Bruce Beerbower on the Stephen Foster State Park boardwalk in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
Digging fox holes and playing with “army men” is a commonality among guy-kids who live the rest of their lives connected to nature. Such is the case with Hickory, NC’s Bruce Beerbower who grew up in the mountains of northern West Virginia.
“We cooked everything we caught, and if there was not a place to go camping, my backyard or the backyard of my friends was just fine.”
The reality of getting a job set in as he grew older and his first employment (1976-1979) took him to southern Georgia as an interpretive naturalist for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
“The Okefenokee Swamp was my destination on all my days off, and a place I could go to to predictably make my mind and time stand still.”
North Carolina gained a valuable and enthusiastic advocate for the natural environment when he was hired by the Catawba Science Center (Hickory, NC) in 1980 where he has been ever since…
… except when he sneaks away to “The Fe-noke” National Wildlife Refuge by leading naturalist expeditions for the Science Center, family, or friends.
My wife and a clutch of our friends were recent beneficiaries of one of his official sneaks, and this rich-experience destination has made our life-list of places to sneak off to again.
HMM