Photo Credit Northwoods League
John Godwin, is the grey-bearded, non-Robertson of Duck Dynasty. Although his official title is Shipping Manager, he also builds duck calls. Godwin has worked at Duck Commander since 2002. But, although his history with the Robertson family goes back to his childhood, it has remained a bit of a mystery.
When he was young boy his dad taught him to hunt.
His big game adventures consisted mostly of deer, dove and squirrels. No ducks. That is, until he state bought their hunting lease.
Then, some new folks moved in– and they did duck hunt. For Godwin, duck hunting had a lot more advantages. Like, you don’t have to be quiet. So, his daddy bought him his first duck call.
Godwin and his daddy went to watch his duck hunting buddy in a duck calling contest. While they were there, his daddy shocked him when he said, “You better go warm up.”
“Warm up?’
Unbeknownst to him, his daddy entered him in the duck calling contest. So, he did as he was told and went behind the building and practiced a bit.
When he came around and took his seat, he noticed a man with a beard sitting in front of them. His daddy said, “That’s the guy that going to win right there.”
Since Godwin’s birthday is in September, that meant he got lots of cool hunting gear for presents. One of the presents he got that year was a Duck Commander duck call.
His daddy asked him, “Are you going use your Duck Commander?”
“No.” Godwin told him, “that thing sounds like crap.”
As soon as he said that, the guy in front of them turned around. He said, “My name’s Phil Robertson, I make them things.” After that, Phil helped tune the boy’s duck call and he won third place that day.
Like too many young men, Godwin grew up a little too fast, and started hanging out with the wrong bunch.
Godwin told a crowd at Love Loud, “I want to tell you young people something right now. You going be known by who you run with. Some of it can be bad, and some of it can be good. I’m running with the right bunch now.”
When an old friend, that had moved away, moved back home began calling Godwin didn’t want to have anything to do with him. Why? Because he was wanting him to go to church with him.
“I wasn’t in a church frame of mind.” Godwin said.
So his friend invited him to his house for hamburgers. When he got there, he had a house full of “church people,” one of which, was Phil Robertson.
That’s when he had a great idea. He would get himself a new duck call, and get his wife off his back about going to church– he’d go to Phil Robertson’s church.
Phil began to tell Godwin about a carpenter…who died on a cross for our sins. “I had to get in on it.”
