Contributed by Mark Edwards

How do you describe someone who is indescribable?   Harden Phillips was a true Renaissance man when it came to waterfowling.  He was a passionate duck hunter, a published wildlife photographer, the moderator of his own duck hunting site, and the webmaster of many others.  He was a die hard supporter of Delta Waterfowl, and spent countless hours planning fund raisers, banquets, and .  He is almost single handedly the person who started the drive to have Delta Waterfowl license plates in Mississippi, and designed the logo for the license plates himself.  There was simply no facet of duck hunting, no matter how obscure, into which Harden had not enthusiastically plunged himself.

I was luck to spend almost every day of 6 duck seasons hunting with Harden.  I will always remember how you had to physically pry him out of the bed in the morning to get him up, and then later you had to physically pry him out of the blind to get him to go back to camp.  Even with full straps, Harden always had to stay “just 15 more minutes, ‘cause something might happen.”

How can I ever forget the time that a couple of drakes were jetting straight out of a timber hole.  I can still see the blue sky and the sun on their wings when Harden pulled off the reflex snap shot of a lifetime.  Out of nowhere, he folded both drakes way up in the stratosphere with one shot.   Seeing the results, he immediately started jumping up and down like a kid on a pogo stick, giving everyone a “high five.”  Then, as he was ecstatically jumping for joy and bragging on his shooting when, SPLAT!, one of those drakes fell from outer space and hit him right smack on top of his head, knocking him down in the water and pretty much out.  Then, every person in that hole broke up in convulsive laughter, falling around in the timber themselves.  We figured the score was pretty much even that day: Man kills duck, duck knocks man out cold.  It could only happen on a hunt with Harden.  

My most enduring memory of Harden happened one day when we were hunting about 200 yards apart on a big flooded stubble field east of Greenwood.  I heard him shoot, and then heard the most obnoxious whooping and hollering coming from his direction.  Something caught my attention a few minutes later and I looked back across the mud flat and Harden is plowing his way across 200 yards that looked like the dark side of the moon it was so muddy and nasty.  I watched him trip and fall and drag himself back up and keep coming towards me again.  I thought he had pretty much lost his mind.  I thought that about him a lot!  When he finally got to me, he was out of breath, and looked like a giant white-eyed talking fudgesicle from all the mud.  He was coming to show me the duck he had shot.  He was trembling when he showed me a drake banded with a Jack Miner band.  To shoot one had been Harden’s life long dream.  It was just like him not to be able to wait to share his joy with someone else.   He was like that.  God knows we will all miss him. 

Contributed by Dan Hughes

Harden Phillips of Jackson, Mississippi, a lifelong sportsman with a particular affinity for waterfowl hunting, died July 11, 2006.

Harden was a long-time supporter of Delta Waterfowl who believed Delta represented the best interests of waterfowlers. He joined Delta and immediately set about developing the Jackson Chapter and organizing the first dinner to raise funds for Delta’s conservation programs.

Harden’s energy and enthusiasm were invaluable. He became chairman of the Delta chapter and led the effort for fall and spring events, which were among the most successful in Delta’s event program both for attendance and fund raising.

Harden used the Jackson Delta chapter to initiate a scholarship for Mississippi State University’s College of Forest Resources. He also led efforts through the Jackson chapter to initiate an annual donation to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to purchase trapping supplies for its wood duck banding program.

Harden remained a dedicated duck hunter, spending most of the season in the field. In recent years he was usually accompanied by his favorite hunting partner, his son Patrick.

Harden also leaves a wife and daughter as well as legions of friends who will miss this kind and gentle man.

Mississippi License Plates - First 200 Paid For

Harden Phillips’s dream was to see the Mississippi license plate become a reality. His design of the license plate showed his dedication to the State of Mississippi and to Delta Waterfowl. When we tried to thank Harden for his loyalty he would side step the issue and pass the praise on to someone else.

“REST IN PEACE HARDEN”

Note: The first 200 complimentary applications have been received and submitted. Applications are no longer accepted at Delta Waterfowl’s national office in Bismarck, ND. Please take your completed application to your local county office where vehicle registrations are handled.

Thank you for supporting Delta Waterfowl.