John “Slugo” McClanahan, an outdoor enthusiast and rustic renaissance man who throughout his eclectic life took Waylon Jennings fishing, had a famous dog named “Buckshot” and was a self-taught master carpenter, died Sunday night at his Columbus home.
He was 74.
His daughter, Dorothy “Dodie” Kesler, said he died of natural causes.
On Monday, when asked about her father’s journey through life, Kesler said, “I could spend two weeks telling you about him.”
McClanahan’s personality, she said, would be best described as “half Grizzly Adams and half Fonzie,” a reference to the fictional Happy Days character. And he never met a person he did not like, Kesler said.
“The biggest humanitarian ever,” she added. “Honestly.”
McClanahan graduated from S.D. Lee High School in 1956. He left school with his nickname, “Slugo,” and never looked back.
He spent a little time working at a Volkswagen dealership before physically building and being co-owner, with Si Thompson, of the well-known Columbus restaurant Old Hickory Steak House. In the decades since it opened, not much has changed.
“I think they might have put one more coat of paint on it since dad built it,” Kesler said.
In the late 1960s, McClanahan moved to Florida, where he became a professional fisherman and operated Trophy Bass Unlimited, a fishing guide company.
His style was successful. He promised clients they would land at least a 10-pound bass, or the trip was free. His clientele included Jennings, Willie Nelson and members of the rock band Three Dog Night.
Kesler said that while growing up in Orange Springs, Fla., she thought it normal for country music legends to sleep in Winnebagos in the family’s front yard.
Asked how her father learned to fish, Kesler said he simply grew up around the outdoors and “that’s where he knew he clicked.”
He also loved dogs.
In the late 1970s, a distant family member from Alabama gave Kesler a puppy that was part black Labrador retriever and part Golden Retriever. McClanahan took up with the animal, named it “Buckshot” and then, instead of being Kesler’s pet, she said, “it became my brother.”
“Buckshot” became known around the country — he appeared in National Geographic magazine — for his ability to fetch McClanahan beers from barroom refrigerators, a trick the dog learned in four days. In 1985, after McClanahan had moved back to Columbus, the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper sent a reporter to town to write about “Buckshot.”
The article described “Buckshot” as “a 70-pound wonder dog who is fast becoming a tale for wags” and McClanahan as “a professional fishing guide, a hunter, a falconer, remodeler of homes, a trainer of dogs and the owner of ‘Buckshot.'”
For years, David Letterman wanted to feature “Buckshot” on his TV show’s “stupid pet tricks” segment. Kesler said her father always declined the invite because, she said, “dad said there was nothing stupid about ‘Buckshot.'”
The dog died in 1991.
McClanahan, meanwhile, became a local contractor.
During his days as a professional fisherman he had appeared numerous times on TV shows with the famous fisherman Bill Dance and held national and state records for the biggest large-mouth bass ever caught. But his local friends said he never brought those things up.
“He was a humble man,” said Danny Tucker, who lived near McClanahan.
“He never talked about himself,” added Matt Alexander. “He wanted to know about you. He was interested in you as a person.”
On Monday afternoon, a group of McClanahan’s friends gathered at Margie’s Place in east Columbus to share a little revelry and tell stories about him. They were all laughs.
Kesler was there. She said her father lived a good, full life. She got choked up, though, when asked what she would miss most about him.
“He always gave me the best advice,” she said. “He just understood the human condition better than anyone I’ve ever known.”
William Browning was managing editor for The Dispatch until June 2016.
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