While she won’t be sharing any recipes for rats or grubs, Gretchen Cordy returns to the wilderness when she and her family enjoy a canoe outing in an upcoming episode of “Tennessee’s Wild Side.”
Scheduled to air at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3, on Channel 8 Nashville Public Television (NPT) and repeating at 9 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 5, the show features Cordy, who lasted 21 days on a South China Sea island on the CBS summer smash hit “Survivor,” in a segment reported by Wild Side Guide Annette Nole Hall. The show also airs on all other PBS stations in Tennessee, so viewers should check local listings.
“Tennessee’s Wild Side” is hosted by Bill Cody of WSM-AM and Janet Ivey, a Nashville freelance actor, producer and writer.
Cordy, a 38-year-old Clarksville mother, wife and preschool teacher, was an odds-on favorite to win the $1 million prize for the last person remaining on the runaway hit that drew 51 million viewers for its final episode. A former instructor in the U.S. Air Force survival school, perhaps it was Cordy’s training and abilities that made her the biggest threat to the other contestants and wound up getting her voted off the island.
“In a perfect world, if anyone deserved to win the million dollars, it was Gretchen, and not just because she was a good person,” Executive Producer Mark Burnett writes in his book about the show. “She was very smart, for one thing, with an IQ of 142. And her survival skills were so highly thought of when she first attended the U.S. Air Force’s survival school that her classmates voted her the Cadre Award as the person most exemplifying ‘the spirit of survival.’”
Cordy, husband Dale and children Eli and Ava join Hall for a canoeing trip on Lake Barkley and cookout to talk about the many ways their family enjoys the outdoors in Middle Tennessee.
“I used to love to play outdoors and in the creeks and stuff,” Cordy tells Hall. “So I guess it’s just a continuation of my childhood.”
Since being launched into the national spotlight by “Survivor,” Cordy has appeared on the “Today Show,” “Rosie O’Donnell” and “Late Night with David Letterman,” as became routine for each banished contestant.
“God bless you, welcome home and I wish she had survived, don’t you?” Letterman asked his New York audience following Cordy’s appearance.
While Gretchen’s name and face have become familiar to millions of people, Dale has shied away from the spotlight. But he and the children join her for the trip on “Tennessee’s Wild Side,” produced by the Multimedia Department of The Renaissance Center in Dickson, Tenn.
“I think I could easily just beat that game,” son Eli tells Hall about his love for outdoors activities. “I’m gonna be doing this even when I move out. I’m still gonna be doing stuff like this no matter where I am.”
“Get them out in the woods and you get them a couple of hours of good physical activity, and it’ll change their attitude about things,” Dale says.
“It’s separate from your daily life,” Gretchen says of the family’s outdoor activities. “So when you’re at home, you’re still thinking about the things that need to be done at home and you’re still thinking about the things that need to be done at work. But when you come out here, there’s none of that, so you’re left to just relax and have a good time.”
While she’ll probably never have to rely on her survival skills in a Middle Tennessee state park, the world knows that Gretchen Cordy would likely survive in any situation, as long as there isn’t a coalition of voters intimidated by her.
“Gretchen was gone because she was stronger than any of them,” Burnett writes in his book. “She had to go. She might have won, otherwise... Everyone (on the crew) really liked her.”
“We are excited to have Gretchen and her family join us for their first appearance on ‘Tennessee’s Wild Side.’ Her skills and intelligence made her a favorite on ‘Survivor,’ and she brings her love of the outdoors to our show as well,” said Steve Hall, multimedia director at The Renaissance Center and executive produce of “Tennessee’s Wild Side.”
“She also is going to help us promote the show and we hope that she will make some future appearances as well,” Hall said.
The Nov. 3 show also will feature reports on a youth goose hunt, outdoor photography with Jon Netherton and other segments.
“Tennessee’s Wild Side” is a 30-minute, magazine format outdoors program airing on PBS stations across the state. It features segments not only for the avid hunter or angler, but stories on other outdoor activities such as hiking, mountain biking, skeet shooting, youth activities and many others. The Friday, Oct. 27, program features a fishing segment with Cory Wells, a vocalist and founding member of Three Dog Night, the number one group in record and concert ticket sales 1969-74.
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