Harrison Woolfolk graduated from high school a year early and was headed for college, hoping to get away from Virginia, when his older brother suggested the United States Air Force. With a lifelong desire to see the world and serve his country, it didn’t take long to convince Harry that a career in the military was the road he should take.
Harry was stationed at Manasses in the Washington air defense sector. He then spent five years in Korea, coming back in 1963 with a wife and two children. This was Sandy Woolfolk’s first time in the United States.
After being stationed in Pennsylvania, Harry came to McClellan AFB and knew this was the place to raise a family. He had left the ice, snow and soot in the air in Pennsylvania and landed at Sac Metro Airport with the oleander trees in full bloom, framed in the crisp blue skies and immediately called his wife Sandy and said, "We’re moving to Sacramento."
They came to McClellan in 1968 and Harry began a new project designed to transition military personnel into civilian jobs using their military skills. In 1969 a radar airplane project took Harry to Thailand for a year while family remained here. The three children, Harrison, Jr., James, and Yvette attended Sierra View Elementary School, Don Julio Middle School and graduated from Highlands High.
Harrison has always enjoyed a small, neighborly community, and that is precisely what the Woolfolks found in North Highlands. Harry got involved in Little League and saw the need for a baseball field in the area. His passion for Little League and the positive affect it had in his children’s lives prompted him to push for the field now known as Brock Park on Antelope Road. It was once a drainage area for the streets, but Harry and a group of dedicated residents saw the potential and the need. This was the beginning of a very active life of community involvement.
Harry has supported county supervisors, was a member of the NH Community Planning and Advisory Council, on the board of directors of the NH Recreation and Park District, was a Park Superintendant, and has worked closely with many of our community leaders. Harry’s reason for being heavily involved in the community is to continue to make it a better place to live for future generations.
Even though Harry and his wife have moved from their original home on Wrigley Circle in North Highlands, they still get together with the original neighbors every Christmas Eve.
"North Highlands is a great community with great people," Harry told me as he shared his fond memories of raising his family here and being stationed at McClellan AFB. "It began as a bedroom community and continues to have that warm and welcoming feeling. North Highlands is a helping hand community and will always be home to me."