John's Journal...
Entry
66, Day 5
Dollarhide's
President
EDITOR'S NOTE: Earnest W. "Rainey" Collins, 88,
has been president of Dollarhide since 1988.
Question: What does being president of Dollarhide
mean to you?
Answer: The members elected me. We all set the rules, and then
we all go by the rules. Many newspapers have written articles about abiding
by the rules of hunting, and Dollarhide abides by them. We try to be good
sportsmen.
Question:
How has Dollarhide changed?
Answer: We've lost a lot of young people to other sports. We don't
have as many young people dedicated to hunting as we used to. Everybody
had a son and that son had a friend. But now, kids have something going
on all the time. Fifty years ago, they couldn't go to football or basketball
games every weekend, or watch TV and/or surf the Internet. Consequently,
we had everyone down here in past years.
Question: What does the future look like for Dollarhide?
Answer: Dollarhide will perpetuate. We have enough members to keep
it going for a long time. I want Dollarhide known as the hunting reservoir
of southern traditions. We've got outsiders who come in and help us, and
I think from a membership and hunting standpoint, Dollarhide remains in
good shape.
Question:
What do you miss about the old days?
Answer: We still have a good time fishing and hunting out on our
deer stands, but we don't have the same storytellers, like professional
athletes and all-American legends, that we once did coming to the club.
Some of our hunters come in and tell pretty good stories and perhaps even
lie and embellish a little. Good stories work well for the crowd.
Question:
What did you do before you became president of Dollarhide?
Answer: I went into the Army and National Guard and came out as
a General. Afterwards, I decided that Tuscaloosa needed a laundry, so
I helped run the Northington Laundry, which once cared for the Northington
Hospital in Tuscaloosa. Then I was elected Mayor of Tuscaloosa for two
terms. After I was elected president of Dollarhide, I figured I had gotten
as high as I could go.
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