Reading Nash Buckingham's Bloodline, questions...

[Kevin McCormack]

In a Jan. 21, 1971 letter to Kay and George Bird Evans, Nash alluded to "trying to put together a last book of 'rather unusual' mixed contents." Sometime in the very late 1970s or early 1980s, Irma Witt Buckingham, Nash's daughter, approached the publisher Alfred Knopf with what she referred to beforehand as a "large assortment of material" with the idea of publishing a book. (Knopf had been a gunning companion of Nash's on more than a few occasions).

Knopf referred the project to a professor of English literature who taught creative writing at Rutgers University whom he knew as an ardent waterfowler, and whose graduate student at the time shared an even greater interest in the project. They met at least once with Irma, after which the graduate student (majoring in ornithology) was selected as lead research investigator for a Smithsonian Institution expedition to remote areas of Central America to collect and catalog rare birds.

The supposed 9-month assignment was extended to nearly 2 1/2 years. During that time, Irma and the Rutgers University professor came to an impasse as to certain aspects of the material to be published, and the project was terminated. On her last visit to Alfred Knopf in New York City, Irma visited the professor and expressed her regrets, handing him as she left a small cardboard box containing approximately 50 handloaded Western "Leader" 3-inch 12 ga. shells, saying that they were among the contents of Nash's desk at home collected after his death. Later, when the graduate student returned from the Panamanian expeditions, the professor gave them to him as a sort of a "consolation prize" for, as the professor put it, "having missed the whole shootin' match."

The "large assortment of materials" presented by Irma may or may not have formed the basis for the later publication of Nash's Autobiography or may have played a part in the assemblage of the "Letters to John Bailey."

[MarketHunter]

I believe the "assortment of materials" and Nash's mention of a final book were the box of "stuff" that later went into the autobiography. If memory serves, it was given by or purchased from the family by an actor then put together into a book finally.

The "Letters to John Bailey" book is literally that, letters that he's written to Bailey that Bailey held on to.

What I'm talking about is all the correspondence and other various paper that Buckingham most assuredly had saved over the years. Manuscripts of his published works, letters from friends, that sort of thing. Maybe he didn't save it like I assume he did, or maybe it was all tossed upon his death. They had moved when Irma got sick to be closer to their daughter, so maybe most of that stuff got trashed rather than moved with them.

Chub Andrews ended up with a lot of personal possessions of Nash's but I don't believe he got any paper. He had Bo-Whoop #2, a duck boat, some decoys, one of the Beaver Dam record books, some duck calls and other various gear that I'm aware of. Bo-Whoop #2 was sold by him in later life then given to Ducks Unlimited by the buyer, some of the other items also ended up with DU but knowing Chub they were sold rather than given. He had a bunch of plastic Tigrette Industries mallard decoys he claimed were Nash's that he'd painted his initials on the bottom of. He sold those one by one over the years to interested parties. He's passed away now, though I knew him slightly and had chatted with him about Buckingham on a couple of occasions.

He rode that "last hunting companion of Nash Buckingham" thing pretty hard and wasn't real popular around the Tunica area. Mike Boyd tells a hilarious story about being in his fathers duck blind hunting with a buddy and Chub coming up in a boat trying to run him out of it saying they were trespassing in "his duck blind". When young Mike explained that he was the owner of the blinds son, Chub got back in his boat without a word and took off through the swamp like lightening had struck. The owner of the Blue and White tells a good one about Chub coming in saying he wanted to have an event to celebrate Nash's life and present them with a print he'd done to honor his memory. The event came off, Chub waxed nostalgic about his days hunting with his ol' buddy Nash and presented this framed print to the owner saying how much he appreciated all the good times he and Nash had having breakfast in there over the years. A few days later a bill for the the print and it's framing arrived from Chub even though during the presentation he said it was a gift. The owner never replied or paid for it though, and I believe it still hangs in there today.