Re: School Life after Forest in the 70's
1977 .... Senior year finally! The summer of '76 as I was working at the farm (as usual), Dad got a call from an old friend. The friend was looking for a farm manager to run a horse breeding operation in Shelbyville, Tennessee. It was a beautiful farm and we would live in a furnished home on the property. Dad had a good relationship with his boss in Ooltewah and told him that he was going to take the job in Shelbyville but would find his own replacement before he left. Dad was true to his word, found a good man to run the Ooltewah operation and we packed up and headed two hours away to Shelbyville, Tennessee for my 4th high school in as many years. I was very familiar with Shelbyville as it was the Walking Horse capitol of the world and I had been going there for shows all my life. School life was okay. After 3 different high school bands in 3 years, I opted out of joining another band. I also only needed 3 credits to graduate so I only took 3 morning classes then went home to work on the farm .... shoveling horse manure. The farm was very large and had 3 barns that housed over 100 horses in stalls. Then there were the horses in pastures. During breeding season we would normally have over 500 horses on the place at one time. There were 5 World Champion stallions standing at stud and they were stallions that were very popular for people to breed mares to. It kept about 7 of us on staff very busy 7 days a week. I got to know a few people at school but none that I really considered close as I skipped senior prom and pretty much every event held except graduation. Little did I know that I would become very close to a member of my senior class over a decade later. After a year at college and really hating it, I decided to enlist in the US Air Force. It gave me a chance to learn a trade (Security Police) and see the world. I discharged active duty in 1982 and worked in a manufacturing environment as well as on the farm. In 1988, my brother-in-law set me up on a blind date and the young lady and I seemed to hit it off. We both graduated Shelbyville in 1977 though we didn't know each other in school. That summer we were wed and we've never looked back. We have 2 daughters that are on their own now and one grandchild. My wife, Toni, and I have been married 34 wonderful years and it all began from the many high schools that I attended and found the "right one" on the final one! The farm where Dad used to manage in Shelbyville is now a distillery: Nearest Green Distillery My wife and I
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- Life in Forest in the Early 70's - Mark Welsh January 28, 2022, 4:15 am
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- Re: Life in Forest in the Early 70's - Steve 70 February 17, 2022, 5:27 pm
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- RE: Meadow Hill Drive - Mark Welsh February 3, 2022, 1:47 am
- Re: Life in Forest in the Early 70's - Mark Welsh February 2, 2022, 9:40 am
- Re: Life in Forest in the Early 70's - Mark Welsh February 2, 2022, 4:12 am
- Recognize - Lu Ann Gould February 2, 2022, 9:54 am
- Re: Life in Forest in the Early 70's - nancy chambers January 28, 2022, 12:57 pm
- Re: Life in Forest in the Early 70's - Steve Clark 70 January 28, 2022, 11:36 am
- Re: Life in Forest in the Early 70's - Lu Ann Gould January 28, 2022, 9:27 am
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