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But over the last three decades, poachers have swept in and swept up every snail they could find — every sackful a fat payday.

"We had sackfuls of letters coming in from children with skin disorders saying that they feel a little bit more confident. That's how savvy she was. So she was so right on so many things."

“As for who will employ you, there is no such thing. Anyone can go and work and be paid by the results—so much for each sackful.”

And summer trips to the nearby Alabama River aren’t complete without a sackful of COBs.

"But a lot of younger people wanted to be in the book… I was getting sackfuls of mail. I'm sure the local postman wondered what the hell was going on."