As promised in an earlier “part one” feature on Lee Farms, we recently made a return visit there to see how they were progressing on their infrastructure, primarily the massive two-story all-purpose building.They are nearly finished, and probably will be in the building sometime around Thanksgiving in time for the upcoming deer season.
On this visit, I was accompanied by my 11-year old nephew Palmer, son of my older brother John and his wife Cathy. Palmer is an enthusiastic new outdoorsman who had been practicing regularly with his bow, shooting from a small elevated stand in the woods beside the antebellum home in Crystal Springs that John and Cathy have been restoring and furnishing for several years now.
When I picked up Palmer at John’s south Jackson office at 7 a.m., he was wide awake and ready to go with Uncle Bill on a real deer hunt.
When we arrived midmorning at the entrance gate to Lee Farms near Benton, Palmer sat up wide-eyed, taking in everything. I had already told him the first part of this day would be a working trip while I took photos of the new facility, but afterwards we would set up somewhere in the woods of Lee Farms for a brief late-morning bowhunt, after which we would grab a bite in Yazoo City on our way for an afternoon hunt at nearby Free Run Hunting Club.
When we drove into the camp area, we were greeted by longtime friend Ed Pulliam, landowner Buddy Lee’s brother-in-law. Ed is a skilled, versatile builder, having spent many years as the project engineer while working worldwide for Mansville Forest Products Company. There’s not much in the way of building, constructing or remodeling that Ed can’t do, especially when he’s aided by a crew comprised of his son Jamie Pulliam, nephew Chris Hinton, Ben Ware, Kenny Clark, Ken Page, Wayne Wasson, Danny Carter, Joseph “June Bud” Anderson, Melvin Woodsbury and several others from the surrounding area.
When the impressive structure is finished, it will contain four bedrooms with two bathrooms upstairs and one bathroom downstairs, two balconies, one large great room 30-by-30-feet, one large upstairs deck, a 12×24 meat-processing room, six 12×12 horse stalls, a 12×12 tack room and a grand total of 4,000 square feet, all built of wood produced and milled off their land.
When all is finished, I hope to return later this season for some more fine fellowship and hunting with Ed, Buddy and the crew and to experience the amenities of their fine new lodge.
For autographed copies of Mississippi Hunting Camps ($81) or Tales of Old Rocky Hill ($18), mail check/money order to: Bill R. Lea, P. O. Box 321023, Jackson, MS 39232
To schedule a visit to your camp, call 601-502-4720 or email billrlea@yahoo.com.
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