The Peabody Ducks

General 3 Minutes
Kenon Walker Duckmaster

Every day at 11am, the five Peabody Hotel ducks leave their “Royal Duck Palace” on the hotel’s roof and waddle to the elevator. They ride the elevator 12 floors down to the lobby where they walk single file down a red carpet lined with adoring guests. Then they hop into the fountain where they will stay until 5 pm when the whole process occurs in reverse.

The tradition began back in the 1930s when Frank Shutt, General Manager of The Peabody, in Memphis, and a friend, Chip Barwick, returned from a weekend hunting trip to Arkansas. The men had a little too much 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.

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 Peabody Duckmaster, serving in that capacity for 50 years until his retirement in 1991.

Kenon Walker, a current duckmaster, describes his duties and activities:

“Every three months, we rotate our ducks and release the current group to live on a nearby farm. The first marches of the new team happen in front of everybody. I try to line the red carpet with people all the way from the elevator to the fountain so they form a human tunnel; otherwise, I get a lot of cardio. I’ve literally had to chase ducks into the gift shop, behind the bar, and out to the valet stand. After about two weeks, they get accustomed to it.”

“The $200,000 marble Royal Duck Palace on the hotel’s rooftop has a glass wall that gives the mallards gorgeous downtown views. They even have their own miniature Peabody Hotel replica to crawl inside for a nap. On weekends, the hotel sets up a bar next to the Palace so guests can sip cocktails and watch the ducks at sunset.”

the Royal Duck Palace on the roof

“I feed the ducks scratch grains from a silver platter twice a day. The hotel has a French restaurant, but we don’t serve any duck in the hotel. Ours might be the only French restaurant in the world that does not have duck on the menu.”

From The Peabody’s own website: 10 Fun Duck Facts

1. Ducks were not the first residents of The Peabody’s lobby fountain. Rumor has it that turtles and baby alligators each briefly graced the fountain in the 1920s.

2. The Peabody Ducks are five North American mallards – one drake (male) with a white collar and green head and four hens (females) with less colorful plumage.

3. Duck is not served anywhere at The Peabody and has not been seen on the hotel’s menus since its 1981 reopening, quite possibly making Chez Philippe the only French restaurant in the world that does not offer duck.

4. The Peabody Ducks do not have individual names. However, the very first team of ducks were Peabody, Gayoso and Chisca – named for the three hotels owned by the Memphis Hotel Company in 1933.

5. When off-duty, the ducks live in their Royal Duck Palace on the hotel’s rooftop. The $200,000 structure is made of marble and glass and features its very own fountain with a bronze duck spitting water. It also includes a small house – a replica of the hotel – where the ducks can nest with a soft, grassy”front yard.”

6. The Peabody Marching Ducks have appeared on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,” “Sesame Street” when Bert and Ernie celebrated Rubber Ducky Day, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and in People magazine and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.

7. The Peabody Ducks have been a question on the TV game show “Jeopardy” and in the board game Trivial Pursuit.

8. Original Duckmaster Edward Pembroke held the position for 50 years.

9. Raised by a local farmer and a friend of the hotel, each team of Peabody Ducks lives at the hotel for only three months before retiring from their duty and returning to the farm, where they are free to live as wild ducks. With a return to the great outdoors in mind, the hotel recognizes its resident waterfowl as wild animals and does not domesticate them or treat them like pets.

10. The Peabody Ducks are mentioned in the 1999 Jimmy Buffet song “Math Sucks” in a line that says “quackin’ like those Peabody ducks.”

***I will be away for a few days and Filly will be in and out. See you soon!***

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Published by pat frederick

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50 thoughts on “The Peabody Ducks”

  1. Morning All!
    a quick hello and goodby before heading out to help. my son’s friend did show up to help yesterday but only stayed for the day. it drizzled most of the day, but they still did what they could. today there’s a chance of severe thunderstorms in the afternoon, so my son and hubby are already out there rocking and rolling. hubby’s wore out but there’s no one else here…we do what we gotta!

    Liked by 3 people

    2. I’m really glad you popped in, Pat – you know me, I’m a worrier and I was beginning to. Man, that sucks about the weather! I really hope everyone is super, super careful – I know from experience that when you’re rushing, that’s when mistakes happen. I do NOT want to hear about any accidents, hear me??? If I were close by, I’d be out there helping, too! See you soon, hopefully! 🥰🤗😊😎😟😟😟

      Liked by 2 people

  2. Good morning y’all! Liked the ducks Pat. We had a lot of those where I lived just south of Annapolis in my previous life! They would bed down in the yards and used to get into my dad’s in-ground pool. Hope you guys have a great day!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Morning, CM! Of course, since I watched Jeopardy and Johnny Carson, read People magazine, I had heard of them but never knew the full back story. I guess they switch them out to avoid them getting too domesticated.

      We had critters around our pool, namely a raccoon once, but mostly bats at night and birds during the day. My Dad, with help from a friend with a backhoe, built our own in-ground, cement-lined pool. Oh, believe me – I had to get out there and work, too, as did Mom. Not quite big enough for a diving board, but 10′ at the deepest in the center. The sides were sloped and it was kidney shaped. My parents loved taking a thermal pot of hot coffee and and going up in their robes to sit by the pool in the quiet, often accompanied by me. We would watch the bats swooping down, back and forth, wetting their whistles. I never got to see the raccoon.

      Liked by 2 people

        1. We didn’t have electric lights up at the pool – we used lanterns and tiki-torches were planted all around the outside along the fence line. We had big floods on the back of the house, and one of those was directed up towards the pool area, with another on the driveway, dog house and cars.

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  3. Here’s an update on my hubby’s trucking journey, copied from the Q-Tree. Thanks for praying!

    Here’s where things stand on hubby’s DOT CDL-A testing. He passed 2 of the 3 parts of the test–Pre-Trip & Parking Maneuvers. He still needs to pass the Road Test, which is re-scheduled for Saturday afternoon. He hit a curb on the driving test & that, alone, is an auto-fail. He’s not sure if he was marked down on other portions of the test as the testers don’t tell the testees anything about the results.

    He’s extremely relieved to not have to keep working on the Parking stuff & is supposed to be getting some more road time today at the school. Hopefully he’ll run All questions & concerns by the driving instructor.

    The student testing before Michael yesterday was on his Fifth attempt & we witnessed him hit the curb when returning to the test site so he’ll be making a 6th attempt soon. Apparently only 50% of the students pass Everything on their first try.

    With all the audit closures of testing sites throughout Michigan & needs for re-tests for those that don’t pass initially the testing backup is affecting students from all the trucking schools. In my husband’s case he’s been waiting Four Weeks to even get a test & in that Entire time he only was put on the road One Time, for 2 hours behind the wheel, about a week ago. I honestly think the school should have had him driving at least one day every week that he was waiting, but that’s not what happened for him & likely not for many other students. No excuses but that’s just the facts of his personal journey.

    He’s run through the gamut of emotions & is Hopeful to pass the driving test on Saturday. It’s truly one day at a time around here…

    He’s signed up to play his bass in worship this week at his church so had practice last night. It would be amazing if the school part of his journey is done when he’s playing on Sunday…but either way he’s going to Praise the Lord!

    Please keep praying for Michael. This has been a very challenging process & once the schooling part is Finally Over, we’ve still gotta deal with the job search then next month’s transition to grandparenting & the following month’s wedding of our special needs son.

    God is helping us get through it All, but None of it is comfortable or easy 🙂

    Thanks so much for your prayers & support!

    God Bless!!!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Good to hear about the driving! Fingers crossed for the test. Glad to hear about Josiah as well. I hope everything goes good for the wedding!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thanks CM! It’s some wild times around here. Josiah is doing pretty well. You might enjoy checking out some of his recent writings on his blogs. He gets fired up for the Lord & America & it shows. He has such a very unique voice 🙂

        https://josiahsfreakshow.wordpress.com/2022/05/17/preaching-the-gospel-of-jesus-christ-to-native-americans-across-our-land/

        https://josiahsfreakshow.wordpress.com/2022/05/15/america-vs-communism/

        https://josiahthesecretweapon.wordpress.com/2022/05/03/more-bible-verses/

        https://josiahthesecretweapon.wordpress.com/2022/01/14/a-psalm-of-josiah-16/

        I’m amazed at how the Lord has given Josiah a Psalmist’s heart. He is an enigma, wrapped in a miracle, held together by humor & quirkiness–truly Never a dull moment!

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Here are some more details, for any who might be interested.

      Yesterday’s testing took place in a bowling alley parking lot in Jackson, Michigan. I drove us there & back at hubby’s request. The smaller “town” less congested roads were a plus, the winding more rural roads w/ lots of incline changes were quite different than the flat Metro-Detroit roads that he’s trained on so were more of a challenge, including limited visibility to anticipate what’s ahead.

      Saturday’s testing is back in Jackson but at a different test site, a Wal-Mart parking lot–well that’s where he’ll start but others will do the pre-trip & parking maneuvers portion there too. He’ll have to drive himself, for I’m attending a Memorial Service for my mom’s birth cousin, Candi, who recently died after a bout w/ Lou Gehrig’s disease (thanks for those of you who lifted her in prayer). She was a lovely, fiery Christian woman who shared freely about Mom’s birth family history over the years, & recently some great tips on managing Covid, some of which I shared here at the Q-Tree. Mom & I were blessed to interface w/ her & her sister periodically online & at an annual luncheon, which Candi missed a few months back due to her ill health. She really was too young to die, but is surely now celebrating w/ loved ones in Paradise!

      After testing we had lunch at a nearby Olive Garden yesterday & the friendliness of the hostesses really revealed that we were outside of Metro Detroit! We had a number of pleasant interactions w/ restaurant staff who were very supportive & thankful for hubby becoming a trucker & expounding on the need for this job in the current climate in our country. It was nice to encounter that more friendly, small-town vibe, which we miss after living in Oklahoma & Northern Michigan previously 🙂

      Next weekend, for Memorial Day, our family typically gathers in Northern Michigan at my parents’ Cottage. I usually go earlier & stay later than hubby, since he usually has job responsibilities. This year, assuming he’s passed his CDL, he’s planning to stay after the holiday weekend w/ me Up North for a bit & do some of the job search while we are there. It will be GREAT for him to get away Up North again (he had a special camping weekend w/ our son Josiah & dog Jules a few weeks back) & we are looking forward to some lower key time to regroup & dig into the job search but away from the normal hustle & bustle of our downstate existence.

      Please pray that Michael will pass his driving test & get his CDL license in hand before next weekend so that he can enjoy the Holiday & beyond respite our Northern retreat might provide! Blessings to all ❤

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  4. OMG! Kea posted this video – thank you! Hopefully, the video is cued up at the right place – if not, go to the 0:28 mark – spitting image of my wolf/dog, Spirit, except for the brown on the legs and she had one ear that flopped unless she was REALLY wound up. Her sister chewed on it when they were pups! She was my dog all the way!

    Hubby’s dog (that was supposed to be HB’s – mind you, I was 5’4″ and weighed 115 soaking wet; he was 5’10” or so, stocky and muscular, 200 lbs.):

    When we first got her – teensy, tiny; she was the runt of the litter and almost died 14 times before we got her; her front feet were deformed a little bit:

    Liked by 2 people

  5. As per Val’s and my on-going discussion, these are pictures from when I lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains in VA, near Skyline Drive. I adored this fountain – it was solid metal, with a wrought iron base and figurines of frogs on lily pads spouting water with an Indian woman on top holding up an umbrella. It was electric – picked it up cheap at Home Depot. I also had a bunch of my house plants scattered around on the top of the cement covering the septic tank. You can see the top of the chimnea to the right of the long planter, inside the carport on the right.

    These are the cement planters I had on the walls – I have more pics I have to scan in first of the garden beds.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I completely forgot that I had a hummer feeder there!!! But now that I see it, I remember sitting at the table and watching them!!! And now I remember that I had seed and more nectar feeders hung all along the carport….I’d have to search and see if I have pics of those….

      OK, here we go – just scanned in these pics – this is our house in the Blue Ridge:

      This was the view from my table on the carport, looking towards Skyline Drive….way up, on that last ridge at the top, on a really clear day, we could actually see portions of the road, and watch the cars as they wound in and out, on Skyline Drive. Can you say peaceful and tranquil? IN SPADES!!!! Oh, it was wonderful – on chilly nights, the chimnea would be fired up, candles burning…..sigh.

      The peonie bushes, along with an antique style lantern bird feeder and my hammock that was on wheels. It was very big, as you can see – two people could lie on there if they liked to cuddle! This was where I also put our a jimmy-rigged deer feeder with cracked corn – another MacGuyver trick on my part! Gage wanted to see the deer feeding but the only time they fed was at night. So I rolled the hammock out near the feeder, and we spent the night outside. Got to see the deer, too!

      Before:

      After – the following spring – clearly, I hadn’t cleared the grass yet and some flowers weren’t up yet. The 4 O’Clocks, which were planted at the very back of the bed, up against the wall for support, bloomed every day at or about 4 pm, hence their name:

      Tulips from my friend, David; this was on the far end of HB’s wing. The previous tenants stacked their wood there and we moved it out away from the house. I just threw together a simple garden bed and planted a whole box of tulips he brought me – they were old and would probably only bloom once so they couldn’t use them at the US Capitol :

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Tulips in full bloom:

        Garden bed I created, again with stones, under the bay window of HB’s wing. I was given all of these bulbs, including some stunningly gorgeous purple Iris. They were a friend’s pruning results and I kept them over the winter in a cardboard box in the cellar, then planted the next spring.

        To the right of the bay window:

        Liked by 2 people

        1. Sweet! Good Morning Filly.

          Hubby just headed out to take his driving test, scheduled for 1 pm. I’m leaving in an hour to go to my mom’s birth cousin’s memorial service. God Bless!

          Liked by 1 person

  6. Val, remember I said my house in Nokesville, VA was surrounded by trees? This is the view from my BR window – I had my work/computer table in front of that window. You can see down the driveway to Z’s pasture. He used to stand at that gate and call out to me – I would holler back! Some of those trees came down one year when we caught the tail-end of a coastal hurricane. If I leaned close to the screen, the hummers would fly over to the screen, really close, and chatter at me, trying to make me leave – mostly the females. They would dart back and forth, up and down, chattering!

    Liked by 2 people

  7. Of course, both of my Senatorial so-called “representatives” voted yes!!! Fischer and Lyin’ Little Ben!!!!

    EXCERPT: “The conservative effort to stop the bill first began last week when the House sent the legislation to the Senate, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) objected to the measure. Paul delayed the passage of the bill by a week because he wanted language in the legislation that would have created an inspector general role to oversee Ukraine’s funds. By the time the final vote came, 10 other Republicans joined Paul in opposing the measure.

    “If Congress really believed giving Ukraine $40B was in our national interest, they could easily pay for it by taxing every income taxpayer $500,” Paul tweeted Tuesday. “My guess is they choose to borrow the $ bc Americans might just decide they need the $500 more to pay for gas.”

    Republican Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.) tweeted Monday he was against the bill because it did not serve “American interests.” “It neglects priorities at home (the border), allows Europe to freeload, short changes critical interests abroad and comes w/ no meaningful oversight,” Hawley said.

    Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) emphasized in his statement that although he supports Ukraine’s efforts against Russia, he can’t support a spending bill this large with issues including “inflation” and “gas prices” in the U.S. “I can’t support $40 billion of new spending unless it’s offset with cuts or taken from already authorized funds, especially when the European Union isn’t matching what we’re doing to end this conflict in their own backyard,” Braun said.

    Eight other GOP senators voted against the package: Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), John Boozman (Ark.), Mike Crapo (Idaho), Bill Hagerty (Tenn.), Mike Lee (Utah), Cynthia Lummis (Wyo.), Roger Marshall (Kan.) and Tommy Tuberville (Ala.).”

    https://news.yahoo.com/11-gop-senators-voted-against-213530078.html

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I’m sorry! I should have clarified that – her full name was Heather Brianna – from the book by Kathleen Woodiwiss, “The Flame and the Flower.” Had she been a boy, the name would have been Brandon Chase (her Dad’s middle name) – Brandon and Heather were the main characters in the book, the first in a series about them and their children.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Thanks for the clarification. Sounds like that book was very important to you 🙂 Is that your daughter then? Just the one child?

          I have 4 kids: Nathaniel (married to Tara for 5 years & expecting our 1st grandchild next month); twins Brandon (dating an Indian/Guyanese/Canadian North of the Border) & Josiah (very complex special needs: autism, liver transplant, heart surgery X 2, brain tumor, etc.–to marry Rose in July); & Clarissa (married to Marshall almost a year now). All our kids are in their 20’s & live within a half hour of us!

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          1. I also had a son, James, who was killed in a SC hospital last fall – I’m positive they gave him Remdesivir but I can’t get anyone down there to care enough to check his medical records. There are also divisions amongst the family members down there, of course! His daughter – the one I physically delivered – won’t even speak to me but, as my GS said, she has enough just dealing with the devastating blow of his death. He was 50.

            Liked by 1 person

            1. Oh Filly I’m so very, very sorry for your family’s Devastating Loss!!! My husband’s early mentor in Men’s Group & Worship Band died a few months back after a Covid bout in the hospital. I strongly suspect he was killed by protocols too, for at the end they put him on a ventilator, but not sure about Remdesivir. Those genocidal psychopaths that have inflicted this demonic death & destruction on us must pay, preferably down here AND on judgement day!

              Liked by 1 person

  9. Reading about the MIC in Ethiopia in December 2014….while Killary and her crew, led by Victoria Neuland, were undertaking the coup they set-up and managed in Ukraine – just one country – he was setting up Tedros to rule the world! This man has grand elusions of grandeur and an ego that has no end! Mark my words!

    I still believe that this thoroughly evil, venal, dishonorable, deviant POS has ALWAYS wanted to be the Head of the UN, i.e., in his eyes, the “King of the World!” This is why I never ignore him completely, ever. I always keep a quiet ear open for this anti-Christ!!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  10. EXCERPT: “Bill de Blasio, the former New York mayor everyone loves to hate, has now decided he’ll throw his hat into the ring for Congress in a newly redrawn district that includes his Brooklyn home. De Blasio, who was term-limited and concluded his two terms as mayor last year, announced Friday morning on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ that he will run for the district that includes parts of Manhattan and a swath of western Brooklyn.

    Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday that he will run for Congress in the redrawn 10th District that includes his Brooklyn home. De Blasio, whose second mayoral term ended last year, announced on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ that he will seek the Democratic nomination for the 10th Congressional District, which will include part of Manhattan and a swath of western Brooklyn.

    ‘Polls show people are hurting they need help they need help fast,’ de Blasio said. ‘I know how to do it from my years of serving this city.’ The announcement drew immediate drew immediate blowback from less-than-impressed New Yorkers. De Blasio’s followup announcement on Twitter was ‘ratioed,’ meaning it got more responses than likes and retweets, typically the sign of an ill-received post.

    ‘Wherever I go, people ask: can things get better? I say from my heart: YES, but WE have to make them better. In our neighborhoods and our nation, the way to save our democracy is to be part of it. So as I declare my candidacy in #NY10,’ De Blasio wrote on Twitter. About three hours after it was posted, the tweet had garnered 17 retweets and 79 likes, but 523 replies and 107 quote tweets.

    The former Big Apple mayor seized on once-in-a-decade redistricting that led to a full-on meltdown within the New York Democratic delegation. However, the district lines he said he plans to run in have not yet been finalized. A draft map dropped earlier this week which would pit longtime powerhouses Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney against each other in the 12th district, and de Blasio will now run in Nadler’s current 10th district, where under the draft map he will not longer live.”

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10837571/Bill-Blasio-ex-NYC-mayor-run-redrawn-House-seat.html

    Liked by 1 person

        1. Nice! I’m still banned on Twitter for sharing Truth about Ivermectin, Dr. Zelenko, covid, & more. I’m waiting for my 2nd appeal to go through hoping that the possible Musk purchase is going to slightly diminish their censorship–but not remotely holding my breath!

          Liked by 1 person

          1. I was on Twitter for a very brief period – only to promote OAS. Once that went bust, and the SHTF here with HB, I never went back. I focused on FB, where I could provide more info and, IMO, reach more people, until I got the permanent ban hammer.

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              1. Hi Val! Operation American Spring – the intent was to mimic the Arabian Spring, with millions of people in the DC streets. Only a few thousand actually showed up, sadly. After that poor showing, and the leader’s wife became deathly ill, it just kind of petered out. I intended to go but the situation here took a bad turn with HB.

                Liked by 1 person

              4. OK Filly, I’m so sorry. I remembered that she was your daughter but didn’t know about you Losing Her–So Sorry for yet another loss! May the Lord keep ministering His comfort & peace to you…

                Liked by 2 people

  11. OK, I previously recommended the new Drudge, TheLibertyDaily, and I still do. However…..I’m now seeing that you have to pay attention because they also post articles from the perspective of hardcore atheists and presumably the uber left, “blueconservativestate.” No, sorry, that is NOT conservative!!!! At least most people’s definition! But this is the first I’ve seen there in the last week or so I’ve been visiting every day. I even set a tab to open automatically when I open my browser and I’m not changing it. And it’s interesting to hear what they have to say directly, I must say.

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