Area native Nick Wimberley enjoys comradery and order in life, and he found two organizations that provide just that – The United States Army and The Boy Scouts of America.
Wimberley voluntarily joined the Army in October of 1957, and remained in the service for three years.
“I got out of high school, went to Miami, Florida, for a year and a half to work and didn’t like that because there were no mountains,” Wimberley said. “I came back and jobs were pretty scarce. My family wasn’t able to send me to college. Those days you didn’t get much help, so that left choices. Go to Detroit and work in an auto factory, go to Atlanta and do the same thing or choose something different. I chose the Army.”
He explained that, at that time, you could choose, within reason, where you wanted to serve and what you wanted to do.
“Naturally, they give you ‘one, two, three choice,’ and in every case I got number three, but at least I had a choice,” he said.
During his time in the service, Wimberley served as a mission launch panel operator near Chicago.
“I’m a Cold War veteran,” he said. “People who were born from about ‘35 to ‘40 probably wound up just beyond the Korean War and just before the Vietnam War. Although, while I was in the service there were military people in Vietnam being killed, but it was just a very low-grade thing at that time.”
While his love for order and uniform was fulfilled through the military, he appreciated the opportunity to meet different types of people as well.
“I liked the organization, I liked the uniform, I liked the physical training, including close order drill, I liked marching, but also I like the fact I met people from all walks of life,” he said. “I mean I met crazy people, but I met great people too. Some of my best buddies were from Oklahoma, Iowa and Idaho. No way would I have met other people like that if it weren’t for the military. I made relationships, and I learned from those folks things that I never would have learned had I stayed locally here.
“See I’m coming from the 50s in this area, and you can’t comprehend what the 50s were like in this area as far as being closed in to different kinds of people. Until I went to Miami, I had never seen a Black person, or bohemians or Italians or anything else, so I learned a lot from different personalities I ran into. It was all good, and I grew because of it.”
Following his time in the service, he went to Atlanta to work before coming back home to work as a boilermaker at The Company in Copperhill. He and his first wife, Shelbia, had two sons, Kenny and Tim, who both became Eagle Scouts. He has since lost both Shelbia and Kenny, but love was found again with his wife Bobbie.
In his post-military life, Wimberley was introduced to the Epworth Community Club, where he became the new scoutmaster for that area following his previous work with the Ducktown troupe when his sons were scouts.
While the outdoor aspect of scouting is close to his heart, seeing young men find their way and develop through the many opportunities the organization provides is easily his favorite part.
“That’s why I stayed in scouting,” he said. “At every point I can ever mention, I had one special boy that I wanted to see go to Eagle, so I stayed until he made Eagle. By the time he made Eagle, guess what, there’s another special kid that came along, so I just kept staying because of that.”
In Wimberley’s opinion, military service is a debt owed by every youth.
“The reason for joining the military is that, but it’s also a place to learn and grow yourself, somewhat, by meeting other folks,” he said. “I would suggest people join the military today for the experience, for the privilege and for the opportunity for learning more people and different things in life.”
He would encourage young people to join the scouts for similar reasons.
“It’s an opportunity for a young boy, and a girl now, to take care of themselves, because scouting definitely teaches that,” he said. “Scouting is built in such a way that you can isolate boys into a position where they have to make decisions and have to have actions. I think scouting is a good organization because it has discipline, it has a identified uniform, which I believe is important. To be a part of a group is important, and even though scouting, in the last few years may have suffered because of a few things that have occurred, it’s still probably the best single organization that there is for youth. There are a lot of good youth organizations, but there’s not one that encompasses everything like scouting.”
Wimberley is locally a member of the American Legion, AMVETS and the North Georgia Honor Guard.
“I identify myself as North Georgia Honor Guard, because I take a lot of pride in that,” he said. “I think it’s a great thing that these service organizations provide, and it’s done quite well, with pride, but it’s done with respect and reverence for the veteran that’s passed away. I guess I’m a very traditional person, but I believe if a man or woman gave of their time, and potentially their sacrifice, to be in the military, at the time that they live this world they ought to be honored. That’s what the North Georgia Honor Guard does, and I’m very proud of being in that part.”
Those interested in the organizations can email Ray Arthur at fanninveterans@yahoo.com or learn more on the Fannin County Veterans Organizations Facebook page.