Memphis Fun at the Peabody

This past weekend, while we were in Osceola, we decided to slip away to Memphis for a few hours to see what there was to see. It's been awhile since I've been to Memphis and I had totally forgotten how much I love it! We didn't have much time and so my sister Katie suggested that we make a stop by the Peabody Hotel. On our way down, she had remembered that our great-grandfather used to be the manager of the Peabody and we thought it might be cool to check it out and maybe find his picture somewhere. So... we went in and, while we couldn't find a picture, we had so much fun!

Once we got there we discovered that we were just in time to see the famous Peabody Ducks! Here is the Legend of the ducks:

Legend of The Peabody Ducks

How did the tradition of the ducks in The Peabody fountain begin?

Back in 1933 Frank Schutt, General Manager of The Peabody, and a friend, Chip Barwick, returned from a weekend hunting trip to Arkansas. The men had a little too much Jack Daniel's Tennessee sippin' whiskey, and thought it would be funny to place some of their live duck decoys (it was legal then for hunters to use live decoys) in the beautiful Peabody fountain.

Three small English call ducks were selected as "guinea pigs," and the reaction was nothing short of enthusiastic. Soon, five North American Mallard ducks would replace the original ducks.

In 1940, Bellman Edward Pembroke, a former circus animal trainer, offered to help with delivering the ducks to the fountain each day and taught them the now-famous Peabody Duck March. Mr. Pembroke became the Peabody Duckmaster, serving in that capacity for 50 years until his retirement in 1991. Today, The Peabody Ducks are led by Duckmaster Jason Sensat.

The original ducks have long since gone, but after 75 years, the marble fountain in the hotel lobby is still graced with ducks. The Peabody ducks march at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily.

So... on out way out, we stopped by a shop and I fell in love with this adorable duck. I decided that I needed it as a memento of out trip. It maaaayyy (or may not) be given to my friend as a gift at her baby shower this

weekend :)