You can take the boy out of the country but he’ll return
COLBERT – About five miles from this Madison County community, there is a residential enclave, known as Hawk’s Landing, which is in Oglethorpe County — a place where you find homesteads of 8 to 10 acres or more.
There are big spreads and modest ones. The late country music artist Kenny Rogers owned a 973-acre farm nearby. It included an 18-hole golf course, plush equestrian facilities, swimming pools and tennis courts.
Most of these rural plots have fields and pastures, all with an accent on having room for residents to enjoy space and all that nature offers — mourning doves, whippoorwills, night owls, deer and a coyote or two.
One of those plots belongs to Dick Hudson, a retired faculty member of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. Hudson grew up in a rural setting called Patagonia near Sharon, Pennsylvania, where he attended the first four grades in a multi-classroom structure that many of us have heard parents and grandparents talk about.
When Dick settled out here, it confirmed, once again, that you can take the boy out of the country but he will often return when life allows him to take it easy.
Dick and his wife, Brenda, showcase something of a botanical garden at the height of spring with flowers and greenery which has their acreage sparkling — scenes to lift their spirits and make their day, especially when they go walking with their dogs, Jackie and Lincoln.
The Hudsons are not without wanderlust, however. They are always up for a jaunt across the Atlantic to some place like Scotland, the land of Dick’s forebears. Or maybe taking a leisurely drive down Highway 15 to Sandersville for a milkshake at the Dairy Lane. There are milkshakes about everywhere, but there is something special about the ones you find in “Kaolin Country.” Then there is the scenic drive to get you there.
This Keystone State native has always been comfortable in ‘most any setting, from the upscale to downhome: When King Karl XVI Gustaf and Queen Sylvia of Sweden presented him with Sweden’s Medal of Appreciation for his work with the Swedish Olympic Committee; when the Aussies hired him as a consultant for the 2000 Sydney Olympics; and when he was inducted into the Slippery Rock
University Sports Hall of Fame for his accomplished baseball career.
When I visited him recently at Hawk’s Landing, I knew how to make his day. I wore my green “Slippery Rock” baseball cap. Dick has a perpetual smile, and it seemed to widen exponentially when I exited my car.
A few years back, I coordinated a golf outing at Oakmont, near Pittsburgh, which has hosted the U. S. Open golf championship more than any club and took a side trip to Slippery Rock where “Rocky” officials hosted me on a grand tour. The hospitality was over the top, all because one of the institution’s most loyal and passionate alumni had called ahead to make the arrangements.
Dick is a man of deep sentiment and has remained active, mentally and physically. He belongs to a book club, he is an active Rotarian, he is into tennis and kayaking and mows his 5-acre pasture twice a month.
It is unlikely that there is a more passionate baseball aficionado in these parts. When he was giving directions to his home place, he noted that his house number is “21.” Then he added, “Roberto’s number, you know.” That would be Roberto Clemente, the Pirate outfielder who had an overwhelming batting stroke at the plate and died in a plane crash while delivering aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
A close friend of the late author, Terry Kay, Dick is always promoting his friends and the University of Georgia. You get a citation, you will be the beneficiary of a note from him. You are singled out for high praise, Dick will bring the champagne. You win a big game, match or meet, a generous high five will be forthcoming.
An example of his altruistic endeavor, he arranged, in association with “Select Trees,” for the planting of 750 sustainable oak shade trees on the UGA campus. “It will,” he says proudly, “form a canopy of shade for the next 75 to 100 years.”
Though not a native son, Dick Hudson has more passion for his adopted hometown and university than many who were birthed, raised and have maintained residence in Athens. He has given of himself to his community with the greatest of affection and commitment.
There will never be any backsliding.