It’s not often that we get to honor someone by naming a facility after them while they are still with us, but we here in Tallahatchie and Yalobusha counties are about to witness just that.
On Saturday, July 1, the North Mississippi Fish Hatchery became the Bob Tyler Fish Hatchery.
Its website describes the center like this: “The Visitor Education Center at the North Mississippi Fish Hatchery is the first and only facility of its kind in Mississippi.
“The Center features a native habitat area, a 10,000 gallon aquarium, interactive exhibits, displays, artifacts, rodeo pond, gift shop and gallery, and the World Record White Crappie. All of these elements serve as entertaining and engaging learning experiences for all visitors.”
The fish hatchery provides a great quantity and variety of fish fingerlings for public lakes, rivers and bodies of water in North Mississippi. The levee board, which includes Tallahatchie County and which was chaired by Tallahatchie native Sykes Sturdivant, working with Coach Tyler and others, dug over two dozen ponds used for raising fingerlings at the facility.
You may recognize the name Bob Tyler, former head football coach at Mississippi State University, for his stellar coaching career that led to championships and entire troops of young men who learned the value of good character, principled leadership and teamwork.
But to us here in North Mississippi, he is even more because he is a native son.
Coach Tyler’s service as director of economic development for Yalobusha County for a number of years and his critical role in assisting Ajinomoto-Windsor Foods in Oakland and its over 500 jobs is most appreciated. We appreciate his working with others, his close and supportive relations with all our employers and industries, and his concern for the quality of life of our people.
Coach Tyler served as head of the Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks and for many years thereafter as a trusted advisor to the WFP Commission and was always supportive of the construction and improvement of the North Mississippi Fish Hatchery in Yalobusha County, which now bears his name.
I am proud to have sponsored House Bill 923, which made this a reality, and I appreciate the 61 cosponsors of the bill, which was approved by a vote of 115-0.
Coach Tyler celebrated his 91st birthday this past July 4th, and we thank him for his life of service.
