COVER STORY BY JULIE RAY / PHOTOGRAPHS BY JUSTIN FOX BURKS Aerial views of T.O. Fuller State Park show acres of fields and forrest.
(below) Snake charmer? No, that’s Ranger Jessica Gossett.
NATURE
T.O. Fuller State Park is a hidden natural gem in Memphis’ own backyard.
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— Next Door —
March 25-31, 2021
ho 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. 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 12 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. “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.
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fter 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 ADAcompliant usable trails by recycling old tires
