I’ve been greatly saddened this week in the passing of a dear friend of mine, Jerry Brown. The wisdom, guidance, confidence and advice this man gave me is immeasurable. For the last twenty years of my life, not a week has gone by, that I didn’t think about Jerry. Every time I admired a big tree, found a flower, saw a garden, experienced a hunting episode, or read something interesting, I always ran it by Jerry. There was very little he did not experience. I remember asking him once, “How did you learn so much about deer?”. His answer, “I put down my gun and picked up a camera. I saw deer do things I’ve never noticed before. Incidentally, I also learned more about deer from watching my dog, than I ever did from somebody!” Sage advice indeed. If there ever was a man who loved soil and its potential for growing anything, it was Jerry. He made sure all of his garden soils had a ph of 7, after which he amended if necessary. He grew heirloom plants. He had his “Indian garden” where he only planted the seeds given to him by his many Native American friends. If there was a crop that could be grown here in the southeast, he tried it. He knew the history of the land he lived on, the natural history as well as the human history. His farm served as the place where many young hunters had their first experience handling firearms. Jerry knew how important it was to incorporate safety in learning how to hunt. He and Genelle hosted many school groups on their property. He loved teaching people, especially kids, about wild plants and their uses. I will sorely miss this friend as will anybody else that ever knew him. Tallapoosa county has lost a great patriot, citizen and mentor.
