The Addiction of Coon Hunting
The Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard
 Editors Note’s: I’ve befriended and hunted with some of the best coon hunters in the nation. I’ve changed some names in this week’s stories to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent and whatever reputations they may have left. An abundance of raccoons or ringtails as some hunters call them makes this species a critter you can chase all over the U.S. and parts of southern Canada. Be sure to check the seasons and bag limits in your area. Hunters have fun running their dogs yea r-round even if they can’t bag the coons.
One of my favorite quotations is one by Thornton Wilder. “There is a land of the living and a land of the dead, and the bridge is love.” On Labor Day, September 4, 1937, Key Underwood of Tuscumbia, Alabama, buried his coon hound, Troop, on top of Freedom Hill in north Alabama. Ever since then, hunters have buried their coon dogs of great reputationat the Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard near Tuscumbia, Alabama.
Some of the Tombstones read:
“Bragg, the best east of the Mississippi River.”
“Queen, rest in Peace.”
“Black Ranger, good as the best and better than the rest.”
Many hunters feel when a great coon dog passes away, that the dog des erves more than the hunter burying it in a hole in the woods. Coon hunters from around the nation come to the Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard to lay their legendary hounds to rest with respect and dignity. Their friends of many a dark night and wild romp through the woods join the remains of other great dogs that have shared like vocations. Now each year on Labor Day, the Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard holds a celebration, which includes bluegrass music, buck dancing, a liar’s contest and some delicious southern barbecue. You’ll find the coon Dog Cemetery 7 miles west of Tuscumbia on U.S. Hwy 72. Turn left on Alabama Hwy 247, and travel approximately 12 miles. Then turn right, and follow the signs. For more information and directions contact the Colbert County Tourism and Convention Bureau, 1-800-344-0783; (256) 383-0783; www.colbertcountytourism.org.
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