After journey out west, Katherine, Sarah have settled into roles back home
Katherine and Sarah Ratcliffe were fully prepared to find a new place to call home when they left Oglethorpe County to go west in 2019.
Born and raised in the county, they quit their jobs and started a new adventure. But almost immediately, they came to the same realization: No place had the appeal of Oglethorpe County
They weren’t willing to give that up.
“We saw some beautiful sights going out West,” Sarah said, “but they just didn't have the sunrises and sunsets the way that so many of our sunrises and sunsets are.”
When the sisters returned from their trip in 2021, Katherine worked part-time at the Madison County Library, waiting for a job to open in the county. She was hired as the Oglethorpe County Library branch manager last June.
“It’s something wonderful that’s kind of fallen into my lap because I always loved libraries from when we were little kids,” Katherine said. “I feel like it’s been a long full circle, but I’m happy to be back and be in this position.”
Katherine oversees all operations, including the programming, from teaching kids to read and book clubs to helping adults create better resumes.
“I tend to see the branch manager as a kind of supporter,” she said, “I’m trying to support everyone, both in the employees and in the community as a whole.”
Sarah works as a naturalist at Watson Mill Bridge State Park, a place with which she is familiar.
The sisters live in the house they grew up in, a couple miles from the park.
“Some of our earliest memories are going to the park and our dad taking us there and us playing on the shoals there,” Sarah said.
Parks continue to be a large part of their lives.
On their trip, the sisters visited the Grand Canyon and saw the redwoods. Coming home, they visited 18 national parks in 15 days.
Now, once a month, they try to visit their favorite — Black Rock Mountain State Park — in Rabun County.
“It’s one of my happy places,” Sarah said. “We both just love to be out in nature and love to do things with parks.”
Sarah came across the naturalist job in an unexpected way.
While applying for another position at Watson Mill, the manager said they were about to post a job for a naturalist and that she would be perfect for it.
Similar to Katherine’s position, Sarah’s job puts her in charge of park programming. She oversees interpretive and educational events to help visitors understand not only the history of the park, but also the surrounding nature.
“We want to do outreach with schools,” Sarah said. “We always want to go places, as well as help bring people into the park.”
The library and Watson Mill are places where the community can come together, which was another factor in their return to Oglethorpe County.
“We are legitimately very invested in people having a good time and feeling welcome,” Sarah said, “and letting them know how much we appreciate them coming out to do things with us.”
Katherine said: “I really haven’t found a place where I feel like there’s a nicer group of people than right here where we were lucky enough to be born at.”