Ernie Liles

This chapter explores the life of Ernie Liles, who grew up in northeast Arkansas. Tragedy struck the Liles family in 1937, when Ernie’s father died during a flood. The family moved in with Ernie’s maternal grandparents, and Ernie began working in cotton fields at age seven and enjoyed hunting and fishing with his grandfather. When Ernie was seventeen, he and his stepdad left for the Ozarks to work on federal dam projects. That work was temporary, however, and in 1952 Ernie joined relatives in Detroit, hiring in at a Chevrolet plant. After five months, he was drafted and served stateside until early 1955, when he returned to Detroit and his Chevrolet job. In the early 1960s, Ernie returned to Arkansas to become a minister.