Amy Carter/Cooksey
In Town: “I was originally raised in Baton Rouge until I was 19. Up to that time I had only ridden a horse once. Then I took a trip to this part of Arkansas. I loved the area and got a transfer from the company where I was working. I have lived in West Fork, Ark., since. I have worked for Wal-Mart in the Wal-Mart Optical Lab for almost five years. It is the only lab in Arkansas and one of three in the country. I work in maintenance and am in charge of keeping all of the equipment including specialized equipment functioning at peak performance. There is a parts room and a maintenance shop, and I work from 3:30 a.m. until noon. Wal-Mart is the very best company to work for, especially when family emergencies occur, and the people make up a family-like environment.
In the Country: “When I moved to northwest Arkansas I cleaned chicken houses for a number of years which is where I learned a lot about maintenance but sold the business and then went to work for Wal-Mart. This place has 11 horses, seven chickens and about 60 momma cows and one bull in a commercial herd on 300 acres. I love the smell of morning air and cut hay. It’s really fun to get to learn the personality of all the different critters, and sitting in the shade under an oak tree where it is 70 degrees instead of 100 degrees in the sun while sipping sweet tea and visiting with neighbors is about as good as it gets. Nobody is all that close to us, but they often come over. I ride just about every other day after work and we like to take riding vacations in various areas of the country and go to the clip chuckwagon races every year. This will be our 14th year.”
Story and Photo by Terry Ropp
