If you drive out past Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School to the end of Tallassee Road and hang a left, you come to a big artificial lake. Clarke County partnered with Barrow, Jackson and Oconee counties to build Bear Creek Reservoir, which was completed in 2002. The watershed authority pumps water from the Middle Oconee River into the reservoir.

Here in Athens, we get some of our drinking water from this storage facility, especially when drought decreases flows in the North and Middle Oconee rivers. You can take a boat out on the water, as long as it doesn't have a gas motor. Heyward Young works in the building where you can buy the permit.

Flagpole: How did you get started working here?

Heyward Young: What got me started? Well, I guess I was at the wrong place at the wrong time [laughs]. Well, I'm retired, number one. And I knew some people—this is run by the Jackson County Parks and Recreation Department, and I knew some people that worked there. I live about five minutes from here, and we charge for admission for access to the lake and, well, I guess they needed somebody that, you know, had a pretty flexible schedule, I guess is a good way to put it. I'm about as flexible as you can get, I guess.

FP: What did you do before you retired?

HY: I worked for a company called NCR. It used to be a company called National Cash Register Company. And we were bought by AT&T in 1990. AT&T started offering early retirement packages, and finally in 2000 they came up with one that just fit me to the "T," so then I retired. I took early retirement.

FP: And what did you do for them?

HY: Well, equipment: ATMs, lab equipment, computers. We installed and maintained ATMs and computers and a lot of other equipment.

FP: Did you go to school for that?

HY: Yeah. I went to school with the company; we had our own schools. The first time I went was in Hartford, CT for about eight months. Then I came back and worked for a while here in Athens, and then they sent me to school all the way up to Denver, CO and Dayton, OH. Dayton, OH [for] about two-and-a-half years total, and Denver, CO, all I was sent was for about four months.

FP: So, are you from the Athens area?

HY: I'm originally from Gainesville, but I married a girl from Athens, so, you know, I ended up in Athens.

FP: Your company sent you to go to school in all these different places. What was it like going somewhere like Dayton, OH being from down here?

HY: Well, it was OK. It was cold [laughs], especially in Hartford, CT. But, my wife went with me, and we had a good time. We got to meet a lot of people and see some places that we probably wouldn't have ordinarily visited. But, yeah, it was OK.

FP: Did you work for NCR for basically your entire career?

HY: Pretty much, yeah. For 36 years.

FP: So, did you start working with them right out of high school?

HY: No, I enrolled in the Army. I was in the U.S. Army for two years…

FP: And you were active duty, I guess?

HY: Yes. Ft. Jackson, SC, and then Ft. Bragg, NC, and then back to Ft. Jackson, SC. That's where I spent my entire two-year Army career. We kept the communists from invading Columbia, SC. We did a good job [laughs].

FP: So, did you meet your wife after you were out of the Army?

HY: Yes, 1964, I guess… here in Athens.

FP: How did you meet?

HY: Uh, we went to kind of a party and I met her there. We dated for, oh, gosh, over a year—15, 16 months, something like that—and we got married in November of 1965.

FP: What do you do with your time other than working here?

HY: Well, I hunt, I fish, I play golf. I plant a big garden and grow up tomatoes and vegetables and all that. So, I stay busy, stay very busy.

FP: What got you into gardening? Have you always gardened, or did you pick that up after you retired?

HY: Well, that's something I've always done. I grew up in the country, and we grew just about everything we ate. And it's something I've always kind of done and kind of enjoyed. We grow a lot of vegetables; most of them we give away to neighbors and friends.

FP: And you said you fish. Do you come out here a lot?

HY: Yeah, I go up here, go to Sandy Creek and used to go trout fishing a lot. My wife enjoys going trout fishing, and we used to do that, but we haven't been trout fishing in a while.

FP: Oh, that's nice—your wife enjoys fishing, too?

HY: Yeah, and we used to go camping a lot. We don't go camping that much anymore… We used to have a camper, but I sold it. And so, we've still got tents and camping equipment, but we just haven't been in a long, long time.

FP: So, you do keep pretty busy…

HY: Well, I'm also a real estate agent.

FP: How has that been with this market?

HY: Well, when I retired—you know, you do things, you do stuff that you wanted to do. And that's something that I always kind of wanted to do, so I took a class over at UGA Continuing Ed. I had to pass the local exam at UGA, and then you take the state exam to get your license. I was a little bit surprised that I passed both of them, but I did. And then I got my broker's license about three years ago, which now I guess I can maybe start my own agency. And still that's still a possibility, but, uh, not a good time to get in the real estate business.

FP: What made you interested in the real estate business?

HY: Well, it's just something that I always wanted to do, and when you retire and you got a lot of time on your hands, you kind of look around and see what you want to do and see what's out there. I was going to take guitar lessons.

FP: Guitar lessons?

HY: Yeah, seriously. And try to play in some sort of a band, some sort of a rock and roll band, at the 40 Watt Club or something. I mean, I'm serious! I wanted to do that, but I never did it. But who knows, I still might do that.

FP: Yeah, you should!