Frank and Evelyn Tillman at a past Sandy Ridge tournament.

What if Frank Tillman never had an overpopulation of bream in his lake? Would there ever have been a Sandy Ridge Bream Tournament? I just can’t imagine what it would be like if there had never been a Sandy Ridge Bream Tourney for kids! But a bream problem he did have and Roger Carlisle had just the solution. And that was to put on a bream tournament for kids. There would be plenty of fishing, fun and good times for the kids and a solution to Mr. Frank’s overcrowded bream lake.

    Though skeptical at first, Tillman decided to give it a try at least once. Kids can be hard to handle and opening your lake to total strangers could have been disastrous. What if it rained, or worse yet, someone fell in and drowned? Many things went through Frank Tillman’s mind when confronted with a solution to his bream tournament, but he was game to try it once.

    To say that the first tournament was a success was a huge understatement. They did have the tournament a second year, and a third and again and again until they had it 22 years in a row! What an accomplishment it was. So many people came together to help out with the tournament year after year and contributed to its success. Yes, it also became a labor of love for Mr. Frank and Mrs. Evelyn Tillman, two loving, giving people that many, including me, have grown to love and develop a great friendship and appreciation for over those many years.

The memories

    “Every year I have children come up to me all around town and tell me that they fished in my tournament and tell me how much they enjoyed it,” said Tillman. “Some came so often I got to know them and others grew up fishing here and brought some of their kids back too.”

    With help from the Oak Grove Methodist Church, and many other volunteers and sponsors, the tournament was a huge success. Although it was started to eliminate an overcrowded bream problem it turned into an inspirational event that gave many children a chance to go fishing and to learn how to fish. Many of those kids didn’t have parents that had boats or places to fish.

    Larry Burrage always found time to carry his daughter Adrianna to the tournament and she always caught fish. And she placed in the money several years in a row also! The father and daughter duo always looked forward to coming back.

    Many of those children grew to love and establish friendships with the Tillman’s as they came back year after year. And it never rained, except once and the tourney was delayed a couple of hours but the show went on. The kids were too charged up and excited to be sent away without any fish.

    And oh did they catch fish, lots of fish and many huge bream over the years. Of course all of the Giles girls caught large bream and won many tournaments also. Sara Tabb caught a whopper of a bream one year that weighed nearly 2 pounds!

    And Justin Giles caught 132 fish, the most ever weighed in, and won the children’s division one year leading a pack of hungry kids with several catching in the 80 to 90 range.

     But the tournament was about much more than catching fish and winning prizes. In addition to the fun that was had by the kids, adults and grandparents, the tournament served as a fundraiser. The entry fee for the tournament was two canned goods per person which were donated to The Baptist Crises Center and the Wesley House.

Testimony

    Bryce Butler and his daughter Julia developed a strong bond and love of fishing together. Julia caught a lot of fish and usually placed among the winners also.

    Bryce had this to say: “Sandy Ridge was a blessing given to my family.  The rodeo was less about fishing and more about making memories with the ones we love. My daughter Julia and I looked forward each year to spending the day at the Tillman’s pond. These fishing events provided us with six years of memories captured in photographs and ribbons stored in volumes of scrapbooks. The conversations we had, the fish we caught, and the friendships we made were made possible by the generosity of a caring couple. As I grow older, those scrapbooks will become more valuable to me than my life savings. 

    “This year a cloud hangs over my heart because this event will be held no more.  But all I need to do is turn on the lamp by my recliner, curl Julia in my lap, and open up a scrapbook. The memories will evaporate the cloud, and we will be transported back to our favorite fishing hole. Thank you Mr. Frank and Mrs. Evelyn and may God bless you,” Bryce Butler.

    Although the lake was silent this past mother’s day weekend for the first time in 23 years, the howls of delight from children catching bream echoed in my memory and reinforced the bountiful memories of the greatest fishing event I’ve ever been a part of. Thanks for the hard work and memories Mr. Frank and Mrs. Evelyn. We’ll never forget you!

 

    Contact  Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or e-mail him at mikegiles18@comcast.net