Mischievous Boy

His Papa and Mama purchased property in 1924 in West Lake Wales, Florida.  They lived in a tent while Papa and Mr. Lamb, a neighbor who helped him, built the first four rooms that are now the center of the house.  As the family grew so did the house.

Chuck was born August 12, 1929 in the back bedroom of the house at West Lake Wales. It was one of the rooms added on to the four original rooms. 

He was a mischievous boy to say the least!  He got himself into all kinds of trouble from time to time.  He cussed a lot, and that was not allowed in his parent’s household.  He liked to smoke and that was not allowed either. 

His mother Gussie would frisk him before and after school and take his tobacco and papers away.  He soon learned to hide his can of Prince Albert tobacco and rolling papers underneath the house on top of one of the floor joists.

One day many, many years later he had to crawl under the house for some reason, I don’t remember, and found one of his cans of Prince Albert, it was still about half full.  This was when I heard the story.

One day on his way home from the bus stop he saw a beautiful rose blooming in one of the neighbor’s yard.  He thought it would be a nice gift for his mother.  And so he picked it and took it home to her. 

She said, “Charles, this is a beautiful rose, but we don’t have any growing in our yard.  Where’d you get it from, son?”  He told her where, and she said,      “Did you ask the lady if you could pick her rose?”  And he said, “No ma’am”.  She asked, “Did the lady give it to you”? 

Again he answered, “No ma’am”. “You stole this rose, didn't you son”?

He didn't consider that he was stealing it.  He just thought it was beautiful and it was okay to pick it for his Mother.  She said “If you didn't ask for it, and if she didn't give it to you, then you stole it.”  She told him, “Now you take it back to the lady and tell her you stole it, and you apologize to her.”

He walked back to the lady’s house dragging his feet, his heart heavy with dread and embarrassment.

He told me many years later it was one of the toughest things he had ever had to do, but he never took anything again from anyone without permission.  He knocked on her door and when she answered he gave her the rose and told her what he’d done and why he‘d taken her it.

She thanked him for being honest and confessing.  She forgave him, and told him how brave he was for coming back and telling her then she said, “If you ever wish to pick another rose for your mother, you just come and

ask me”.

Surrounding the West Lake property in those days were miles, and miles of palmetto and scrub.  There was also miles of Prairie, with a canal running through it.  Chuck and several of the boys he played with fished in the canal and caught freshwater turtle for the dinner table.



A Real Rattlesnake

They would also dig up gopher tortoise for food for the table.  Eastern Diamondback rattlesnakes were often found in the holes.  They usually killed the snake if they dug one up, but no one in their families would eat snake regardless of how hungry they were, yuck! 

On one of these occasions Richard Strickland, was doing the digging, and Chuck being the prankster that he was, took a dry palmetto frond and reached over and scratched Richard on the leg with the serrated edge of the stalk. The dry fan of the frond made a rattling noise.

Poor Richard was so intent on digging, and he thought he had been bitten by a rattlesnake and in stark fear he literally climbed the shovel handle and toppled over, screaming, thinking he was snake bit.  He grabbed his leg when he hit the ground, hollering, “He got me, he got me, and I’m dying”.

Chuck was laughing so hard he fell down. 

When Richard finally realized Chuck had played a joke on him he chased Chuck yelling “I’m gonna kill you if I ever catch you”.  He didn't catch him, and they remained friends till Chuck’s family moved away.

To be continued more of Chuck's Roots . . . .