When we opened the exhibit here at the Mountain Heritage Center, David and I got to meet Mr. Shane Plott whose grandmother was who I was named after. Here’s a picture of her with her husband Herbert. He was known as “Hub” and was a well known breeder of Plott hounds. Mr. Shane is going to start breeding Plott hounds and I’ll bet that he’ll eventually have a fine pack of hounds just like his grandfather did. It’s nice that people like Mr. Shane and Mr. Bob are keeping up the family tradition of hunting and breeding us Plott hounds.
Mr. Bob told us that Nannie had a great sense of humor and was also an amateur historian that lived to be 97 years old. I think I’m like Ms. Nannie since I have a good sense of humor (Ernie doesn’t think it’s too funny though when I grab his tail and drag him across the floor 
). The other thing I love are hearing the stories about Plott hounds and then I like telling them to you. From what Mr. Shane told us, she and Jeannette are in agreement about their chickens. Ms. Nannie loved the Plott dogs but if any of them did anything to her chickens there would be real trouble for the dog.
Plott hounds can be taught to do most anything though. I want to start practicing again on herding our chickens. We’ve had a lot of problems with coyotes in our neighborhood so Jeannette has been keeping them penned up all day. When the Plott hounds were developed in Germany they were also used to herd livestock when they weren’t hunting boar. There are many accounts of them doing the same thing when they arrived in America. The settler’s chickens, ducks, pigs and cows were all free ranging so they needed a dog that could hunt plus help them to bring their stock back in.
I’m proud to be a Plott and to be named after Nannie Plott!
Nannie
3 Comments
Great post Nannie! You are absolutely correct that Hub and Nannie were great folks. I met them as a boy and I profile them–as well as Hub’s brother’s and his remarkable father, in my latest book–Legendary Hunters of the Southern Highlands.
Nannie is the perfect name for you to honor a lady that loved Plott dogs and history in general. She kept a .22 rifle in her kitchen to keep the varmints from her chicken and the starlings from her corn.
Nannie and Hub, were both very self sufficient folks–Hub built a water wheel to generate electricity for their home, and they were very in touch with the old ways—predicting weather and planting by signs, growing and preserving their own food and running a huge, successful farm.
While rasing a family and running a farm, Nannie still made time to record local history for the Maggie Valley Homemakers Club. She wrote a very good paper for them in about 1976.
Hub was not only a great hunter, but he was well known for his fine Plott hounds. he was best friends with breed icon Gola Ferguson and Gola left Hub most of his dogs when he died. Hub was also a notable trapper and was mentioned in a 1952 Saturday Evening Post article titled “Bears Are No Darn Good!”
Hub and Nannie Plott lived rich and full lives and were loved and respected by many folks. You are named after a wonderful woman, Nannie, and I have no doubt that the human Nannie would be proud of you and what you are doing, as would Hub. Keep up the great work! Happy Holidays to you and your family!
Bob Plott
Thank you Mr. Bob for telling more of the story of Nannie Plott. I’m really proud to be named after such a great lady. I really want to become a good representative of the breed and tell a lot of stories about Plott people and Plott dogs.
Have a great holiday! My cousin Leroy will be here tomorrow and we’re going to be doing a lot of playing.
I’ve been looking all over for this!
Thanks.