Ernie Clark
. My wife Patricia and I now reside in the little
mountain village of Dillard in the extreme northeast
corner of Georgia. Our acreage borders the Little
Tennessee river. The view from the front of our home
is of the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, the
southern border of our county is the deepest gorge
east of the Mississippi river. The eastern border of
our county is the Chatooga River, which has been designated as a "Wild & Scenic River" by an act of Congress. Several movies have been filmed on this river.
The western border of our county is the Appalachian
Trail, which starts here in Georgia & ends in Maine.
The county has a average elevation of approx. 2200
feet & is covered with lush growth & trees with an
average rain fall of 70 to 90 inches a year. We have
several beautiful lakes & trout streams throughout the
county.
HISTORY:
I was 10 years old when we moved to Tucson from
Orlando Fl. I first attended elementary school on the
west side of town for a short time, transferred to the
Peter Howell School on 5th Ave & attended Blenman
School on Country Club.
I then attended Catalina Junior High on Grant Rd &
Country Club. It was during this time that the new
high school was being planned & built & we the
students got to pick the name of the new school.
After graduating from Jr. High we had to go to Tucson
High for a short period of time until Catalina High
School was built. I can remember having to ride the
Tucson City buses to school with the other kids.
When they finally finished Catalina High School, the
students actually were asked to help move some of the
furnishings over to the new school. It was very
exciting to be in the new school which was extremely
modern by the standards of the time.
I can still remember walking through the lot where the
high school now exists on my way to Blenman Elementary School. I finished my freshman & sophomore years in the new school & then left school.
Soon after leaving school I went to work as a carpet
mechanic for about five years before I opened my own
construction business. I qualified for & received a
State of Arizona Contractors License. I remained a
general contractor for the next 42 years,
32 of which have been in Georgia, before semi-retiring
in 2005. With such a strong background in the
construction industry I opened a new business
venture in 2006 called ClarkHomeInspectionCompany.com.
When buyers from Florida or Atlanta purchase vacation
homes here they hire my company to inspect it for them
to reveal defects.
My wife and I and our two girls have traveled throughout much of the USA & Canada.
FAMILY:
Our girls were born at the old Tucson General Hospital
on N. Campbell Ave. They're names are Cynthia &
Aimee'. They are both very happily married, one for 26
years & the other for 23 years. The oldest Cynthia
lives on the same acreage we do & the other lives
about 45 minutes away in Cashiers NC. Both have their
own homes but no grandchildren. We are comfortable with that & enjoy their company very much. Our eldest daughter Cynthia has her own Ebay Store where she specializes in selling fine bedding, such as bedspreads, shams, pillows, duvets etc. Her Ebay store is named Luxury Bedding and More and can be found at http://www.bedding.ms/ Her husband has his own sign making business named Mobile Arts.
Our youngest daughter is an artist at making fine
wedding cakes & is now making ceramic pottery. Her
husband has his own Stucco & Hard coat business.
EDUCATION AND CAREER:
I am not too proud of my formal education since as I
mentioned earlier I left school after my sophomore
year. I certainly do not recommend this to young ones
although it has not been much of a handicap to me in
making a living. I was privileged to have been raised
in a loving Christian family of Jehovah's Witnesses.
My parents who are both now deceased left me a fine
heritage of Christian living.
Our church has many different schools that I have
taken advantage of over the last 50 years, which
has been an invaluable aid to me.
While I have supported my self & my family over the
years in the construction trade nevertheless my real
avocation has been the ministry as one of Jehovah's
Witnesses. I have been privileged to serve in many
responsible positions over the years. Besides serving
as an elder since 1974 to present, I currently serve
as an elder in the local Kingdom Hall here in Rabun County
which has about 100 members.also have been privileged to serve as an assembly overseer for approximately 22 congregations in western North Carolina & North East Georgia.
OPINIONS:
As far as politics I am strictly apolitical. When it
comes to religion that is another matter. Witnessing
about our Grand Creator certainly is a great passion
of mine & my family members.
AVOCATIONS:
As for sports I was never much good at anything but
always enjoyed most sports. While in Catalina High
School I was on the Gymnastics Team & have my picture
in the 1957 Torch Yearbook with the team. I enjoy
golfing, motorcycle trail riding and traveling &
riding my little diesel tractor on our acreage and
helping others.
STORY:
I can honestly say that the best story of my life has
been my marriage to the most unselfish, loving wife
who gave me two of the most beautiful girls any one
could ever hope for. My family & my belief in God has
truly been the bright spots in my life.
We have been married for 52 years. Of course as we all
grow older each day & can't do as much physically as
we used to, still we have all of the fond memories of
life in Tucson where I grew up, married & had our to
children. We still come back to Tucson every few years
for a visit & to see relatives. We will never forget
all of the wonderful times we had in Tucson & the
beauty of the desert. We are very happy to live where
we do now & enjoy the four distinct seasons of the
year.
