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-- Long Time Plott man & coonhunter gone (http://forums.ukcdogs.com/showthread.php?threadid=103516)

Long Time Plott man & coonhunter gone

Yesterday I went to the funeral for Eugene Sowell of Center, Texas. He was born 23 March 1932 and died 14 July 2006. Gene introduced me to Plotts about 15 years ago. I hunted with his big old "Plott Pete" dog many times and have many fond memories of following Pete and my Black dog through the woods at the Attoyac hunting club with Gene. There were several trucks with dogboxes in the parking lot at the funeral home, and everyone who knew Gene as an avid coonhunter and Plott person came dressed informally. Gene taught me a lot about coondogs and always amazed me with his ability to know EXACTLY the best way to a tree or to get back to the truck after a hunt.

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SKY
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Author of the novel "Follow Jennifer"

I did not know Mr. Sowell personally, but I'm sure sad to hear of his passing. I really enjoy these older hunters, and older people in general. They truely are priceless treasures. If for no other reason than for the stories they can tell.

I'm sorry for your loss, Skyblu.

Sonia, I hate to hear of the passing of Mr. Gene, I am sure he was a man of great knowledge on the Plott Dog....... We will remember his family in our prayers.....

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Sourwood Mountain Plotts
Fall Creek Falls, Tennessee
"Mountain Bred Dogs & Mountain Bred People"

While I didn't know Gene personally, my sympathies go out to his family and friends. We can't afford to lose someone who makes positive contributions to the plott breed.

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Don't blame me - I voted for McCain/Palin!

Thanks, y'all

Gene's son Van has moved here from southern Louisiana. He used to coonhunt with Gene years ago and he just bought one of my Plott pups to start on coon. He's going to hunt a couple of my older Plotts as well so we'll be going to the hunts and shows loaded with PLOTTS.

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SKY
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Author of the novel "Follow Jennifer"

I know this is late in being posted, and Im new to this board, but just yesterday, 1/22/07 did I hear of the passing of Mr. Sowell back in July 06.

I went to a search engine, typed in his name and found the obituary and a few hits on the name match. Thats how I found this thread. Hope yall dont mind me being alittle long in my words with me being a new comer yall dont know, to this message board.

So here goes:

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Sowell back around 92 at a hog baying contest of all places for a coon hunter :-)

Over the years I stopped by he and Marthas home several times to talk plott dogs, breeding and drinking coffee.

Back then, Gene raised his plotts and Martha raised her old time, long eared Black & Tans. If you have never seen the old time B&T with their ears 12"+, and huge in frame, they are truely beautiful and rare.

But Mr. Gene, was a plott man thru and thru..

Back then, they had a EXTREMELY nice kennel built, complete with long runs for all the dogs. It was a nice one.

Mr. Sowell always had a good coon hound on the ground and a good coon hunt'n story to share. He had some good hog dog stories too :-)

After we got to know one another a few years, I felt extremely proud to have Mr. Sowell buy two pups from me years ago. It was kind of a funny story in away of him getting those pups.

Mr. Sowell always liked dogs that were out of or had the bloodline of that Cypress River Clyde dog of Charlie Boyters. But he also really liked a dog of Orval Roberts named Beaucoup Sam.

I had a hog hunting gyp with an extremely cold nose out of ole clyde and crossed her with the extremely cold nose aggressive hog and bear dog male of Orvals, Sam.

In conversations between Orval and Mr. Gene, Orval mentioned the cross. As soon as their phone conversation finished, my phone was ringing and it was Mr. Gene. He said "Mr. Jim, I want two of them puppies out of old Callie and Sam" I gladly said I would reserve two for him.

Finally the pups were welped and 6 weeks old. I called Mr. Gene and he and I believe Ms. Martha came down to where I lived at the time, in Danbury Tx.

The gyp pup was a blue maltese brindle and the (first) male was a brown brindle. We walked out the back door to look at the pups. All the pups came a runnin and a barkin, except the blue female. So, here we go and went to looking for the female. She was no where to be found. We looked and looked and finally we found her, she had fallen in a hole and was covered with fire ants. Ms. Martha was a nurse and plenty familiar with dogs her self and dusted her off and the poor thing had bites all over her, especially her belly. I appoligized to them both for what had happened and tried to offer him another one of the gyp pups instead. But he insisted that he still wanted that blue female. I said "Well, if your gonna take her, you aught to name her fire ant". He chuckled. He took her home and he crossed her with his dogs at the time, either Rex or Pete. He ended up making a good gyp out of her and called her "Blue Ruby. But any time/year after that he ever talked to me and mention of her came up, he never called her Ruby in front of me, He called her "fire ant". Thats how respectful of a man he was.

The other male was a beautiful brown brindle, fat, good lookin male pup, that he took home with fire ant "Ruby". I just truly figured she would die from all the bites. About a week later, Mr. Gene called me. I just knew when he called and I recognized his voice, that he would be telling me of her passing. But it wasnt her, it was the beautiful brown male. He had taken the pup to the vet and got a parvo shot. Somehow, something went wrong and the shot killed him evidently.

I offered to repay him the money for her, but he wouldnt hear of it. So I offered him another pup to replace the brown brindle. He was delighted. I kinda stuck my foot in my mouth when I offered him one of the two I had left. Because only one of them was mine. :-) I had saved a blue male for my self and a black male for my brother. I told him I had another blue and a black brindle (the blue was my pick and the black was the one I had given to my brother but he hadnt picked up) He wanted the black. I called my brother and made my appoligies to him, and ate crow for quite a while for giving away his pup.

Gene took him home, raised him, and made a dang good dog out of him too, plus a good stud dog. He called him "Waco Sam".

Im kinda ramblin, I hope you dont mind, but, just finding out a good dog friend that I hadn't spoken two in a while passed away and 6 months ago, kinda tugged at my heart I guess.

Eugen Sowell was a fine man, and a true hunting dog man full of years and years of dog training, dog breeding and dog sence. I wish he would have written a book about dogs, and about his hunting dog adventures, I would buy the first copy. He was truely a credit to the plott dog breed.

Mr. Gene, you'll be greatly missed,


Jim Crainer

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Me and my dogs would rather be huntin'