Richard Eckard:  

Those who knew me in high school would have figured how I would be after school. I filled that bill until I reached 27. Worked at physical jobs like truck driver, plumber and construction. Very outdoors type, camping canoing, snow skiing. Started community college at 27. Racked up over 9 full time years at higher education since. I just finished getting my bacheors in electrical engineering from UNCC this year, 53 years old, about time. I fix anything, Plumbing, welding, machining, electrical, electronics, air conditioning, heating, diesals, cars, trucks, farm equipment, robotics. I just tinker with anything. I figure if someone can build it, I can repair it. Own a 17 acre farm in Icard. Have had up to 15 cows at a time. Raised my own feed corn, had a Allis Chamber combine for 5 years. Have all the hay equipment. Old stuff, but I make it work. Wanted my kids to grow up on a farm. They got to watch as dad help cows birth, feed new borns and such. We have a cabin and 13 acres at the end of the Watauga Gouge just across the Tennessee line off 321. The family camps there often. One of the meanest cl...Expand for more