Like a Duck to Water

Times Gone By

Putnam County man has hunted for 76 years

Story by Brandon LaChance

Duck hunters can tell you about their prizes, who they got equipment from, how well it worked, where the best blinds were, who they hunted with, what their hunting meals or snacks were, and numerous other things.

Have you ever thought about the stories a duck could tell?

They saw this hunter here and that hunter there. They could tell you the hunter’s habits and what they smelled like or the number of times they saw a specific hunter.

Unfortunately for the duck storytellers, they didn’t have long to tell stories about Fred “Freddy” C. Lippincott – if they encountered him, they were in trouble.

“I started hunting when I was 12 years old. It would be my father (Fred S. Lippincott), my uncle (Roland Lippincott), and a few other friends,” Lippincott said. “We started with bird hunting. We had our own bird dog, so we used to hunt quail and rabbits. Those were the first two things I hunted when I was a boy.

Fred “Freddy” C. Lippincott shows a duck call he made. The duck hunter of 76 years can take a call apart, and tell you what each part does, how it is made, and why it makes the sound it does.

PHOTO BY BRANDON LACHANCE

“We had a lot of ducks that came out in the fall. They used to fly by the thousands. After I saw that, I got a duck call from my grandfather. I used to go quacking around. By the time I was 15, I could call ducks pretty well.”

Lippincott, who is now 88, was born in LaSalle County, has lived in Putnam County for at least five decades, and now resides in Hennepin. He has officially been hunting for 76 years.

If you walk through the home he shares with his wife of 63 years, Ferne, you can tell he loves ducks whether he hunts them or not. They are in every single room, even the kitchen, which has ducks on the walls and on plenty of coffee cups. Lippincott has duck memorabilia on shelves in the bedroom and basement. The living room showcases corner shelves with duck decoys and duck calls.

He owns 60 to 70 duck calls, including one his Uncle Roland got him for his 16th birthday. If you don’t know who made it or when it was made, he has them labeled, identified, and is more than willing to share the story behind how it got to his home.

Every one of his decoys has a name and date inked underneath, including a few older models that read ‘Samuel E. Lippincott, 1910’ from his great grandfather, who was born in 1854.

“I got interested because of my family, and I had a lot of other friends that got me interested in hunting,” Lippincott said. “There was one fellow

See LIPPINCOTT page 6

who took me down south (Horseshoe Lake, four miles east of St. Louis) when I was about 19 or 20 years old. It was one of the goose capitals of the world at the time.

“I didn’t want to hunt anything else. I’ve never gone deer hunting. I’ve never had the desire to shoot a deer. It’s only been waterfowl and upland game hunting,” he said.

There hasn’t been a time in his life when he took a break or stopped looking for ducks, geese, and other waterfowl. When he enlisted in the Army in 1956, he still hunted or tried his best to hunt while stationed at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri and in Gary, Indiana. The same could be said when he put an apron around customers and cut their hair as a barber or when he worked at the Big Blue Mill for 27 years before retiring.

Actually, he made duck hunting a side job throughout the years as he earned the nickname “Weedo the Guide.” He served as a hunting guide in 1990 for Ducks Unlimited and as a hunter safety instructor for the last 20 years.

“I have instructed a lot of young boys and girls over the years. Early in the hunting season, they have a junior hunt,” said Lippincott, who instructed at an August 6 course for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Hunter Safety Illinois. “It’s where the adult will use the duck calls, and the younger hunters do the shooting. It gives them an opportunity to get out and see how duck hunting is and how to do it. That’s very useful for training our youth.”

If, and the if is very far-fetched, there is an extremely lucky waterfowl who survived previous outings with Fred “Freddy” C. Lippincott, it had better tell its stories now. Even at 88, he is in the duck blind two to three times each hunting season.

“I have a friend who takes me out to hunt now. I have an open invitation at the wetlands in McNabb,” Lippincott said. “I sit in the duck blind and do the shooting. I tell him how to put the decoys out. I don’t do anything else. I take my lunch, shoot a duck here and there, and have a great time. Maybe I’ll get a goose. I still enjoy it so much. I have a great time.”

Some of the décor at Fred Lippincott’s house shows his passion for hunting.

PHOTO BY BRANDON LACHANCE

FINANCE UP TO 95%

Welcome Home.

Ownership Advantage Mortgage Can Open the Door for You!

Mortgages held locally by FPCU Mortgages held locally by FPCU Payroll deduction offered Weekly or bi-weekly payments No prepayment penalties No mortgage points

Federally insured by NCUA NMLS #609452

SM-LA2012564

Take advantage today. Contact us for details!

financialplus.org

SM-LA2012867

Enjoy Life to the Fullest

Let us make sure you have a financial plan in place that helps you enjoy your life to the fullest. We offer top-notch service and advice you need to build a plan that fits your unique goals and objectives. Trust. Integrity.