Bates House of Turkey - I-65 Exit 130 in Greenville - the story behind five generations of turkey fa
LOGAN, AL
Some businesses that lose their leadership have been known to fizzle and fold.
Such is not the case at Bates Turkey Farm, where the five children of Bill and Teresa Bates are determined to keep their successful business going after losing parents who served as their inspiration.
Illnesses claimed Bill and Teresa within six months of each other. Shortly before Bill’s passing in August of 2013, he called their five offspring together for what became a tearful bedside farewell.
Bill wanted to say something meaningful in his final days and knew he’d have a receptive audience — children who idolized him and his wife of 65 years. Teresa died six months after her husband.
“I want each of you to know that you can do it,” he told them, meaning their turkey farm could continue to be a viable business operation as long as they were honest with each other once they took over a business that had its beginning in 1923.
Honesty was never Bill’s worry because daughters Becky Sloane and Jane Dent along with sons John, Thomas and Pete Bates were inseparable siblings born only a few years apart. They were well schooled in the importance of honesty as they grew up.
“We all worked at the farm as kids and when we got older,” said Becky, 64. “When we were still in school and they needed help at the plant, we were allowed to leave school a little early to get over there to do what we could.”
That meant working the line where turkeys were handled during the processing part of the operation as well as cleaning the floors or whatever else might have been required.
It became a seven-member squad of parents and children along with administrative help in the office and indispensable labor from area residents who handled the basics as turkeys grew toward maturation and processing.
As Thanksgiving nears this week and Bates’ turkeys are readied for dinner tables it’s understandable if familial thoughts drift back to the start of a business located in Logan, a tiny crossroads community in Lowndes County, 15 miles from Greenville.
Nine turkey eggs were presented as wedding gifts to Bates newlyweds who started the whole thing a few years after the end of World War I. Five generations later, the business is in new, but just as caring hands.
This hasn’t been the best of seasons for turkey farmers because a bird flu epidemic hurt operations across the country. The gobblers began life in Ohio and were sent to Alabama where they were nurtured by the Bates family.
During the early years of the business, chickens were processed as well as turkeys. Pigs were added to the mix later. Chickens eventually gave way to turkeys and Bill Bates became well known throughout the industry after World War II when he trained bomber pilots for the European theater of operations.
When he wasn’t raising turkeys, Bill became politically active and, at one point, was the first Republican in Lowndes County. There aren’t all that many today, but he set the pace as he did so many times during his 89 years.
A devoted Republican who plastered a “Don’t Blame Me, I Voted for Bush” bumper sticker at an appropriate spot just inside the front door of the plant, Bill decried what he felt was a lessening of committed leadership in Washington.
The walls of Bates’ office are lined with photos of Alabama governors who “pardoned” a turkey always named “Clyde.” The ceremony, dating back to the late 1940s when Gov. James E. “Big Jim” Folsom had the pardoning honors, always takes place at the Governor’s Mansion.
On the local level, Greenville Mayor Dexter McLendon has been one of the Bates family’s biggest fans, one who has many fond memories of them.
“Whenever I’d travel, people would ask me about Bill Bates and his family,” McLendon said. “Bill was a man with a vision far ahead of anybody else. Exit 130 is a good example.”
Years ago, when Interstate 65 was in its infancy, Bill pushed for a Greenville ramp that would lead to locally-operated businesses. He wanted it to be a stopping point to direct beach-bound travelers toward restaurants and other attractions.
One of the first businesses just happened to be Bates House of Turkey and it took off just as he knew it would. Today, it resembles a huge outdoor mall with a wide variety of business operations.
As far as the Bates family’s future is concerned, it’s in good hands, especially since there are 15 grandchildren to help in a pinch if it should come to that. Ben Bates, 25, is one of them and Becky’s eyes sparkled when he walked through the plant a few days ago.
“We’ve never thought of anything else,” she said. “This is a part of our history and we plan to keep going as long as we can.”
Bill’s business acumen left his family in good financial shape with a variety of ventures unrelated to turkeys, but the birds remain the key element in a business only seven years away from reaching the century mark.
Ask Becky about her favorite turkey recipe and she’ll be happy to provide details, including one that includes apple cider, some white wine, oranges, apples, celery, salt and pepper and lots of water for the bird to soak overnight in a five-gallon bucket.
The one thing missing at the Thanksgiving dinner table the last couple of years has been the couple who made it all possible — Bill and Teresa Bates.
Not to worry, though. They will always be the center of attention in the years ahead. That’s no gobbledygook, either.