were of the two-hundred-acre ranch
as a Russian boar hunting preserve.
When he was about seven-years-old,
his father began to build a new kind
of preserve gathering exotic and
native animals for what would become
Buckhorn Creek Ranch. “When my
friends would come over,” said Bob, “it
was obvious that no one got to spend
time with a camel on a daily basis
like I did. And we were as wild as the
animals spending all our time in the
woods.” Eventually, the ranch offered
guided wagon tours so that visitors
could help feed the herd as they
learned about Bison, European red
deer, Watusi cattle and all the other
animals and fowl.
After graduating from Toombs
County High School in 2011, Bob
went to Gainesville State College
outside of Atlanta. His plan was to
major in journalism and psychology.
While there, he met a guy named Jay
Shepherd. “Jay had injured his back
when a jeep he was working on rolled
over on him,” said Bob. “Since he was
pretty much confined to his house,
he started doing every woodworking
project he could think of. I started
spending time with him, and it didn’t
take long for me to remember why I
loved working with wood so much as a
child.”
Bob’s interest in woodworking had
developed naturally from time spent in
the woods and watching his dad work.
“My dad taught me how to use simple
tools when I was young. I always loved
the idea of making something a lot
more than buying it.”
It only took a year of working and
going to school in Atlanta to convince
Bob that city life was not for him.
Coming home to Toombs County was
a not only a return to the family farm,
but also to his high school sweetheart,
Bessie Pittman. In 2016, Bessie and
Bob’s son Rowan became the sixth
generation of Colemans in Bob’s family
line to call Toombs County home.
Bob spent the first two years after
his return home working with his
dad in his wood shop. “At first, it was
just about spending time with him. I
had been learning woodworking skills
from him all my life and didn’t realize
it until now,” said Bob. “Pointing to
a house down the hill surrounded by
trees, he said, “That’s where I grew up.
I remember watching my dad build our
house when I was three or four years
old. He built all the buildings here.”
Bessie and Bob began helping at
the ranch long before they made it
their home. Whenever busloads of
children came or day camps were held,
Bessie and Bob were on hand. “While
one group went out in the wagon to
see the animals,” said Bob, “my dad
would do an archery demonstration
for the kids who were waiting, and
I would talk to another group about
working with primitive tools. We gave
lots of different classes and did some
day camps. Everything here from the
exotic animals to the orchards and
bushcraft skills was about teaching
kids something meaningful.”
Even after the decision was made
to close the ranch, the animals that
remained still needed daily care. There
were also several acres of orchards and
gardens to tend. “We’ve basically been
apprenticing under Bob’s dad Steve
and his wife Debbie,” said Bessie. With
a child of their own now, there’s a new
reason to demonstrate what it means
to value and care for the land and the
animals that depend on it. “We’ve got
our little boy to love and teach how to
care for the animals and work on the
farm. Eventually, we hope this whole
place will be a reflection of our nurture
and love for each other and the land.”
HOMETOWN LIVING AT I TS BEST 41