LIVING HISTORY
ber my dad and my family? Did he ever. Looking over the
notes from that first interview, we went over a lot of our
shared memories. I learned very quickly that Buddy, who
lived on Cow Creek for seven of the most important years of
his life, had shared a deep love and fondness for those times.
More importantly, he had good recall and could confirm
many of my details while also providing plenty more.
We promised to meet each other again in person. A few
weeks later, I caught up with Buddy on a Saturday at his
home in Basinger in Okeechobee County. It’s nestled in an
oak-covered hammock that looks out to a pasture where deer
and turkey appear frequently and without fear.
It was around lunch time, so Buddy had a big spread of
pork ribs, barbecued chicken, greens and, best of all, swamp
cabbage he had harvested from a palmetto that morning. I
don’t think I could have received a higher honor than to have
the pot of swamp cabbage placed before me.
During our meeting, Buddy introduces me to 36-year-old
Spur, the last horse his dad rode. He also showed me the cow
whips he is working on, a well-known tradition begun by his
dad that Buddy continues today.
We caught up on everybody and anyone I could recall at
the ranch. Buddy knew about them all, attended many of
their funerals, and even told me what their kids and grandkids
were doing.
Best of all, he had kept in touch with Deroy Arnold, Curtis’
son and nephew of Will’um Thomas, who had worked at
Cow Creek since the late 1940s. Deroy was a continuous witness
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Buddy Mills continues to make cow whips, a custom established by his
father. The whips aren’t used on cattle, but are popped to get them to move.
to Cow Creek from his birth in 1957 to 1981, when the
Sloans sold their final piece of the ranch.
After lunch, Buddy looped his younger brother, Kent, to
us by phone. As a kid I had remembered Buddy as the more
talkative brother and Kent as being much quieter, but the
passage of years and our time on the phone proved that Kent
had become as gregarious as his older brother.
After our interview at his house, Buddy took me to the
old Basinger cemetery where his parents, Junior and Betty,
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Buddy Mills with Spur, the last horse his dad, legendary cowboy Junior Mills, rode. The horse and Junior were featured on the cover of Jon Kral’s book on
Florida’s cracker cowboys. Spur died last July at the age of 37.