Who Is Travis Smith?

This week on American Roots Outdoors, Alex Rutledge and Redbone sit down with special guest Travis Smith — turkey hunting enthusiast, former Missouri legislator, and lifelong outdoorsman. From growing up in West Plains and working for the Atlanta Hawks/Braves, to coaching football, raising grandkids, and chasing gobblers with his grandfather's old shotgun, Travis shares stories about faith, family, and life in the Ozarks. Plus: Fourth of July safety tips, Cardinals talk, tick-borne illness and controlled burns, and a bonus segment on smoking meats and wild blackberry recipes.

Chapters:

• 0:00 — Intro & Eagle Seed Ad
• 1:34 — Show Open & Current Events
• 1:47 — Who Is Travis Smith?
• 11:28 — Travis's Background & Family
• 17:02 — Faith & Public Service
• 21:10 — Turkey Hunting Stories
• 24:49 — Guns, Ticks & Controlled Burns
• 29:57 — Football Coaching Journey
• 33:47 — Farmer's Market & Community Talk
• 36:11 — Wrap-Up & Where to Follow Travis
• 40:32 — Bonus Segment: 250th Birthday & Recipes
• 42:24 — Smoking Meat & Blackberries
• 48:10 — Closing Thoughts & Outro

Missouri Hunting Heritage Federation:
https://www.mhhf.us/

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Transcript

 Intro & Eagle Seed Ad And too, you mentioned Eagle Seeds. Yeah. I bought some of that from you last year. Yep. I had, I started doing food plots probably, like, 20 years ago, and this year I've never had so many winter oats come up as we did. They- And the turkeys were in there all, eating the insects, and the seeds, and the clover. E- everything. And the craziest thing, though, by the time turkey season had gotten around, it was so high you couldn't even see the turkeys. I laughed. I told my wife it reminded me of something of Jurassic Park, where you just have to look and see where the velociraptors- Yeah are running through the high grass. Where they're moving at. Yeah. Yeah. But, but- That Eagle Seed's the best stuff All right, I like to know, it's about food plot planting time. What are you gonna plant this year? Okay, in the spring I like to plant different things, and also in the fall, but my go-to all the time is the Eagle Seed Smorgasbord, because it has a variety of blends. You know, when I was a kid, and even as an adult, I loved to go to a smorgasbord. I bet it's the same for deer. It is. They l- they have a variety to choose from. Instead of eating one thing all the time, they got a variety, just like you walking into a restaurant. Get Smorgasbord today and you'll hold more deer and turkey. How can I go about getting that Smorgasbord? T- go to a dealer near you or go to www.eagleseed.com. 🎵 Camo boots on my feet, bow in my Walking in the early dawn light In my stand 🎵 Wise Eye Technologies presents Show Open & Current Events Welcome to American Roots Outdoors. We are in the studio and I always say this, we got a great show lined up for you. Well, we always do. We always do. Say it again. Yeah, yeah. Say it again. He said say it again. Who Is Travis Smith? Our special guest is Travis Smith. Good morning. Thanks for- Yeah ... having me today. And people's wondering, who is Travis Smith? A lot of people know you, but they really get to know you during this show. Well, and I appreciate the fact getting on here because one of the things I've loved my whole life is turkey hunting. And so I hope we get to talk about that today. We're going to, yeah. Awesome. We are going to. The first segment here, we're gonna talk about current events. Okay. You know, there's a big race this weekend, Legit Motor Speedway. Talk about that, Don. Firecracker Classic. Uh, Firecracker Classic. Of course, when people are hearing this on Saturday, last night was the opening night. They'll be racing again tonight, hot laps at 6:30, races start at 7:00. Uh, $5,000 to win for the, uh, I think the modified. They got a whole bunch of classes gonna be running. It's gonna be a great time. Super stocks as well. And then they're doing, uh, fireworks after the, uh, after the thing. But out- I'd just like to mention there are firework shows all over the place. Mm-hmm. And folks, you need to get out and visit and be a part of these things that are going on. A lot of people have spent a lot of time and invested a lot of money to make this 250th birthday of our nation extra special. So- A- and it is gonna be extra special, too ... they're all gonna be extra special. Th- that's one of the beautiful things about America is the fact that we get together and celebrate our independence because there's no other country like us in the world. No, and the best country in the world, I mean, by far. And, uh, we may be having some of our problems now, but even with all that, it's still the best country in the world. So get out. I wanna urge you to get out and be a part of those things that are going on. Well, and, and the whole- Absolutely ... the whole idea about the fireworks, too, is a reminder that freedom isn't free. That also symbolizes all the g- bombs and the wars that we've had to go through to make things happen and while it's fun, I hope people take the time to remember how many lives have been lost for us to be able to celebrate together. Let me tell you about something that I've heard that's gonna be happening, and again, we're, you're hearing this on Saturday. This was on Friday night at the Alton Fireworks Show. I was talking to the gentleman who does the sound, uh, Jeff Trantham over at T Sounds, and he said, "What do you think would be the reaction if I play Taps just before the fireworks go off just to remind people about the lives that have been lost, you know, so we could get together and have a fireworks celebration?" And, uh, I just thought, "That is just an amazing idea." And anybody that was there- It is. It is ... that heard it, I, I bet you cried before the fireworks went off. Yeah. Of course you would. It's a somber reminder about why we're here. Yeah, exactly. And I thought, and- Now, I wanna make mention this, too. Fireworks, keep safety in mind. Oh, absolutely. You know, guys, right now, you know- So true ... we wanna mention that in every aspect of life, whether it's- You know, as, as people hear this on Saturday, there are some people that have more fingers today than they will have tomorrow That's one of my favorite memes. Yeah. It'll be somewhere over the weekend- Yeah someone's gonna lose a digit. But th- but and that's why it is important to be careful. It is. If a firework doesn't go off, don't stand over the top of it- ... and look to see what's going on. And mortars, one thing a lot of people don't realize, mortars are great, but if you're gonna use mortars, you need to make sure and have it secured to a piece of plywood. Mm-hmm. One of the things we found- Exactly. Exactly ... just, just screw that thing in there so nothing bad happens to it. I can tell you a really quick story. Uh, one year when I was 16 years old, I just got my driver's license. I was 16 years old, and a friend of mine, uh, we lived in Cahokia, Illinois, on the Ill- uh, Illinois side of the river from St. Louis. Well, back then they had the big downtown celebration, and we went to the levee side- Mm ... of the Mississippi River to watch all the fireworks at the arch. And we had, uh, bottle rockets, and we were just lighting them and throwing them, and they were going out over the river, and pew, pew. A lot of people were doing it. My buddy Bruce, Bruce Heatherly was his name, I'll never forget it, he threw one and it just went pew and down on the ground. And all of a sudden it sparked up and it shot straight to our, to our left. And there was a little boy running along with no shirt on, and it hit him right in the chest and exploded. He started crying and bawling and squalling. Uh-oh. And then here comes his dad, who was about 6'8", about 400 pounds. Uh-oh. He said, "You the boys what shot my son with the fireworks?" Hey, no sir. That was the kid over there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's right. Hey, I wanna make mention here, uh, condolences, love, and prayers for the Munk family, the owners of Wise-Id Technologies. Their mother, Ruth, uh, 88 years old, I believe, went to be with the Lord this morning at 5:00 AM. And, uh, what a great woman. We know- life is a celebration today for Ms. Ruth. Uh, you never got to meet her, Travis. I never did. Yeah. I'd love to. Yeah, but- What a blessing ... they'll be having her services, uh, I'm sure next two or three days or maybe Monday of next week. I'm, I'm not sure. But, uh, lift up the Monk family in prayer. Uh, switching gears, uh, also Redbone. Mm-hmm. Uh, Cardinals. Well, the Cardinals are starting to play like I told you they were going to from the very beginning. Yeah. Uh, the youngsters are already running out of gas. People have figured them out, and they're not old enough yet to figure out how to make adjustments to fight what's going on. And the young pitchers are the same way. Now, last night, Tuesday night, they beat the Atlanta Braves, the team in first place in the National League Eastern Division. But, uh, I mean, they got great young talent, but young talent has a hard time winning over a 162 game season. And, um, I think they've lost eight of the last 10. Something like that? It's sad. Well, it- It's sad, Travis. Well, it's tough for them. But the cool thing- Yeah ... about the Cardinals, where we are geographically in the middle of the country, the Cardinals have one of the largest followings of any major sports team, not just- Absolutely ... Major League Baseball, and radio has played a big part in that. They have the largest radio network in Major League Baseball. I- it covers thousands of miles. Yeah. Yeah. And, and state, you know, if you ever see a map, they say, you know, where Cardinal fans are versus others, Cardinals are in several states. You know, like Kansas City is pretty much all red dirt Kansas City. Illinois. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Illinois loves Cardinals. Oh, I grew up in Illinois. Yeah, Iowa loves Cardinals. Yeah. Even Arkansas. Nebraska, Arkansas, absolutely. They, they will. And Arkansas does well, too, because, I mean, you've got a team down there in Little Rock. You've got a, a minor league team in Memphis. Mm-hmm. And so they've done a good job by making sure their minor league teams are far enough away, but close enough they don't- Exactly ... lose their fan base. Exactly. Yeah. And of course, AA plays in that league they're in. They've just got, uh, you know, the, the, the team, the Arkansas Naturals over Springdale, they play in that same league with the Springfield Cardinals. Right. It's just ... Yeah. Yeah. And, and it's a fun time. It's great to be a Cardinal fan. I'm wearing my Cardinal jersey. Look it here. I see Cardinal. Yeah. And look at, look at the back. There you go. Yeah, Christ. The Grace. I need one just SS Smith. Oh, yeah. Well, we've got a great show lined up y'all here. Uh, just wanna make mention, too, uh, we You, you saw it the other day, the football field, Liberty football field. I- it's amazing. I ... For years, I coached at West Plains. Yep. And having that ... What we have the artificial turf now, but people don't realize when you've got Bermuda or zoysia how much work has to go into that field, and the field they've got in Mountain View now is absolutely beautiful. It looked like a college stadium other than turf. You gotta see it, Redbone. Oh, I ... Well, I will at some point. Yeah. I heard that they're gonna probably find another place to do soccer possibly, uh, so they'll keep people off the field until games. So we'll have a lot better field this year. But, uh, moving on, we got a great show, and, uh, our show is Who Is Travis Smith? You're gonna learn a lot about this guy and I think you're gonna like him. Uh, you're listening to American Roots Outdoors and watching it on live Facebook. We'll be back with more right after this. Hey, y'all it's Tyler Farr and you're listening to my good buddy, Mr. Alex Rutledge, on American Roots Outdoors. 🎵 Off the farm. Wishing on some love. I've been on a big boy for a while. I could load him in the back of my truck 🎵. Redbone. Wiseye has just gotten better with these new cameras that they come out with. How could it get better? Well, they got the new Mini and they've got the new DC2. DC2? They have a... Yeah. DC2 you can actually go live any time you want and film your own hunts with the Wiseye data cam. Now wait a minute, you mean I could be getting ready to shoot a deer and I could go on my phone and activate my camera and boom, film- Your own hunts ... my own hunt. Well, that's amazing. That's amazing. Okay, Alex, you've convinced me. How do I get one of these cameras? Go to a dealer near you or go to Wiseyetech.com. Order yours today. Take it to a holler. Take it to a field. Across a creek Wellpoint Hunting Blinds presents. Welcome back to American Roots Outdoors. We are in the studio. K Country 95, old Redbone on the boards wearing his Cardinals, Cardinals shirt. He personal- show it again. Christ, look at that. Christ. Yeah, kids got me this for Father's Day, like 25, 30 years ago. Very cool. And I've just tried to keep it in good shape, and I wear it every once in a while. Well, you have. Yep, yep, yep. Again, who is Travis Smith? I know you and I know him, Redbone- Yeah, for a long time ... and a lot of people know him in the area, but some of the new people in here, uh, I want y'all to know who this guy is. Great friend of mine. We've known each other for several years. This guy, uh, knows a lot of people everywhere, especially Jeff City. And, uh, we're not here to talk politics. We're talking about who he is. But, uh, just talk about who Travis Smith is. Where was you born? Talk about your parents, how you grew up. Let's start there. Okay. Travis's Background & Family Basically born in West Plains in 1968, went to high school there, ended up going to college at Mizzou, and one of the things my parents told me, they said I always said I wanted to move back. That was a given. But they said, "You should probably go somewhere else for about three years to see if, just to make sure you don't like it." And talking about the Atlanta Braves- Yeah ... ironically, my very first job out of college was working for the Hawks. No kidding. Because, yeah, Ted Turner at the time owned both the Hawks and the Braves. Yeah, yeah. And when we interviewed, we had the choice on whether or not to go with the Hawks or go with the Braves, 'cause it was basically selling season tickets. But at the time, this was 1991, Atlanta hadn't been to the playoffs since I was born in '68. So I was like, "No brainer, gotta go to the Hawks." One of our buddies did the math though, and he was like, "At Fulton County Stadium, they only have like 3,000 season ticket holders, and they have 48,000 seats." So he's like, "I'm gonna take a risk." And we told him he, he was crazy. But that was the year that the Braves went from worst to first. And while we were making cold calls trying to sell thousands of dollars worth of tickets to the Hawks games, this guy was picking up the phone. And the coolest thing about that summer is since Turner owned both the Braves and the Hawks, we got free baseball tickets. Oh, cool. And I was married, and my wife was working at night, so I went to 37 baseball games that year at- Wow. Fulton County Stadium. And what, what was crazy is like you, you just saw the stadium start to fill up. Mm-hmm. And most people don't realize, just like what high school sports do when a team makes the playoffs, it was the same thing for Atlanta, giving them a boost. Mm. The very last day of the year, I will never forget this, we had to win our game, and then the Giants had to beat the Dodgers in order to make the playoffs. That was way before the days of the internet and streaming and everything. Atlanta was on the East Coast time, so we won the game, and then we stayed at the stadium and watched the Giants- Watched the Dodger game ... and the Dodgers, and that took about three hours, but that was an exciting time. Right. And, and I loved living in Atlanta. Atlanta was a great town, but once we had kids, it was time to go back home. Yeah. Yeah. And once we got back home, it was great, 'cause raising my kids, my grand- my parents were really involved with my kids' lives, and that's one of the things I like about living in rural areas is the fact that families can be involved. You've got that nuclear family with everybody helping each other out. Well, families can be families. Yes. A- and it's, you know, I, I've learned too now as a grandfather- It, the, you make mistakes along the way growing with parenting. But with a grandchild, it's like a second chance to do things and it's also a second chance to do things you wouldn't have done with your other kids that are fun. My little grandson on Christmas morning, he was like, "Hey, can we make cookies?" It was 7:00 o'clock in the morning and I thought, "Well, it's too early." And then he looked at me and I was like, "Okay, we'll make some cookies." Well, I can tell you, I, I'll testify to that. My granddaughter, Wren Alexandria, has stolen my heart. Yeah, my- My whole life fo- is focused on Wren. And man, she's had some complications earlier. No. Not to get off subject here, but, uh- No ... with fluid on her brain and she had a virus here last week and man, some tough times. But a very smart baby. And it's good to have- Very smart baby. And, uh, she's learned to say eat. She says turkey. She's learned to yelp like a turkey. Oh, that's awesome. And she owl hoots. And we go out and feed the chickens in the morning and she'll reach in that feed, Folgers coffee can and dump it on the ground and watch 'em. Uh, just, it's so Good, such a good feeling- Yeah ... heartfelt feeling- And I told you- to hold that grandbaby. You told me. Everybody told me. And I, and I told you beforehand that grandkids absolutely change your life. Yes, they do. You know, you love your kids, you loved watching them be born and, and everything about it, but that grandbaby, my, my oldest is gonna be 17 this year, and when they handed her to me in that hospital- Oh, you melted I couldn't help it. No, you cried. I cried, absolutely. I'm so glad. And same way with the- I'm so glad ... with my, my youngest, Credence, who by the way, Credence, if you're listening, happy birthday again. Her birthday was just this last week. She turned 10. Happy birthday. Awesome. Happy birthday, Credence. And we took her out to lunch for her birthday. Yeah. So back to you. Yes, sir. So you, you grandkid, your family's born and raised in, in, uh, West Plains area- Yes ... Dora. Uh-huh. Uh, your, your daddy was a dentist. He was a dentist and which is strange because nowadays, and when I knock on some doors, I will have people, my dad's been gone 25 years, and I'll have somebody reach in their mouth and go, "Your dad made this partial for me." And you know, I mean, and like I, he's been gone 25 years, so I know that partial- What an honor for somebody to pull their false teeth out. Yeah. A- and he w- he was the last of the dentists that would, like, take Medicaid or- Yeah. Yeah ... if someone had a trouble paying the bill, a lot of times we got paid in other- He helped people. He helped people. And that's what you do, Travis. Well, a- and I, I think, too, one of the problems that we have in this country so much is that we're so focused on ourselves. And I had a great guy named Joe Bill Dixon. I was also a coach at the high school, and he was my mentor. And he said, "If you take care of other people and use your time that way- Oh, yeah you won't have too much time to feel sorry about what's going on in your life 'cause you're too busy." That's Christ-like. That's very Christ-like. Yeah. And that's one thing I loved about working under Coach Dixon. Yeah. So, so talk about your faith. Faith & Public Service I've been a man of faith forever, and one of the greatest things, I think, of course, you go to church, but that's also one of the great things about being in nature. The old song How Great Thou Art- Mm-hmm ... when I look out and see that awesome wonder- Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm ... and it, it just re- reestablishes faith every time you go out in the woods. Yeah. There, there's a great song by Larry Fleet said Where I Find God, and that's one of my favorite songs in the world. Yeah, it's good stuff. Good stuff, Redbone. Yeah. I think, I think, yeah, I think one other thing I wanna, uh, uh, to add to our conversation is I said earlier, you know a lot of people. A- and again, we're not trying to get into politics here- No ... but you, you served- A- and Jeff City for many years. Just talk about that. I, I loved serving up there, and one of the things you find right off the bat is that there are certain things you can win battles and certain battles you can't. The number one thing that I found that was most important was taking care of my constituents, and nothing made me feel better to have an older person say, "You've restored my faith in government." Beautiful stuff. We're going to a break, everybody. We come back, we've got Travis Smith in the studio. Who is Travis Smith? Don't go away. We'll be back with more right after this. This is Brenda Valentine and you're listening to American Roots Outdoors with Alex Rutledge and friends. 🎵 Year after year, got my hunting gear Remember when a hunter was measured by how well he shot, not how much he spent? When memories were measured in rooster tails, not dollar bills? We do. We're Spandau. Reliable, easy to operate, extremely balanced premium firearms offered at a price that proves you still know the true measure of a hunter. Spandau, making the American hunting tradition available to all. Hunting foods passed on down, planted deep in the ground. Around your heart so you never gotta worry 🎵. Eagle Seed presents. Welcome back to American Roots Outdoors. We are in the studio at K Country 95. Redbone is on the boards, again, wearing his Cardinals shirt, personalized Cardinals shirt. Love it. And Mr. Travis Smith here, a, a friend of mine, and, uh, just want people to know who he is, and we talked about this months ago, about having him on the show. But, uh, we learned that you was born and raised in Howell County or- Yes, that's correct. Yeah, yeah. That's correct. West Plains. And you was born and raised, and your daddy was a dentist, and you've got family, you got grandkids. You went to college at Mizzou, then you went and worked for the Atlanta Hawks. Yeah, great job. Pretty cool, pretty cool. That was very awesome. Was that during the, uh, Dominique days? Yes, that was another thing. It was like- Mr. Highlight Reel ... we, we knew he was, like, a big draw. Oh, yeah. And that was one of my pitches when I would try to call- and sell tickets. I said, "Unfortunately, Dominique Wilkins has had an ankle problem. We need you to come out and play tonight." And they'd say, "Well, that's awesome." I'm like, "How do I, how do I get my family?" And that's where you went in the spiel of trying to get the tickets and stuff. Oh, yeah. Hey, and but talking to, you mentioned Eagle Seeds. Yeah. I bought some of that from you last year. Yep. I had... I started doing food plots probably, like, 20 years ago, and this year I've never had so many winter oats come up as we did. They- And the turkeys were in there eating the insects, and the seeds, and the clover. E- everything. And the craziest thing, though, by the time turkey season had gotten around, it was so high you couldn't even see the turkeys. I laughed. I told my wife it reminded me of something- That's good for the turkeys ... of Jurassic Park, where you just have to look and see where the velociraptors- Yeah ... are running through the high grass. Where we're moving at. Yeah. Yeah. But, but- That Eagle Seed's the best stuff. Now, I planted it this spring in, in, uh, late March. I planted mine instead of waiting in the fall, I planted some small ones. Every day my WisEye goes off with turkeys in it. I, I love that. And I know you love turkey hunt- we're gonna talk about plants. Please. I love that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Turkey Hunting Stories So when was you, how old was you when you heard your first turkey gobble? W- probably I was about six or seven, 'cause my dad loved turkey hunting. And he, he even said back in the early '70s, you were lucky if you even heard one, much less got to see one. And I remember the first time he harvested a tom, we lived on Twin Oaks there in West Plains, and he brought it home, and I, one of my favorite pictures is me as a baby riding that turkey. But as I got older, of course, you know, it's like I don't- Thank you, Matthew Clark ... yeah, I, I don't wanna hang out with Dad, you know, I wanna hang out with my friends. For sure. And unfortunately, I did not do much hunting with him, so I didn't start again... My first turkey, I was 28 years old- ... when I harvested, and it took probably, I thought, "This is gonna be easy." Two and a half weeks later and waking up at 4:30 every morning, finally got one, and I was addicted from there. I was. It was like- Yeah ... and then- What, what is one of your most memorable turkey hunts ever? I know you got a lot of them. What is one that really sticks out in your mind? We had a little bitty A-frame cabin in Douglas County, and that is where we ended up living last time. And I remember I woke up late, and of course late in turkey season is 6:15. Yeah. And I was bummed out, but I went outside and I was just basically taking a leak. Yeah. I heard a gobble right behind the cabin. And I thought, "Oh my gosh." So I put my stuff on, put all my gear on, and I had had turkeys that people had called up for me before. Yeah. But I'd never got very proficient in calling. I'm still not that good, but I went out- You're running my calls now ... I, and that's why I'm doing a lot better, too- ... with the harvest, by the way. But back then, you know, you had the old Walmart with the Kung Fu whatever it was. Kung Fu. And, and it was. I had one, it was Kung Fu Turkey. And, but I called to that turkey and he gobbled and I was like, "Oh my gosh, I'm actually doing something good here." And he came in and I was using my grandfather's old 10 gauge. And I remember seeing that turkey and I, for a first, I, I was just shaking. And I dropped that thing, and I'd never been so happy in all my life through hunting because I had called it in. You did it. I did it myself, and there was a great feeling of accomplishment after that. With your grandfather's shotgun. Which I still have. You know, and that- That's roots. No, that, that is roots and what it is. And I laugh because, like, when we first started going deer hunting, I was, like, basically saying, "Hey, I, I've got this rifle." And he said, "No, no, use my old gun." And I thought, "No, I'm not gonna use an old gun." Those guns are the best guns. 20 years later, I'm not using anything I bought within the last 10 years, and it's something about tradition and, like you said, roots. Mm-hmm. It, it's something special to use your family's- Oh weapons. Yeah. It, it, it's very spiritual. Yeah, I would... Turn my mic on. I, I would agree, and I, I understand that completely because a few years ago I bought a 270 to deer hunt with, and, and I liked it. It was great. I killed a few deer with it. But one day I woke up and I said, "I'm selling it. I'm going back to, to using my Winchester 30-30. I'm getting back to my roots. I bought that gun 40 years ago, and I'm gonna start using it again." Well, and my grandfather gave me an old Marlin. You know? And- There you go ... what do you call it when you- Lever action. Lever action. Lever action. Yeah. And I made the decision then, and we talked about this earlier, Redbone, it's like so many people now have these long scopes and long shape rifles. Yeah. Shoot 400 yards away. Yeah. If it's not within 75 yards, I'm not taking a shot. Most of the deer here in the Ozarks is shot within, uh, 75 yards anyway, and less. Most definitely, and that's the way it should be. Most of them. You know? Percentage-wise. A- and I understand the gentlemen that wanna make it more sporty and trying- Yeah to look for something else, too, but that's also what bow hunting's all about. Guns, Ticks & Controlled Burns Hey, I'm gonna change the subject here. And you know me, I'm cr- A-D-D. How bad's ticks been on you guys? Every tick I've pulled off me leaves a welt. And a- Get out of my way ... no, and a bruise. I've noticed that. And you know, I never used to worry about tick-borne illnesses and stuff. Oh, they would worry me now. Woo. A- a- and I ... When it first came out, my first thought when they were talking about tick-borne illnesses, I thought this is something that Hart or somebody that's selling stuff is going through. But m- when my wife first moved here from Illinois, she got a tick bite and made her really sick, and I told her I, it's all psychological, 'cause I'd never gotten sick before. That was not good for the marriage either, so- I can imagine that ... 'cause I learned it wasn't psychological. But now with the alpha gal, and then you've got this Asian longhorned tick we've got to worry about, it ... I, I sometimes wonder, I'm not much of a conspiracy theory guy, but why is it now we're getting so sick off ticks that we didn't- Exactly 20 years ago? Exactly, yeah. And you can alter genes to- Yeah, yeah ... do certain things to the body. Now you, you, you've got cattle too, don't you? We do have cattle. Yeah. And one of the things, though, that we don't have much of a tick problem is 'cause, one, we use chemicals, and number two, I'm a huge controlled burn guy. We burn- Me too ... every single February. And that's one of the things we- You do a lot of it by yourself, don't you? Wh- which drives all my neighbors crazy. But I enjoy it. And once you, once you get the system down- Oh, I love it. I, I do good fire lines and I got a blade on my tractor and I push roads out and got great fire lines. It's just a peaceful feeling. I burnt 40 some acres by myself this spring Actually, it was in early February and never had a problem Ever. A- and that is one of the things, too. There's not many problems with cattle getting sick, they found out, in eastern and western Kansas, and that's mostly because they have a lot of prairie land out there and they do a lot of the burning. Controlled burning. Controlled burning is a great way to get rid of your tick population. So, so you suggest to all of our listeners and our viewers here, controlled burn's the way to go. You wanna get your tick numbers down on your properties, too. And two things to keep in mind, like you said, you've gotta have fire lanes. Yeah. And the one thing I found out more than anything, too, you have to walk the perimeter of those fire lanes and make sure you don't have- Constantly ... dead trees. Yeah. Because the dead trees- Dead trees. I had one get out one time on a dead tree. Well, we had one this year- Hollow tree that went up the tree, sparks shot over my neighbor and if you ha- and if it's, it's like a volcano. If it's hollow and the wind's blowing, it's just blowing everywhere. Not to mention, it can go burn for two or three days after that. Thank you, Matthew. So make sure you get those. Thank you, Cropd. Chris, they're all saying, "Hey, you gotta go back to..." They had a lunch break, said they're going back to work. We're going to- Yeah, we gotta go to a break. Before we do that, y'all have given me an idea. I'm gonna go home, I need to mow 'cause I've been dealing with this cancer thing in my arm and it's, I tried not to get it infected, so my mowing is behind. I'm just gonna go home and do a controlled burn in my front yard. I love it. Get 'er done. You're listening to American Roots Outdoors. We'll be back with more right after this. Hey, everybody. This is Cody Huff, Bassmaster Elite Series Pro. You're listening to American Roots Outdoors with Alex Rutledge and friends. 🎵 What the wind might do. American ro- 🎵 Hey everybody, Alex Rutledge. I'm excited to tell you about 12 Point Hunting Blinds. Seven-foot walls, perfectly camouflaged, snowproof, waterproof, tinted windows. They will not reveal you in the 12 Point blinds. We're proud to work with this Amish-made blind, made in America, made in USA. 12 Point Hunting Blinds. For more information, go to 12pointhuntingblinds.com. Hornady Ammunition presents. Welcome back to American Reach Outdoors in the studio. Who is Travis Smith, Redbone? He, he did it, Travis. He did it right. Before we started, Travis, what did you do? I said I was reading off the names of who was watching. Yeah, I mean, before we came on the air, earlier today, you said, "Hornady." I, you said- Just like that ... all right, let me do it. No, tell me what to say again. Come on. Say it. Hornady- Hornady ... Ammunition. Hornady, get loaded. Love it. All right, we're having a good time here in the studio again with Travis Smith and Red Bone. Who is Travis Smith? Share your perspective of who Travis Smith is. Red Bone. Oh, me? Yeah. No, no, there, there's only one Red Bone here. Well, I was, I was ... I, I'm actually doing work over here so this all runs smoothly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. All right. Who is Travis Smith? Travis Smith is just a good dude. The plain and simple of it is I've known Travis for a long time, uh, you know, through outings that were done and he's been around. Always, always helping people- Travis, always- ... trying to put out fires and help people. Yeah, he's just a good dude. Yeah. And Red Bone is- And was he a very good football coach? Well Hey, I had one winning season out of seven and stuff. Football Coaching Journey But one, one of the ... Greg Simpkins, when I really think back about this, about how I- Now, Greg was a good football coach. He, he was a great football coach. And ironically, talking about family and stuff, my father, since the time I was 15, said, "You need to be a coach." And for whatever reason, of course, your parents don't know anything, and I had to prove him wrong. I went on to be a business person, had a couple UPS stores, had a Remod Ant. But the day he passed away, guys, I will never forget. I t- he, he ... It was fortunate, 'cause he had a heart attack and died in his sleep. No suffering. But I remember touching his forehead- That's the way I wanna go. I, I, I'd love to go that way. Yeah. I hope all of us get a chance to do that. Yeah. But he, I, I remember his head, it, it was cold. There was no blood left. And I made the choice at that moment, I'm going back to coach. And I had a heart-to-heart with Greg Simpkins, and when I really look back and think about it, everybody when they have a moment in their life like that, it's life-changing, whether or not you really follow what you do. Simpkins, the fact that he allowed me to be part of that program, it, I, I will never, ever forget that. It meant everything to me. And I told him, I said, "Coach, I'll wash jocks and socks. I'll do whatever you need to do." And he said, "No. If you're gonna come over here, you are going to be a coach and coach football." And first two years, basically, I was the get back coach. You see the guy on the sideline going, "Get back. Get back." Get back, get back, get back. And it- Yeah ... yeah, and then worked, uh, Greg Dixon, who's down here now. Yeah. And Greg Dixon w- really helped me out with establishing some confidence and saying I wanna do something different. And I went to Simpkins and I basically said, "Hey, on Friday nights, I, I don't have much involvement." I said, "Tell me what, what can I do so I can actually coach coach?" And he said, "If you wanna be the fre- head freshman football coach, I'll let you do it." 'Cause a lot of times the young guys, they're looking to be a head coach later on somewhere else. Sure. I understand that. But coaching the freshman was probably- Little Charles ... one of the best experiences I've ever had. And oddly enough, in West Plains at the time, we still have all the K through eight rural schools. There was not a rural school program to play football. Right. So while places like Camdenton and Springfield Central and all these schools were playing, were learning how to do zone blocking and all these different steps, I was trying to teach my kids how to put the pads in their pants. Yeah, how, how, how to- Yeah ... how, how to make a three-point stance. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, they were just so far behind, and so I made up my mind right there and then, we, I knew we weren't gonna win many games because we hadn't practiced together, but I said, "We are gonna have some fun." And we did a lot of audibles, and players would have no idea what was going on. Right. And I tried to teach them right at first, I'd be like, "A gap or B gap and C gap," and they didn't get that. But once I changed it to Alton, Alton Blitz, or Baker- ... Bakersfield Block, you know? And C was Caufield and D was Dora, it made a difference because the kids under- They registered with them. Yeah, we didn't have a jet sweep. You made it simple. Oh, we didn't have, instead of calling it jet sweep 49, pitch 38A, I called it buffalo herd to the right. See- And everybody knew they were supposed to pull, and the kids enjoyed that ... that's the things I did with Mighty Mite kids because, you know, the kids third, fourth, fifth grade, they don't know. Now, we try to teach them A gap, B gap, C gap, or one, three, five stuff. Right. But I named everything we would do, we'd do a, a red blitz, which was run up the middle on the right side of the center. Love it. We'd do a green blitz, which was run up the left side. We'd do a, a red dive, and we, we just named everything something they could relate to. A- and if kids can relate, they can learn. Exactly. And I, I think, too- That's the way I was as a kid growing up. Still am, my wife says. Well, and that's why it's important to- She says beans and taters. I, I get it. You know what the beans and taters are. I know what the beans ... Hey, I gotta say this too. I'm getting off-subject. Say it. Say it. Say it ... again. You know me. Uh, Farmer's Market & Community Talk I bought some Green beans at farmer's market on Sunday. Yeah, they do it every Sunday at Birch Street, green beans and new potatoes. Oh, yeah. Linda made, Linda made green beans and new tomatoes two weeks ago. Did you put the chunks of ham in there too? I'm still eating them. They're delicious. Now, when she cooks those, does she cook them in the oven? Does she, she- No, well, she does them in an old pot with bacon and seasons them up with onions. Oh, my God. Yeah, see, we do that and we put big chunks of ham in there. Yes. Oh, my goodness. Yeah. Well, that's- A meal all by itself. You gotta, you, you gotta go to the farmer's market. I, I go to farmer's- You got Sunday- I haven't been to that one, but I go to farmer's markets all the time Oh, my gosh. There's people there that buy Amish tomatoes that grow them year-round, and vegetables, and they sell them there. I bought I think some of these tomatoes are big as a softball and bigger, like a dollar apiece. Oh, yeah. Oh, my gosh. Sweet corn, zucchini, cucumbers, red onions, yellow onions, vidalia. They got everything down there. And then you ought to see the chickens and turkeys in our downtown park. Yeah, you know what I always say, 'cause I, I promote farmer's markets on my Redbone Show every Friday morning if they're coming up on the weekend. I encourage people, 'cause if you go buy something at the farmer's market, everybody wins. You're getting fresh produce- Yeah ... for your family, farmer's putting a little change in his pocket to help him on down the road. Everybody wins when you go to a farmer's market. Chris Burkhardt just said, we cooked fish last Friday night. He's my partner. We fish the RSA together. He said Linda's brown beans are killer. Nice. And Shane and Ruth Wagner's on here. Thank you for watching also. I want to mention Wagner Heating and Air. Yeah. If you're having problems, guys, you need to call Shane. He will get you fixed and not gouge you or take you for every penny. This guy is top-notch. He's a coach now. Do you know that? No, I did not know that. At Kosciusko. Yeah, coach, well, he's coached a little bit of baseball at Kosciusko- And basketball too ... for the last few years. Basketball, he's coaching. But, uh- Yeah ... oh. Yeah, and the thing about them, they specialize in those, uh, mini-splits- Yep which are kind of all the rage right now. Oh, my gosh. Nice. I got one in my cabin. It'll freeze you out. We, we did that. We had an old barn- Yeah ... and we converted it into a house, and I just didn't wanna go through and have all the duct work. Yeah. And we used the mini-splits. Yeah. And they, they work awesome. Yeah. Old Donald Black's watching. Lay it on me. Hey, Donald. Lay it on me. Lay it on me. Lay it on me. Lay it on me. Wrap-Up & Where to Follow Travis What a great show, man. Uh, if you guys now got to know who Travis Smith is, he's a great guy. If you ever wanna meet him, uh, and he is running for an office, but we're not making this a political show, and your opponent is- Running two. We never get them any recognition How many opponents do you have? I, I have two. Okay, and who are they? One, one is a Republican and one's a Democrat, but I never say their name- Yeah, okay ... 'cause I don't wanna give 'em any promotion. That's right. All right. Open up the trail. Well, they're welcome to be on the show too if they wanna reach out. Amen. Amen. Yeah, yeah. There you go. So we're not being, showing favoritism. But again, what a great show and, uh, segment. The bonus segment we do is on the podcast, I know you love to cook. I want you to share some recipes of, of one of your favorite meals that you and your wife love to cook together in our bonus segment. Will you do that? I'd, I'd love to. Yeah, yeah. So Travis Smith, how can people follow you and how can they learn more about you? Y- you can basically go, if you wanna look at our political page, it's Travis Smith for Missouri, and if you don't want the politics, just go to Travis Smith. That's where I have all the fun stuff. Yeah. Hey, Donald Black just said, "We need to get Mallory to dye Miley and your sideburns and head again." He has no hair. That's classic. Travis ain't got hair. I know, but I've g- I us- Look, I gotta ask, you got a permanent hair? No, I've had curly hair for all my life, and what was funny, talking to- JD's watching. He's in Florida right now. Tell JD hi. Hi, JD. Yeah, I was just gonna say one thing. When I, when I, when I was dealing with the cancer in my arm- Yeah I told the doctor, I said, "If it turns out to be something serious, I am not doing chemo and radiation." He said, "Why not?" I said, "I don't wanna lose my hair." And he's like, "Uh, don't lose that hair up there." So they can follow you there. Yes, sir. Thank you. All right. Thank you for being on the show. You're a great guest. We're already done? Thank you, Travis. Thank you for being great. We got the bonus segment. Uh... But thank you for being a great helper to mankind. No, and thank you. I, I remember the first time that we met each other at Nor- at Roy's store. Yeah. And I was like, "That's the great white hunter right there." Oh. Yeah, no, but it was neat- because you've always had a reputation- Well, I appreciate that ... around here of being a great hunter. I like to help people too. I, I know you do. Yeah. And you do a lot of things for kids and veterans. Yeah. And that means a lot. We gotta wrap her up. Everybody remember, this old world needs more love and not hate. Amen. Teach your boys to become men. And teach your ladies to be ladies. To be... That's right, girls to become ladies, and when your roots run deep and strong, Travis- There's no reason to fear the wind. Love that. So you never gotta worry what the wind- Thank you for joining us for today's American Roots Outdoors Radio with Alex Rutledge. You can find us on Facebook. Look us up on the World Wide Web at americanrootsoutdoors.com. We'll be back again next week on this great radio station Deadly, dependable, Hornady ammunition. From a two-man operation in 1949 to a world-leading innovator of bullet, ammunition, reloading tool, and accessories design and manufacturer today. Hornady, each piece is hand inspected to ensure consistency and quality. Ammunition engineered to perform flawlessly. Simply put, the best. Hornady ammunition. Find Hornady ammunition at a retailer near you and at hornady.com Mandal Arms presents. Welcome back to American Roots. If you're listening to this, you are listening to it on a podcast carrier. We air in 19 countries. Can you imagine- Really? ... uh, people interpret us, buenos dias, señor, blah, blah, blah, blah, and, uh, ... you come out, color, blah, blah, blah. They're, they're talking all kind of, covering our, imitating our voices, I'm sure. Aren't they? I, I love that. 19 countries? 19 countries. That's amazing. Yeah, we've had responses from 19 countries. That's really cool, guys. Yes. Yeah. I think a lot of them maybe are military guys. It is. It is. But still, I mean, that's- There's, there's- ... that's something why it's important ... they're getting the word out there. When, when you're serving your country and you're far away from home- Bonus Segment: 250th Birthday & Recipes You know something we didn't mention? What? 250th birthday. We didn't go into detail a lot about that. Man, you did, you did quite a bit. A, a little bit. But 250th birthday. Remember, as he said earlier in the show, if you're just now listening to this, and this is a bonus segment- Purpose of the fireworks is to celebrate the lives that was given for us to celebrate this day Amen. Yeah. And you think about that, 250 years is really not that long of a time. And- Really, it's not ... and, and here's what people don't realize, too, like, uh, Sons of the American Revolution and Daughters of the American Revolution are having a Constitution read in West Plains on the 8th. And every said- everybody's like, "Why the 8th?" That was the first time it was presented to the public. Yeah. Even back then in the 1700s, there was worry that the press was gonna report something before it happened. So at Freedom Hall, you think about this, those guys were dressed in wool suits, wearing those hot wigs, and every single window was closed because they didn't want anyone outside to hear what they were talking about. The fact that they were able to make one of the gr- in my mind, one of the greatest documents ever written behind- Yes ... the Bible, it's certainly one of the greatest political documents ever written. And to make it where it just fits all the time. You know, some people say the Constitution changes with the times. It doesn't. I, I think the same thing about the Bible. You don't change the Bible to fit the time. You ought to change your action to fit what the Bible and the Constitution say. Yeah. I would agree 100%. I'd, I agree 100%. All right, so recipes. I'm anxious to hear what Travis is gonna give us here. H- here is as far as recipes go, every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I try something different, and it's always with a turkey, a ham, or a rib roast, but I love smoking stuff. Smoking Meat & Blackberries Oh, yeah. And I- when we first started, those were in the old days when you had the barbecue briquettes, and I'd be up at 2:00 in the morning the night before Thanksgiving making sure the fire didn't go out. But I've learned over the years, now we switched to electric, then we went to pelletized, but the key on cooking turkey that I found is you've got to make sure it keeps moist. And some year I've used apple juice- In- you inject them? It... I don't inject them, but when I cook them, I cook them in a pan And then we pour apple juice on the top of it- Wow ... pineapple juice on the top of it- ... sometimes Sprite. It's just like whatever I have- Wow. Well, uh, 'cause for years I was a bachelor and so it was whatever was in the fridge- is what I was gonna cook with. To make it sweet. Yeah. And then just like sometimes you have a chicken you stuff with vegetables, sometimes we've put that in the turkey. We, we put celery in there. We put onions. Other years I've tried putting oranges and apples inside there. So every year it's a little different, but the product, what's really great, is the fact that the turkey always comes out moist. Cranberries. Cranberries are good. Get, get fresh cranberries, put those inside that turkey. Yeah, and one thing we're gonna do this year, too, is now that we've moved back to our farm, tons of wild blackberries. Oh, wow. And so, yeah, so our- Wow ... uh, my, my wife has tons of people coming in this weekend and I said, "For room and board, you're gonna go out there and pick the blackberries." And, and really because I mean, it's like, uh, it's, it's har- it's not hard, but then I'm like, you gotta wear the long-sleeve shirts, then you gotta make sure you don't get covered up with ticks and the chiggers and stuff. Yeah, that's why I have tame blackberries. They don't have any thorns and they're, they're, they're about as big around as a, a whole peanut, double peanut. I mean, great big old juicy blackberries. You're being serious. I'm absolutely serious. That's really pretty, son. Absolutely serious. I didn't know they had that. Yes. There are no thorns. They grow and they multiply. Yeah. I put, I put in 13 blackberry plants. I bet- And they're a lot bigger than the ones- I bet you I've got 10,000 blackberry plants now. That's- So I won't go to his house. We will go to his house. 'Cause I need to pick. I've picked, uh, a gallon and a half. Can you bring me some next Wednesday? I will bring you some. Yeah, I need... I'll probably pick a half a gallon today. See, when- But they're in the yard ... when you said that about, uh, tame, I thought, "Well, that's a pretty good play on words," but it's- No really excellent. Really. I'll have to try- And let me, and let me tell you, anybody out there saying, "Well, I don't wanna draw snakes in," because, you know, snakes, you know why snakes hang out in blackberries? Probably to eat mice because the mice are up there eating it The mice and the birds. Birds like to eat blackberries. Got it. So the snakes are laying in wait for those birds to land and poof. Got it. So here's what you do. You get you a hawk decoy. Yep. And you put it on a fence post- Or an owl. Or an owl ... or, or an owl, and you put him on a fence post close to your blackberries. All the birds stay away. There are no birds. There's no mice. The snakes stay away. So there's no snakes eating- No snakes ... you know, talking about roots, growing up, I remember the first time I saw a big old black snake, I was probably four, and just started screaming. And my dad was like, "Son, that is just a, a-" Cobra! Cobra! He was like- Johnny Quest! He said- It's a boa constrictor Wild Kingdom! Wild Kingdom was great because m- Wild K- Jim ... remember on Wild Kingdom- Jim ... he, uh, yeah, he- Careful with that cobra ... Jim, go, go neuter that water buffalo out there. I always felt sorry for Jim. Yeah. Jim had a rough job. But- Marlin, I can't even hold him. Help me, Marlin I love that show. But, you know, thinking about snakes, my dad said one of the reasons es- in our culture why we hate snakes so much, because the first story we hear is- Adam and Eve in Genesis, yes. Yeah. And the, Satan is a snake. And he goes, "That doesn't mean you should walk up and kiss a copperhead." You know? And- Hey, you made me think of something. I'll never forget Darryl Jones, pastor of our church one time, he was talking about marijuana and all these people- ... smoking marijuana and stuff. He goes, "To all those people out there that think marijuana is good for you- It's just like a snake. He said, "You think marijuana's good for you, you think snakes are good, let's see you pick up a rattlesnake and try to smoke him." Amen. See what happens. I saw... You mentioned the, the smoking. I saw a recipe the other day, and you'll love this. Uh, I shared it with Alex. I sent it to you. A guy smoked a ham. He took a, a piece of ham and he, and he scored it like you do a, a, you know, anything else, scored it around and put a little seasoning on it, and he smoked it. And every once in a while he would spritz it with pineapple juice. Yeah. Yeah, juice. Because that's what your... I mean, that's what the wife does when she cooks one in the oven. Yes. You know, she puts, uh, pineapples and cherries on it and lets it cook. And then as it got close to being done, he starts spritzing it with cherry juice. Just something to give it flavor. And then before he got to the last wrap, when he got it all, just about all done, he made a, uh, a glaze. Oh. Ah. It was a, uh, it was a pineapple and cherry glaze, and he glazed that ham, put it back in the smoker, and it was for making pulled ham. And when that thing got done, he took his, his grippers, he put it in the middle of that ham, and it fell into a million pieces. A- and that's the best thing about smoking. If you have the time to do it, it makes your meat so soft. That's one of the things with, uh, ribs- Yeah ... that we always talk, when you're smoking ribs- Mm-hmm ... if it falls off the bone, you know it's done. And that's how I got started with smoking meats in the first place, happened during deer season. 'Cause we'd always have 19 to 20 people at deer camp. Mm-hmm. And I was kind... I laugh, I say I was the- You were the cook ... I, uh, I was the wife at deer camp. I made sure everybody got out to where The wife. He was the bee. I, I was the cook. He was the bee. I was the bee cooking everything. But I realized if I got a smoker, I can just put my ribs or whatever it was in that morning, and by the time we got done that night, it was ready to go. Yeah. And I was able to go out and go smoke it. Yeah. Yeah. Closing Thoughts & Outro Great show. Good show. Thank you, Travis. No, thank you, gentlemen. Thanks for being my friend. No, I appreciate you, and I appreciate what you guys do for people, too. Yeah. Yeah. And exposing people to the outdoors. That's one thing I think this world would be better off. I think one of the reasons people are so upset in urban areas, they never get a chance to experience nature. What we have. Yeah, and when you... And like being in Atlanta, I mean, it was eight lanes of traffic. Yeah. And if you weren't driving 75 miles an hour, people are hollering or they're yelling at you. That's the way it was growing up in St. Louis. Yeah, exactly. Same thing. 44. You know, and 44, they just had the- Or 270 ... they had the thing the other day with the big sinkhole right by the- Yeah, absolutely ... yeah ... on, on, uh, on 70, yeah. Yeah, and people were like Fortunately, no one dropped in there. Right. But, uh, uh- Everybody, give Travis Smith a big follow. Support Travis. What a great man. Thank you, brother. Travis, what does this world need more of? Love. Not- Hate ... yep. Yeah. Need to teach our boys- To be men ... teach our girls to become- Ladies ... when your roots run deep and strong- There's no reason to fear the wind Love that. You guys, thank you very much. 🎵 Be waiting when they hit the ground. Big time coming, it's what we do. From a whippoorwill to an old owl's hoot. Sitting still 'til it's time to shoot. American roots. Take it to a holler. Take it to a field. Across a creek. Up a big old hill Ground around your heart so you never gotta worry said when your roots hold deep and strong. There's no reason to fear the wind. American roots will rise again Got family and friends and living the truth. American Yeah, goddamn 🎵