Author: Vicki Woods

This spring, 26 residents and staff left the confines of Plough Towers and ventured into downtown Memphis to watch our own Johnnie Murphy become the honorary Duckmaster at the Peabody Hotel. Through a very generous gift from a donor, we were able to rent a limousine bus from Tennessee Limousines, enjoy the morning in the Peabody lobby, and then have lunch at the historic Arcade Restaurant. It was an exciting excursion for all involved. Even life-long Memphians may not know the history of this daily event. Read on to find out more. The Peabody Duck March is a tradition of this hotel that began in the 1930s by the then-general manager, Frank Schutt. It all started when Schutt and his friend, Chip Barwick, spent a weekend hunting in Arkansas. Upon their return, the two had a little too much whiskey and thought it would be hilarious to put some of their live duck decoys in the fountain of the hotel. Back then, it was legal for hunters to use live decoys. Three small English call ducks – Peabody, Gayoso and Chisca, named for the three hotels owned by the Memphis Hotel Company in 1933 – were selected as test subjects, and the reaction from guests and passersby was complete enthusiasm. The rumor is that the ducks were not the first residents of The Peabody’s lobby fountain; supposedly, turtles and alligators briefly...