- - -
- -
The Legend
of the “March of the
Peabody Ducks” - - - -
-
|
On
Saturday, February
26, 2011, I was
afforded the great
privilege by the
management of The
Peabody Hotel in
Memphis (“The
South’s Grand
Hotel”), to be the
Honorary Duckmaster
for the 11:00 a.m.
March of the Peabody
Ducks. And, what an
honor and thrill is
was! I have done a
lot of things in my
life, and have been
involved in a lot of
important and
exciting events in
Memphis over the
past forty years –
and this brief “15
minutes of fame”
will be a memory
that lasts a
lifetime for me. |
Scene 1: Getting There
I have always marveled at the grandeur of The Peabody Hotel. The memory
that I go back to first was
really when I attended a 60s
high school formal in the
Continental Ballroom. Boy, did
I pick out an ugly tux!

Fast forward to the modern era (1980s) and my ‘invasion” into Downtown as
Interim General Manager of
Mud
Island in 1985. Beale Street
was in its infancy on the
comeback trail,
The Orpheum had
just re-opened with fourteen
days of Broadway shows, and
Downtown was pretty much barren,
except for The Peabody Hotel,
Memphis Queen Line and
Mud
Island. Go back one decade to
realize that The Peabody Hotel
was closed, boarded up and
bought on July 31, 1975 on the
southwest steps of the Shelby
County Courthouse
(pictured at
right) at public
auction for $550,000 by the Belz
Corporation. Jack Belz
recently told me that on that
day they outbid
Prince Mongo for
The Peabody (it would have made
some kind of “Planet Zambodia”!).
The Peabody stayed closed for
six years, going through
feasibility, financing and
rehabilitation challenges.
As for the rest of Downtown in the 1970s, Beale Street and its sidewalks
were fenced off. One could not
ride or even walked down Beale
from 1977 to 1983. Not a single
business was open, except for
A.
Schwab’s and one had to enter
from the rear door in the alley
(that’s why there is a name
painted on the back side of
A.
Schwab’s). In 1979, there were
more people living in jail in
Downtown Memphis than
living residentially – 500 residents
vs 1,000 inmates. And the big
public issue at the time was
“how do we build a bigger
jail?” It was entitled by the
local newspaper “the glamour
slammer”! Much has changed in
thirty years.
In 2011, try to convince people that you give walking tours to in
Downtown that The Peabody Hotel
was ever closed, much less
bought at a public auction for
such a price. But, the
“traditions” of The Peabody
never changed. There is a
coffee table book entitled “The
Peabody: A History of the
South’s Grand Hotel” and
there is even a Heritage Room on
the Mezzanine level of the
Lobby.
In the Autumn of 2009, I was asked to give an informational talk (focusing
on the Memphis Music History
story and legacy) to the Sales
Team of The Peabody Hotel
in The Skyway Room where they
regularly meet.
At the close of my talk, Doug
Browne, General Manager of The
Peabody, held up a roll of
toilet paper. I truly
thought for a moment that he
was getting ready to say that I
stunk and needed to be wiped
away. Thankfully, the creative Mr.
Browne passed a similar roll to
every employee in the room and
challenged each table to select
the best representative of a
perfect end fold of a roll of
toilet paper, to be compared
throughout the room. The morale
of the story was “detail”. The
Peabody “standard” was to watch
every single, little detail in
the building, even how the end
of a roll of toilet paper looks
like hanging there waiting for
duty. (So, I didn’t stink,
after all, or win the folding
contests either).
Apparently, my presentation was well received as I was asked to return
with another session, Doug asked
for my services in making
15-minute presentations to close
the daily sessions of an
upcoming convention that The
Peabody was hosting -
Historic
Hotels of America,
which featured representatives
of all of the leading historic
properties around the country,
such as the Hotel Del Coronado
in San Diego, Don Cesar in
Tampa, and the Greenbrier in
West Virginia. The two-part
presentation was “History
Memphis” and “Modern Memphis”,
and is now the basis for my
standard “Welcome to Memphis”
for convention groups and/or
meetings, or my “introductory
PowerPoint” to local groups that
I wish to return to on a
multiple occasions for
presentations of other “Memphis”
topics. So far the strategy has
worked pretty well, as I have
had return engagements with
quite a few local groups.
So, that Peabody Sales Staff meeting in 2009 was apparently a tune-up, as I returned when the
Paperboard
Packaging Council (a nationwide
group headquartered out of
Springfield, Massachusetts)
asked me to
be its opening speaker (about
Memphis) for their October
Symposium. The
dinner was again in The Skyway Room,
which I consider to be one of
the most exclusive meeting
places in Memphis – hallowed
ground.
In 2010, I was asked by the Peabody again to write some Memphis history
“nuggets” that could be used in
the Sales Team’s vernacular to
help sell them The Peabody and
Memphis to clients. Apparently,
I supplied plenty of “nuggets”
(two rounds worth) as shortly
afterwards, I was
rewarded with the opportunity of
a lifetime, the role of Honorary Duckmaster.
Scene
2: The Big Day – Saturday,
February 26, 2011
My
life and interests have evolved
so much, that being Honorary
Duckmaster to me was better than
being asked to throw the
“ceremonial” first pitch at a
baseball game! I wanted to
share this moment with my
family, and I was able to have
fourteen other family members
present. The Peabody staff was
exquisite. My Mother had an
especially reserved table right
by the fountain and along the
long red carpet that led from
the elevator to the fountain.
There was also plenty of “Ogle
paparazzi” around to capture the
moment.
The daily routine for Jason Senat, Duckmaster, is to come out to the
Lobby at about 10:40 a.m. to
make an introductory speech to
the visitors in the Lobby about
the history of The Peabody Hotel
and the history of the March of
the Peabody Ducks, which takes
about ten minutes. He sets the
steps to fountain for the Ducks.
He keys the special elevator to
“hold” for the express, reserved
run to the roof and the Duck
Palace. He perfectly kicks the
long (about sixty feet) red
carpet to begin it's roll from the fountain
steps to the elevator door. And
then he rides to the floor
marked “S” in the elevator and
keys it off once again.
On this particular day, Jason took the time to introduce me as the
Honorary Duckmaster and said
some really nice things about me
and my walking tours of
Downtown. I received a
certificate, a souvenir Peabody
duck toy, and an authentic
(beautiful) Duckmaster cane.
The
Duckmaster then goes out to the
roof over to the Duck Palace and
leads, or really prods from
behind, the set of five ducks to
the elevator, and the promptly
hop right on. Now, the “inside
scoop”. On this day, my niece,
Elise Roach, went up to the roof
with us she had a video camera.
Jason then tells us that he is
going to begin counting and once
he reaches the number “8”, for
us to step into the elevator,
and that he will continue to
count. We nod our heads in
understanding, as these were not
too complicated instructions to
follow.

Jason then calls “Security” on the in-house radio that he has and tells
them to start the music. He
then softly begins his count
(and we are both just looking at
him as if we were a rocket
getting ready to blast off – 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (and we step
on) – 9, 10, 11, 12,13,14,15
(and at “15” he turns the
elevator key to start the
elevator on its descent to the
Lobby, which takes about fifteen
seconds. And then . . . the
doors open, the “Cotton States
March” by John Phillip Sousa
plays, and the Ducks march
(rather dash) to the fountain
amidst a glaring blaze of flash
bulbs from the several hundred
“fans” in attendance, lined up
along the carpet, sitting in
chairs and “hanging” from the
mezzanine floor. What a thrill
!!!
Needless
to say, the Ducks made it to the
fountain safe and sound, and had
a good day “on duty” in the
Lobby. Quite a few friends came
to witness the spectacle, and we
all took pictures together. My
family adjourned to The
Capriccio Restaurant for lunch
and just had a delightful time
there, too.
The
“duty” staff that day in The
Peabody Hotel made my family
feel like royalty, and I will
never forget it. I want to
acknowledge Vincent (Security),
Rogina (Hostess at Capriccio)
and Chris (waiter) for their
excellent attention to every
detail on this day. I would
also like to thank Doug Browne
(General Manager), Craig Smith
(Director of Sales & Marketing)
and Cody Willard (PR & Marketing
Coordinator) for giving me this
honor.
In closing, there
is an old saying by David Cohn
that rings so true:
“The Mississippi Delta beings in
the Lobby of The Peabody Hotel
in Memphis, Tennessee
and ends at Catfish Row in
Vicksburg, Mississippi.” So
true, so true.
How did the
tradition of the
ducks in The Peabody
fountain begin?
 |
Duck
March
1947 |
 |
Duck
March
1940s |
Back in 1932
Frank Schutt,
General Manager
of The Peabody,
and a friend,
Chip Barwick,
returned from a
weekend hunting
trip to
Arkansas. The
men had a little
too much Jack
Daniel's
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.
 |
Edward
Pembroke
Original
Peabody
Duckmaster |
Three
small
English
call
ducks
were
selected
as
"guinea
pigs,"
and the
reaction
was
nothing
short of
enthusiastic.
Soon,
five
North
American
Mallard
ducks
would
replace
the
original
ducks.
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
(at
left)
became
the
Peabody
Duckmaster,
serving
in that
capacity
for 50
years
until
his
retirement
in 1991. |
Today,
The
Peabody
Ducks
are led
by
Duckmaster
Jason
Sensat.
The original ducks have long since gone, but after 75+ years, the marble
fountain
in the
hotel
lobby is
still
graced
with
ducks.
The
Peabody
ducks
march at
11 a.m.
and 5
p.m.
daily. |
Ducky Facts
-
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.
-
The Peabody
Ducks have been
a must-see
Memphis
attraction for
Lisa Marie
Presley, Michael
Jordan, Nicholas
Cage, Priscilla
Presley, Don
King, President
Jimmy Carter,
Faith Hill and
Tim McGraw,
Justin
Timberlake, and
Jeff Bridges. In
addition,
Patrick Swayze,
Oprah Winfrey
and Gayle King,
Florence
Henderson,
Emeril Lagasse,
Joan Collins,
Molly Ringwald,
Chris Matthews,
Paula Deen,
Larry King, and
Kevin Bacon have
been Honorary
Duckmasters.
-
The Peabody
Ducks are five
North American
mallards - one
drake (male)
with white
collar and green
head, and four
hens (females)
with less
colorful
plumage.
-
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 serve
duck.

-
The Peabody
Ducks do not
have individual
names. The hotel
recognizes that
its resident
waterfowl are
wild animals,
not pets.
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.
-
The Peabody's
lobby fountain
is cut from one
enormous piece
of travertine
marble made and
shipped from
Italy for the
hotel's 1925
opening. The
colorful flowers
adorning the top
of the fountain
are changed out
every other day
in the middle of
the night.
-
When off-duty
from the Lobby,
the ducks live
in their Royal
Duck Palace on
the hotel's
rooftop.
-
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.
In addition,
they were once a
question on
Jeopardy.
-
The Peabody
Ducks are raised
by a local
farmer and a
friend of the
hotel. Each team
lives in the
hotel for only
three months
before being
retired from
their Peabody
duties and
returned to the
farm to live out
the remainder of
their days as
wild ducks.

With Permission from
The Peabody Hotel
|
Next “Detour”
Coming Soon |