A dedication ceremony was held last Tuesday, August 27, at Sligo Bridge to unveil a new honor for a long-time fixture at Sligo Marina. The bridge was dedicated to the “King of Center Hill” Darwin Gard.

Gard was the manager of Sligo Marina from the early 1970s until his death in December 2017 at the age of 85.  After serving as manager, Gard stayed on as an employee at the marina until his retirement in July, 2015. He was a retired Air Force veteran, serving from 1950-1971 in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He was also a professional fisherman for Hydra Sport and Winner Boats, and served as a fishing guide on Center Hill Lake.

At the ceremony on Tuesday, friends and family were on hand as a sign was unveiled designating the bridge as Darwin Gard Memorial Bridge. The event was presided by State Representative Michael Hale. Representative Hale introduced legislation in the Tennessee General Assembly to honor Gard, which was supported by the DeKalb County Commission.

“I enjoy when we get the opportunity to do things like this,” said Representative Hale. “It’s an honor to give honor where honor is due, and I think this is past due. Mr. Gard served our country for about 21 years in the service, and then he ran the marina here for many years. His family is one we love dearly and when they came to me about this, I said we will push it and make it happen. I am thankful for the county commission having their blessings on it for us to be able to take it to the state general assembly and getting this passed to honor Mr. Gard and his legacy here at Center Hill Lake,” State Representative Hale told the crowd.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Michele Roller, daughter of Mr. Gard. “After daddy passed away, we were not thinking anything about this, but someone approached us and got the ball rolling trying to find out what we needed to do. After many years, my mom, myself, and others went to Michael Hale with this. It means a lot to know there was this kind of support for my dad. People still remember him and even today if you mention Sligo, they’ll talk about him,” she said.

Roller told how her father began at Sligo Marina. “He came down here to fish in 1971 with his brother, Ronnie Gard, who had moved here and he left with a job offer. Daddy went back to Missouri and then packed us all up and moved us here to the cabins and we have been here ever since,” said Roller.

“When we came to Tennessee, I had never heard of this place,” said daughter Denise Holcomb. “I thought where in the world are we going? We moved into two cabins because there were six of us and this became home. We have been here over 50 years and love it. We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” Holcomb continued.

“Dad was always surrounded by people that knew and loved him here and it’s just an honor for this bridge to be named after him. He gave his heart and life to this place. We are so proud,” added Holcomb.

Tony Luna, whose family once owned Sligo Marina, said this tribute to Mr. Gard is well deserved.

“My family bought Sligo Marina in the early 1980s and Darwin was definitely a fixture down here. I got to know him from my teenage years and from then on until he passed away. He was like family to me. My dad thought the world of him. They were really close friends. He worked for my dad and he worked for the owners of the marina before we bought it. I am glad this happened. It is well deserved and I hope everybody comes down here to take a selfie of Darwin’s bridge here,” said Luna.