Yesterday we visited the famous Peabody Hotel in Memphis where a tradition has taken place twice a day every day for the past 80-plus years.
It seems that one day in the 1930s the owner of the hotel and his friends came back, still toting their group of live ducks, that in those days hunters used as decoys. They brought their ducks into the lobby bar and let them swim in the hotel's ornate travertine fountain, while the men had just a little too much Jack Daniels. The ducks were such a hit with guests that they were made a permanent feature of the hotel lobby. At night they lived in a "Duck Palace" created for them on the roof of the hotel.
Edward Pembroke, the bellman at the time, was a former animal trainer for Barnum and Bailey. He trained the ducks to march down a red carpet from the elevator to the fountain in the morning, and back to the elevator again in the afternoon. Pembroke continued the daily processions precisely at 11:00 am and 5:00 pm for the next 50 years. Since Pembroke, there have been a total of nine "Duck Masters".
Anyway, we went to the Peabody and were in place next to the elevator at precisely 11:00 am. There was a huge crowd assembled alongside the red carpet in the lobby. Right on time, the elevator doors opened and out marched five ducks, one drake followed by four jennies. Pretty cool. Our pics are below, and you can read more at www.peabodymemphis.com
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| The Duck Master himself |
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| The march |
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| The ducks in their beautiful daytime playground |
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| The ducks are an integral part of the hotel's identity, as seen here on one of the towels in the rest rooms. |
"Be like a duck: Calm on the surface, but paddling like hell under water...."
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