Pulaski

For Bill Young, bringing an “Everywhere You Look, UT” mural to his family’s farm in Pulaski represents his long-held wish for the future of Giles County.

Friendship Acres, a Century Farm, has been in Young’s family for more than 120 years. Though raised on the property, he always planned to leave in search of opportunities he found to be unavailable in his hometown.

A successful career at IBM took him away for nearly 30 years, but a visit to Friendship Acres after his retirement led to he and his wife Debbie moving back to Pulaski, buying the farm from his mother and siblings and starting what became a successful cattle business.

“When I left here, I didn’t want to come back,” said Young. “But moving home was the best thing that ever happened.”

Today, Young advocates for Giles County’s growth in hopes that the next generation has more incentive to stay in the area. He thinks that UT’s presence in the community will play an important role in its progress.

“I just want to see opportunity here for the next generation,” said Young. “UT Southern is going to make that happen.”

Young never attended college but has felt connected to UT ever since attending his first UT Knoxville football game in 1957. The connection only deepened as he leaned on UTIA and Extension’s agricultural expertise.

“People ask me if I went to UT. My answer is that I attended the fall semester Saturday afternoon classes,” said Young. “But then I got in the cattle business and realized that there were many more resources available.”

Painting on the 60-foot-wide mural at Friendship Acres Farm was completed in April 2023 and marked the 39th mural in the campaign.  

The 14-foot-tall mural, which serves as Giles County’s third in the campaign, was made possible by a donation from Young. The other two murals are located at Giles County Furniture in Pulaski and Speerit Hill Farm in Lynnville. 

The mural is visible to an estimated 275 passersby each day.