My Opinion On Monuments

After all of the controversy centered around Confederate monuments lately, the state of Alabama passed the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act of 2017 to protect monuments over 40 years old.

I was proud to hear of this because I do not agree with any historical monuments being torn down.

There are Confederate monuments in the state of Alabama (and other states I'm sure) that list the names of those who died during the Civil War. Whether or not the descendants of those whose names are on those monuments agree with the Confederacy, it is still their family members' names listed on them, and I'm sure they would find it very disrespectful to those who died if these monuments were taken down. 

The act was passed to protect all monuments. The Confederacy was never mentioned in the act. The act protects all monuments that are over 40 years old. 

On Al.com I learned that the number 40 was picked to protect all civil rights monuments. 50 years was the first number picked until a Birmingham Senator brought up the fact that 40 years would better cover any civil rights-era monuments because it ran from 1954 to 1968. 

Rep. Butler stressed the importance of protecting civil rights monuments while Sen. Allen made a valid point that I agree with. "How can you tell the complete history of the civil rights movement if you take away the Confederate monuments?" Allen said.

I believe that historical monuments should be left alone if they are old enough to be considered historic. 

There are monuments of all types in this world, and theres no doubt in mind that anyone could be offended by at least one of them (whether they're confederate monuments, or any other kind).

If they've been around for 40 years without people getting so upset over them, why make such a fuss over it now? Leave these historical monuments for those who respect them, and if they're offensive, ignore them. 

Please do not take this post as me being partial to the Confederacy. I just don't like seeing pieces of history being torn down. I would say this about almost any monument. 

I agree with Sen. Allen when he said that the Confederate monuments complete the civil rights story. It was a terrible time, but to me it represents how far we have come as a country. 

This is only my opinion, and many would disagree. Thank you all or your time!

Why I Watermark

After several of my pictures were stolen from my social media pages to use by individuals to create their own fake profiles using my pictures over Facebook, Instagram, and even Farmersonly.com, I decided it was time to start watermarking some of my pictures. 

A watermark is writing in a picture that is conspicuous without being gaudy. My photos were mainly stolen from my Instagram account, so I used Aviary.com to place the text "@hannahbarron96" in my photos somewhere that couldn't easily be taken out. I did the same thing with my Facebook page including a watermark that read "Hannah Barron Outdoors" in my profile picture.

I started doing this is in the Spring, so most of my recent noodling pictures contain my watermark. I will do the same thing with my hunting pictures this season. 

I don't mind people using my photos, I only ask to receive credit when they're used.

So far, the pictures I have watermarked have not been stolen. People continue to use my older photos I posted before I began using Aviary, but theres not much I can do about that other than addressing the accounts personally.

I also want to thank everyone who has brought these different accounts to my attention. Thank y'all for the amazing support you have given me over the last year!

Here are some examples of the watermarked pictures I have posted recently: 

Just an Update

The weather is getting a little sketchy here in South Alabama with Hurricane Irma way-laying Florida and Georgia. I have spent my time indoors trying to learn to edit. I will be the first to tell y'all, I am about as technologically illiterate as they come. This is not easy for me! I'm working on it though, and hopefully I will have a YouTube channel up and going pretty soon for y'all. 

I also just got done with my giveaways on Instagram for 100,000 followers. Giveaways are not easy for me! I use a random number generator to pick a number, count through the comments manually, and then check the person who's number was drawn and make sure they met all the criteria to be eligible to win. My last giveaway for ORCA cooler had almost 5,000 comments! So many to count! Lucky the first number drawn was a girl named Madison who had met all the requirements. I'm glad I didn't have to count through all of that to get to the second number generated. 

Thank you to all who participated! More giveaways are coming on Facebook and Instagram once I hit 150,000 followers on either platform. 

Y'all be safe during the storms! I'll keep y'all in my prayers. 

How It All Started

Until last June, barely anyone outside of my home state of Alabama knew who Hannah Barron was. From the time I could walk, I've been in the woods following my dad around. I began skinning and boning out deer by myself before the age of 10. I killed my first deer when I was eight years old; it was a seven point buck. I used a Zebco 33 to catch my first bream as a toddler. I learned how to use a bait caster shortly after. I never thought anything about it because it was the way I was raised, and it was a lifestyle that was as natural to me as breathing. It still is.

Five years ago, the local game warden moved in next door. When I say next door, I mean several miles away from my rural home. My family lives a mile off an unpaved road, so we don't have neighbors in the traditional sense of the word. My dad owns a saw mill. Brad Gavins, the county game warden and our new neighbor, asked him to cut up some logs for him. A friendship was struck between the two, and Brad offered to take us noodling. Although it was something we'd never tried, it fit perfectly into the lifestyle we already live. 

For those of you who don't know, noodling, also known as handfishing or grappling, is catching catfish with just your hands (no rod, no reel).

After a few trips with Brad, we were hung. It became a sport as important to us during the summer as deer hunting was during the winter.

Last year, my cousin Ryan Sanders recorded me catching a 30 pound flathead catfish. I posted it on Facebook and Instagram. To my surprise, this video went viral reaching over 25 million views in the first week. 

My social media grew to numbers that are still amazing me. This week I broke 100,000 followers on Instagram. 

People ask me how I got to where I am with my social media, and the best I can tell them is to be themselves. My followers like me because I'm real. I don't do any of this for the attention. I do it because it's a part of my life that I will never give up. It's my passion, and there's nothing else I would rather do. Hunting, fishing, and even noodling are in my blood. The fact that I'm in a position to help those who want to get started in the sport is just a bonus. Thank you all for your amazing support!