William Carl Garner could pick blueberries better than a man half his age.
About seven years ago, when Garner was in his early 90s, he and his friend Ricky Davis -- who was in his 40s -- traveled to Timbo one hot June day to pick about 10 gallons of the berries. Davis took water but worried that Garner would soon be overcome by the blistering summer heat.
"I was thinking, 'This heat could get to him,'" Davis said. "I figured I'd end up picking about 7 gallons and he'd get 3 gallons. I picked as fast as I could, and I got my first gallon filled. I asked Carl how he was doing, and he said he was on his second gallon already.
"By 11:30, I'm feeling it and I asked Carl if he was ready to take a break," he said. "He kept on going. It ended up Carl taking care of me, not me taking care of him."
It was that determination that friends remembered most about Garner, who was instrumental in developing a cleanup project at Greers Ferry Lake that evolved into the Great Arkansas Cleanup and National Public Lands Day.
Garner, 99, of Tumbling Shoals died Sunday at the White County Medical Center in Searcy from complications after a fall April 27. A specific cause of death was not available.
He is survived by his wife, Jean Garner, and son Carl Wade Garner of Little Rock.
Carl Garner, who worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for 58 years and helped oversee the construction of dams at Greers Ferry, Bull Shoals and Table Rock lakes, was born on June 1, 1915, in Sulphur Rock.
He attended what was then Arkansas College -- now Lyon College -- in Batesville on an athletic scholarship and was named All-State in 1938 while playing center for the Scots.
When he graduated, he went to work for the Corps of Engineers and eventually became the chief of the engineering division for the Greers Ferry Project in Heber Springs. When applying for the resident engineer's position, he promised he would make the lake the best in the country.
He made good on that promise, recalled Robert Phelps, the executive director of Keep Arkansas Beautiful.
"That lake was like his child," Phelps said. "He maintained ownership of it and focused his attention on keeping its natural beauty."
One of the stipulations to keep the lake natural was that no one could cut trees or brush along the shoreline, Phelps said. Garner would shoot photographs and then compare the pictures with sites later to make sure they remained untouched.
If something was amiss, based upon his photographs, he would ticket property owners, Phelps said.
"He dedicated his life to the area," he said. "He was a shining light in Arkansas. He was transformational."
In 1969, Garner developed a cleanup project around the lake and the Little Red River. Forty-five years later, the cleanup is still held annually on the first Monday after Labor Day.
Garner was persistent, Phelps said. He would often traverse Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri to promote the lake and Heber Springs and seek sponsorships. Once, he asked a beer distributor for money.
"The beer company said they couldn't sell beer in Cleburne County because it was dry," Phelps said. "Carl said, 'No, but your bottles are here.' He got the money."
He received the first Keep America Beautiful Iron Eyes Cody Award in 1988 for his work at the lake. The award, named for the tearful Indian in the 1970s television commercial, is given for raising national awareness about litter prevention.
"He cared about that lake," Phelps said. A few years ago, Keep Arkansas Beautiful was filming a television commercial that featured Garner and a youngster planting a tree sapling. It was hot, Phelps said, and during a break someone gave Garner a bottle of water.
"He opened the bottle, but instead of drinking from it, he poured it on the sapling," Phelps said. "He said the tree needed the water more than he did."
Along with trips to blueberry fields, Davis often drove Garner to events across the state. In 2011, Garner wanted to attend the dedication of the bridge at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock. The two left early to ensure that Garner would be able to sit on the front row, but when they arrived, they saw a line of 300 to 400 people already waiting.
"I could see his mind turning," Davis said. "He was thinking, 'What do I do now?'"
Garner talked with a guard who let him sit on a bench inside a closed gate.
"That wasn't enough," Davis said. "He then asked the guard if he could go ahead and get his seat since he was older and slower than the rest of the people. He said when they opened the gate, they'd all pass him.
"The guard thought for a moment and then said, 'Oh, OK' and let him in. If he put his mind to it, there was nothing Carl couldn't accomplish. He amazed me.
"He was a good man," Davis said. "I'm sure that in heaven, God now knows more about Greers Ferry Dam than anyone else."
State Desk on 07/09/2014