Our family marked this Spring with the passing of the matriarch of the family, my mother, “Johnnie “ Webb. Mom was going on 94 years old when she passed, and under her reign, the whole family “towed the line”. Her strong sense of right and wrong, which governed us for generations. She will always be loved and is sorely missed.
With anyone’s passing is the necessity of going through the personal effects of the deceased. Within that process for me was the expected find of certain things known, expected and already cherished for decades and then there was the total complete surprise!
The expected was my Grandfather’s game bag. Born, raised and a lifelong resident of mountainous Ashe County, “Peep” as he was lovingly nicknamed, was a serious hunter. Even back in the 20’s and 30’s he was into breeding and upgrading his fox hounds, and would travel long distances, mostly to coastal North Carolina, to breed and buy top fox hounds for his pack. My Uncle Wallace Houck, mom’s only brother and likewise an avid hunter, was always at his side in the game fields until his passing on the battlefield with Patton’s Third Army at the Battle of the Bulge in World War ll.
Quail and grouse back then were plentiful, and both were good wing shots according to Mom. So on that Saturday afternoon as I was going through a closet in her home I came upon the game bag. It’s definitely well used, blood stains and all. The game bag was a gift from Peep’s Uncle Henry Houck who carried this “Doughboy bag” through the entirety of World War 1. Uncle Henry settled in West Virginia after WW1, and on one of his annual visits to Ashe County, presented this beautiful leather bag to my Peep.
It was carried afield for decades, always filled with the harvest of the day. It could be rabbits or squirrels in the haul, but more often than not it was quail that they bagged in the edge of wheat fields, fence rows and creek bottoms , or ruffed grouse in the open hardwood hillsides, abandoned home sites, and rhododendron hells in the area around the little community of Baldwin near West Jefferson. Supposedly, my Gran could take one grouse and make a rich gravy and homemade biscuits and feed the whole family of six.
My dad was back from WWII and was busy establishing a lumber business and running the tobacco operation here on the farm, and had not grown up with this lifestyle. My grandfather John Webb was all business and while operating a farm, lumber business, general store, grocery store and livery stable around Ellerbe there wasn’t a lot of time for hunting.
But quail were very plentiful here in the 30s, 40s, and 50s, and Mom certainly was the one who prompted Dad’s interest in following a bird dog.
So much so that on Christmas 1950, after the appropriate journey to Ashe County to consult with Peep and engage his services and experience, Mom showed up with a beautiful black and white English Setter grouse dog from Ashe County.
And so the wing shooting tradition began here at The Webb Farm.
This leads me to my total surprise as I am going through the drawers at Mom’s house.
Mom was a self-taught artist. She loved to paint and was a very creative person at heart. She painted still lifes, landscapes, etc., but never people, birds, or animals. I now come to the one exception to this lifetime of art.
One rainy Sunday afternoon in April, as I rummaged through the reams of paper and documents and saved newspaper articles, I happened upon the total surprise.
There, wedged in the drawer of random paper and relics in no particular importance was an original watercolor painting of a black and white English Setter bird dog. There’s a low mountain ridge in the background, and in front of the staunch setter, on point, is a covey of quail nestled behind a fallen log. In the lower right corner of the painting are the artist’s initials, “J. Webb”.
I sat stunned! In all of her life, this is the only animal that my mother’s prolific amateur life as an artist ever produced! I have no idea when it was painted or why it was painted. Neither she nor my Dad ever told me of this work. I can only surmise that at the time it was done, it was important to her to do this.
It may be my most treasured relic of our hunting past. I’m sure this is that black and white setter that began our family wing shooting tradition on Christmas day of 1950. As such it is the epicenter of my deep love of quail hunting that has sustained me and my family over the decades. This work reflects the planted seed that blossomed into a rich and fulfilling life of bird dogs, shotguns, good friends, and a love of the outdoors that has truly enriched my life.
It’s the foundation of now 20 years in having the Farm available to people such as yourselves to be able to enjoy a little slice of life that I have enjoyed so much.
So Mom, we tip our hat to you for being the respected matriarch that you were, and for all that you did to set in motion the sporting life here that we all enjoy today. You never expected to influence the lives of so many people in this way.
And by the way, just so you know, you caught me absolutely flat footed with this amazing find in an unassuming chest drawer.
What a great way to end a wonderful life!
Bill and Debbie
We’ve got a little surprise for you when you sit down at the breakfast table this coming season.
Local farmer Lee Berry came to us to advise that he had perfectly good strawberries that were too ripe for sale at his local produce stand. Debbie immediately seized on the offer and turned to our employee, Katherine, for help to process these little gems.
The result is over 200 jars of homemade strawberry and peach preserves. Great on hot toast or a hot biscuit!
We know you will enjoy this little bit of goodness from our local farms!
The 2025/2026 season opens October 14th.
Did You Know? You Can Arrive by Helicopter.
Planning a visit to The Webb Farm? Guests are welcome to fly in by helicopter! Our private landing area makes it easy for you to arrive in style and start your experience the moment you touch down.
To coordinate your flight and landing details, just give us a call ahead of time, we’ll take care of the rest.
We are honored to be featured in Business North Carolina Magazine
Covey Calling
Riding along sandy paths in a Kawasaki Mule on his 1,400-acre property in Richmond County, The Webb Farm owner Bill Webb points out remnants of buildings that once held tobacco. Indeed, the hilly terrain has changed little from the 1940s through the early 2000s when his family harvested the state’s most famous crop.
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