For George Patton, It Was Cash and Carry

Photo © Vicky Moon

Photo © Vicky Moon

By Jimmy Hatcher

Long-time local fox hunting enthusiasts will remember the opening meets of the Piedmont Hunt years ago as the late Mrs. A.C. Randolph MFH sat mounted at her Oakley farm in Upperville to welcome in a new hunting season.

A long-time member of the Piedmont field once joked how much Mrs. Randolph seemed to resemble the great actor, George C. Scott, in his master work “Patton” as he opened the acclaimed Oscar-winning film making an impassioned speech in front of the American flag.

Patton actually was Mrs. Randolph‘s uncle, his wife being Beatrice Ayer Patton, Mrs. Randolph‘s aunt. That Jimmy Hatcher famous speech was no less daunting then Mrs. Randolph‘s mere appearance addressing the opening meet. General and Mrs. Patton had their own fox hunt, encompassing parts of Old Dominion and Piedmont country.

George C. Scott in Patton

One night, Stephen Clark, scion of the Singer Sewing Machine fortune, volunteered the following story about the general. Before World War II, Mr. Clark was field secretary for the Middleburg Hunt and was responsible for collecting capping fees for the Foxcroft Thanksgiving meet.

Foxcroft’s students didn’t go home until Christmas back in those days, so the entire community turned out to help the schoolbound girls celebrate the holiday. Activities included a fox hunt, a hunt breakfast, and an afternoon field hockey game.

There was a great turnout for the hunt field that day, so Mr. Clark filled both pockets of his great coat with capping fees, which in those days were probably as little as $10.

The following day, Friday, Mr. Clark hunted all morning and afternoon with Piedmont and never was able to make it to the bank in time to deposit those fees. On Saturday, the Middleburg Hunt met at Mount Zion Church east of Route 15 and Mr. Clark and his great coat were there to welcome a considerably smaller hunting field.

Riders were starting to move into place before setting off when a horse van arrived, followed by a pink Rolls Royce. Out of the car stepped George Patton, at that time still a colonel, and four of his guests. Col. Patton approach Mr. Clark and said, “Steve, I have five to hunt today, then handed him a $500 bill.

Never hesitating even a blink, Mr. Clark said he left Patton with both of the colonel’s hands filled with countless miscellaneous smaller denomination bills he’d been carrying around for days.