Ralph Horn was born in Bayou La Batre, AL in 1921. He married Leila Clark in 1939 and began working that same year for his brother-in-law, Oliver, of Clark Seafood then located in Bayou La Batre. His beginning in the seafood industry was humble as he worked as a truck driver and laborer for the company. As others of the time, Ralph moved to Slidell, Louisiana in 1945 to “follow the shrimp.” Not long after, Horn returned moved to Pascagoula, Mississippi taking ownership of Clark Seafood, a fish processing company located on Lowry Island near the Gulf of Mexico.
Under Horn’s direction, Clark Seafood processed some 500-150,000 pounds of fish per day. The company’s fleet consisted of twenty-five red snapper boats as well as butterfish, redfish, and gill net boats. Fishing the Gulf of Mexico all the way to the Caribbean Sea, Clark Seafood was recognized to be one of the largest producers of red snapper in the United States. Their products were sold and transported from coast to coast, with their fleet of six 18 wheelers delivering to major cities such as Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland and even New York’s Fulton Fish Market, where Ralph was known by name.
Ralph not only was a success in the business world, but also a family-oriented gentleman. He was known and appreciated for his ‘open door’ for all of his captains, crew members and their families. He served his community by supporting the local Home of Grace and many Pascagoula youth ball leagues. His benevolence was extended to various charitable institutions in both Mississippi and Alabama. Ralph was even the anonymous benefactor of local high school students’ college tuitions.
Ralph Horn would serve Clark Seafood and his community proudly until his passing in 2001.
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