what you’re gonna find is birds of prey.”
Muller, for his part, is hosting an event of his own this Saturday: the park’s first ever Winter Camporee. The park has already had its annual Camporee, but this one is a bit more tailored to the season, so guests can bundle up and gather around the campfire to roast s’mores and hot dogs and sip on some hot cocoa. Muller has also teased that he will be giving each guest an outdoor-related gift. “It’s going to be a surprise,” he says.
Fees for both the Mid-South Birding 101 and the Winter Camporee will go toward the park’s conservation, programming, and projects. To register or for a schedule of even more upcoming events, visit tnstateparks.com/parks/t-o-fuller. (Next week, the park is hosting a class on making healthy treats for birds.)
Mid-South Birding 101: Winter in the Wetlands, T.O. Fuller State Park, Thursday, December 9th, 9:15-11:15 a.m., $10-$20;
Winter Camporee 2021, Saturday, December 11th, 4:30-7 p.m., $10-$25.
As I type these words, it’s Tuesday morning, September 21st. I’ve made several false starts on this column, looking over what I’ve written and deciding to start over.
I had hoped to use this space to acknowledge some high points for Memphis over the past week or so. I’m sure we could all use a moment to celebrate, and I don’t want to become one of those people who spouts anger or doom-and-gloom on a weekly basis.
The three-day mission of Inspiration4 marked the first all-civilian flight to orbit the Earth, and one of the crew was Hayley Arceneaux, a former patient of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and current St. Jude physician assistant. The mission raised $210 million for St. Jude. If that’s not something to celebrate, I don’t know what is.
In other good news, the University of Memphis Tigers beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs at the Liberty Bowl last Saturday. I don’t know much about football, but people seem pretty excited about that turn of events. Go Tigers!
Also last weekend, I drove past the Luciann Theatre on Summer, its marquee lit up and glowing. The Luciann is the as-yet-undecided business making its home in the former site of the Paris theater, itself the former site of the former Luciann Theatre. Whatever confusion with names — or what the building’s eventual use will be — is, to me at least, secondary to the knowledge that a cool, old building in a too-little-celebrated part of town will be put to use instead of being torn down. William Townsend, the Luciann’s owner, discusses potential options for the space in a great Memphis Business Journal article, published last summer, by Jacob Steimer.
Memphian Carmeon Hamilton’s Reno My Rental premiered on discovery+ and HGTV on Saturday, September 18th, and seems to be getting a lot of well-deserved attention. I hope the show brings Hamilton all the support and success.
Finally, philanthropists Hugh and Margaret Jones Fraser and the Carrington Jones family of Memphis donated 144 acres to T.O. Fuller State Park.
So, yes, that’s all good news, and I think we should all take a moment to celebrate it.
But the news this morning is not so good, and I felt a little sick to my stomach trying to will the bad to the back of my mind in order to write more about the celebration-worthy successes I’ve mentioned above. Images have surfaced depicting U.S. Border Patrol agents chasing and apparently whipping Haitian migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. They are not pretty pictures. Men mounted on horseback seem to snarl at the barefoot men and women they tower over. It is as clear an abuse of power as I’ve ever seen, not to mention that it’s, put simply, inhumane. Seeking asylum is legal. It’s a basic human right, and it’s a foundational principle of this country. Or at least, we like to say it is.
The Department of Homeland Security has vowed to investigate. Meanwhile, Senator Marsha Blackburn has made hay, tweeting about the crisis, the security of the border, and that old standby, “The solution to ensure this doesn’t happen is to build the wall.”
I know that it’s how the political game is played, but there is something incredibly cruel about labeling human beings with nothing more than the clothes on their backs as “threats.” These are people, human beings. I don’t claim to have a solution, but pointing fingers at the U.S. immigration system when it’s time to fundraise without ever attempting to make it work for those who need it is no solution at all.
In other distressing news, The Tennessean’s Brett Kelman reports that Tennessee state government is recommending that the monoclonal antibody treatment for Covid be denied to vaccinated patients with the disease. This will not apply to vaccinated Tennesseans who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed, which is one small mercy at least.
On the one hand, unvaccinated people who contract Covid are more likely to need that highly effective treatment. Of course, the surest way to prevent being hospitalized with a severe case of the disease is to be vaccinated. It reminds me a little bit of an unvaccinated friend who is helping several Covid-positive members of her church. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We’re taking precautions. We’re taking supplements.” Doubtless, those supplements are not approved by the FDA, but she refuses to take the Pfizer vaccine, which does have FDA approval. It does not make sense.
This week’s column has been a bit of a roller coaster, I know, but so has the last week. I hope we can all take a moment to acknowledge the good — and that it gives us strength to keep doing the work to make sure the good news is not ever in short supply. Jesse Davis
Tennessee State Parks officials today announced the addition of 144 acres to T.O. Fuller State Park, a donation to the park by philanthropists Hugh and Margaret Jones Fraser and the Carrington Jones family of Memphis.
“We are fortunate to have such wonderful conservationists as Hugh and Margaret Jones Fraser and the Carrington Jones family, and we want to thank them for this generous gift to our state parks,” Jim Bryson, deputy commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), said. “T.O. Fuller State Park holds a special place in the history of our parks and is the only state park in Memphis. This will be a great addition.”
Carrington Jones and his son, William Carrington Jones, who died in 2018, owned, farmed, and developed land near the park. Margaret Jones Fraser and her brother, Mason Jones, visited the park as children and developed a love of the outdoors. The family wants to give back to the community and is donating various parcels of land. The donation is a chance to expand and protect a community asset while providing educational and recreational opportunities.
Non-profit partners The Land Trust for Tennessee and Wolf River Conservancy assisted in the process.
“In the summer of 2018, Hugh asked me to help think through how we might fit these land puzzle pieces together with conservation for the community as the goal,” Liz McLaurin, president and CEO of The Land Trust for Tennessee, said. “Projects like this are all about timing, the right combination of people, partners, and a common vision. Three years later, it is so heartening to see it all coming together — goal achieved.”
“Wolf River Conservancy is proud to have worked with such good people on an important project for Memphis and the state parks system,” Ryan Hall, director of Land Conservation for the Wolf River Conservancy, said.
Rangers Jessica Gossett, Jimmy Warren, and
Decoda Muller
(Photo: Justin Fox Burks)
“Who cooks for you?” might be the number one question asked at T.O. Fuller state park in South Memphis. It won’t be asked by visitors. It will be asked of visitors — from a resident barred owl, aptly named Hero.
Barred owls are indigenous to this area and have a distinctive call that sounds like a question to many, specifically the question, “Who cooks for you?” This inquisitive bird found a place at the park’s interpretive center, formerly the golf clubhouse for the old course that closed in 2012. Four years later, this state-of-the-art nature center opened, where injured animals are nursed back to health and released back to the wild.
Who cooks for you? Ranger Decoda Muller and Hero the owl. (Photo: Justin Fox Burks)
Hero sustained injuries that would not allow him to be released. He shares the center as his home with a screech owl, a turtle, and a corn snake with similar stories. To earn their keep at the center, the resident animals are employed by park rangers for teaching opportunities on and off the park grounds.
Also earning his keep is the fourth park manager in the history of T.O. Fuller State Park, Jimmy Warren, who took the reins from Ranger Calvin Robinson in March 2017. Nearing his four-year anniversary as park manager, Warren, a retired Memphis police officer, talks about park features, activities, and possibilities. He has a personal vested interest in the park, as the first park manager with roots in the area.
Ranger Jimmy Warren poses while holding a terrapin. (Photo: Justin Fox Burks)
“This state park was built in 1938 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and was the first state park opened for African Americans east of the Mississippi. It was named after Dr. Thomas O. Fuller in tribute to the man who was an African-American educator, leader, and pastor for our community,” Warren says.
“After 30 years as a community officer, I wanted to come back to my neighborhood and do what I could for my park, my neighborhood, and my community,” Warren continues.
Warren grew up one block from T.O. Fuller Park and attended nearby Mitchell High School. The park was his backyard, the place where he and his family enjoyed all the amenities it had to offer.
His memories include a classmate who lived in the area where the C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa stands now. The area was called Chucalissa Village in recent history while Native Americans still lived on the property. The Choctaw Nation tribe, led by Chief Grady Jones, made their own clothes and jewelry, among other things. Warren remembers the daughter of Chief Grady, Mitchell High School classmate Sandra Jones. Her family gifted Warren some bowls made by their tribe. He laments that after seeing an Antiques Roadshow episode where similar bowls were appraised at a high value, his gifts were long gone.
After four years under his leadership, what has Warren done with the park? And what does he have planned? Increasing foot traffic was a goal at the top of Warren’s list.
At the interpretive center, a program has been implemented called Conservation Consequences. It serves the students in local public schools — specifically those in the 38109 ZIP code and Whitehaven. Topics are focused on preservation (including the resident critters) and life skills. Rangers talk about conservation and preservation, while community leaders engage students in conflict resolution skills — and the consequences of not using those skills.
A Tires to Trails grant was recently awarded to the park. It combines efforts to clean up the area with creating ADA-compliant usable trails by recycling old tires that were gathered during a recent MLK Day of Service. A company in Bristol, Tennessee, grinds them to concrete consistency for usable trail-building material.
Current park amenities include a baseball and soccer field, basketball courts, a swimming pool, and tennis courts. Where the golf course used to be is now open grassy and hilly land, an area perfect for watching wildlife.
Aerial views of T.O. Fuller State Park show acres of fields and forest. (Photos: Justin Fox Burks)
Warren says that when he was a kid, he used to watch Eddie Payton — the brother of the former Chicago Bears great, Walter Payton — play golf where the grassy area is now. He vividly remembers Eddie running around the golf course to intimidate his opponents. The intimidation tactic, Warren says, was due to the fact that Payton liked to bet on his golf game but was really bad at golf.
“He [Payton] had these huge legs like tree trunks and wore shorts, so he could run around the course and try and scare his opponents,” reminisces Warren, with a chuckle. “The end result is that I witnessed him lose money, a watch, and various other personal items. He was just bad at golf.”
Warren is happy that the public can now enjoy watching eagles, deer, ducks, and numerous other wildlife species where Eddie used to run.
Many of the plans to increase park traffic have been put on hold or have been transformed to fit current health mandates. Ranger Jessica Gossett is tasked with maintaining and implementing evolving programs as the pandemic rules and regulations wax and wane.
Snake charmer? No, that’s Ranger Jessica Gossett. (Photo: Justin Fox Burks)
Leaning on her educational background through AmeriCorps and substitute teaching, Gossett says, “Through play, children learn about the environment. Play is learning. Programs focus on hands-on and recreational play. Sometimes that means I just go out there and play games, have fun, and run around with young park visitors.”
Some programs Gossett has in the works, awaiting relaxed health mandates, are a program teaching about light pollution, a weather teaching program (developed by a University of Memphis intern), and a geology teaching program. Future activities she hopes to initiate as more people get vaccinated, include LARPing, yoga, and fieldwork.
Look for tree-planting opportunities in April and a program in development called Backyard Greens that showcases plants at the park — and in your backyard — that were brought by settlers to our area. These include purple deadnettle and henbit, two very similar plants in the mint family. One is invasive. Both are edible. Participants will learn to identify and use these plants, as well as other common weeds, in salads and for medicinal purposes.
For now, most programs are still virtual or on-demand. Gossett recently initiated some virtual programs on T.O. Fuller Park’s Facebook page, which include a Black History series, a Living History series about enslaved and free women, and a Black Women’s Suffrage in Tennessee presentation, in honor of the centennial of the 19th amendment.
Gossett says he has noticed a drop in park visitors who may not know that the day-use area is open. “The day-use area is great to view wildlife. If you are still and quiet, you’ll meet great blue and little blue herons, as well as the occasional beaver.”
Catching a beaver at play one day in the day area, Gossett videoed the semiaquatic rodent and posted its activities on the park’s Facebook page. She’s also come face-to-face with a beaver during a survey of the wetlands.
“Beavers are territorial. While surveying the wetlands for an upcoming wetland hike that is in the works, I was stopped by beavers. By ‘stopped,’ I mean they rammed my kayak. Earlier that same day, I accidentally scooped up a diamondback water snake in shallow waters with my paddle.”
Rangers Jessica Gossett, Jimmy Warren, and Decoda Muller (Photo: Justin Fox Burks)
In case you are wondering, Gosset said that the beaver was more concerning. Diamondback water snakes are non-venomous.
Ranger Decoda Muller works in tandem with Gossett but uses a different skill set. Muller, who has a carpentry background, has designed bat boxes with donated supplies. While there are many bats who call the park home, Gossett says she wants more, because she was bitten by a mosquito recently. She hopes to find students or scouts who want to put together, paint, and install more bat boxes throughout the park under Muller’s direction.
Muller is currently presenting the birds of prey and reptile programs on demand. Weed wrangles, traditional hikes, kayaking, plant programs, tree-planting, and birding programs will be scheduled in the near future.
As of now, the pool and basketball courts will be closed this year. Other areas that host low-contact sports are open, including soccer fields, baseball fields, and tennis courts. Reading programs that can be accessed virtually and that feature park storyteller Mother Wit (Joy Scott) and the rangers will be added, as well as prerecorded Native American history presentations.
The 1,138 acres of parkland have lots of self-guided activities, Gossett says, especially after a rain, when the ephemeral creeks (temporary creeks) are flowing.
“Along the Discovery trail near the visitor center, these creeks pop up after a rain. At this time, visitors can find crawdads in the muddy silt and see raccoons who come out to feast on them. Native American homestead features like brick and ceramic remnants can be found while the creeks are running,” Gossett says.
T.O. Fuller is the only state park within the Memphis city limits. The park protects and showcases a unique natural habitat while offering a wide range of outdoor recreational assets. Rangers Warren, Gossett, and Muller invite you and your group to come out and experience the magic.
