Bobbie Hickman

After the Boat came into Charleston, I began to meet quite a few of the other wives, not all of them came to Charleston, those who had children in school stayed behind in Key West, but most of the others came.

There is a famous story among ‘Submariners’ about Bobbie Hickman and her trip up to Charleston. As I told you before she was one of life’s greatest characters, and that’s a fact! 

Spartan Similar to theirs

She and Milton lived in a 38 ft Spartan. She had overload springs on her car anyway because she was a hefty little booger; her weight ranged 375 lbs to 425 lbs consistently.

She hooked it up and pulled it up alone! During World War II she had been a truck driver, and when she & Milton got married she owned eleven rigs of her own. So it was not a big deal for her at all.

She was a well educated woman from the upper crust of Cleveland Society. She was also very well read, and she had the vocabulary of a truck driver and a submarine sailor combined, and she never met a stranger!

As she was passing through Georgia, and was just a short distance from the South Carolina border maybe a couple of miles. She had to pass through a speed trap in the last little town in Georgia that was a sneeze in the road, and she got pulled over by the police. There was a small service station on the right just up ahead and that was where she pulled in and stopped.

There were two policemen in the car, a big tall guy and a short guy. The big cop was the one who came over to talk with her, he told her because she was passing through if she didn't want to have to go to court the fine would be $50.00 cash. She could cry at the drop of a hat too; and they were not crocodile tears!

She began bawling, and gave him a big sob story about her husband in the Military and all the money she had in the world was $25.00. He was touched and swallowed her sob story, and she handed him the money. She got back in the car and cranked it up. The little guy yelled, “You wait up there, just hold on a minute?”

He came swaggering up to the side of the car, and spoke in a very stern manner, thumbs hooked in his belt, he said to her, “This won’t do, you owe us $50.00 that is the going price for speeding in Georgia, and you ain’t leaving without paying it, do you understand me?”

She looked at him horrified and answered, “Please don’t tell me that you want $50.00 too, I just gave the other guy the last $50 bucks that I had. You’ll have to take me to jail because I don’t have another dime.”

He said, “Lady are you telling me that you gave my partner $50.00?”

She said, “Hell yes I am, and if that ain’t enough you’ll just have to take me to jail, what did he tell you I gave him?”

He told her, “You just wait here while I settle this, I’ll be right back. “She put the car in gear and peeled out when he walked away; she said, “The last thing I saw in my rear-view mirror was the little cop had the big one backed up against the car with his finger in the guy’s face, and I knew I could out-run them to the line!”

She wrote the story up and published it in “Trailer Topics Magazine”. She received a lot of kudos from the guy’s on the Boats!  So many sailors over the years had been caught in that same speed trap.

From Key West To Charleston

A few days after the fish fry some of the guys came by the cottage. One of the guys in the group they called Gator, and he would believe almost anything anyone told him, he asked me, “Mrs. C B where did you meet C B?” 

I knew instantly that Chuck had told him the tall tale because he told it so often to others just kidding around teasing me. He always added to the tale that I had never worn shoes till he caught me and put some on my feet!

I answered, “Well, he didn't actually meet me; he caught me in a bear trap in a swamp up in the Panhandle of Florida.” He said, “Ah you’re kidding me, he told me that story, but I didn't believe him!”.

I said to him, “No I m serious it didn't hurt me too much, but see, I do have this scar on my leg!” I really did have a scar on my leg and showed it to him, and he thought I was being truthful, and was convinced.

From then on he told everyone about it. The guys got a lot of mileage out of that one too!

Not long after he came home from the North Atlantic trip he took a short leave and took me to Charleston to find a place to live and get settled. The Boat would be going into dry dock for yard overhaul. I had never driven that long of a trip alone and he didn't want me to travel alone.

I had everything we owned packed in the car when he got off duty that evening. We knew there was a tropical storm headed our way, but we hoped we could stay ahead of the worse part, because we had to leave I had already turned the keys to the cottage over to the landlady. It was the last storm of the "57" season.

Mainland End of Bahia Honda Bridge

By the time we reached the mainland end of the old Bahia Honda Bridge the seas were beginning to wash over the low places and were splashing against the side of our car.

We had to keep going there was no safe place to stop. Numerous boats had been left alongside the road. 

It was a rough crossing at Lake Surprise in the upper Keys too, we were being buffeted by the winds and water splashing over the road. At last we made it off the Keys and onto the mainland and it was somewhat calmer, but we had rain all the way to the Florida/Georgia line.

It was also a rainy night in Georgia all the way through the state. The only route in those days being the old and narrow, two lane ~ Highway 17.  Neither I-75 nor I-95 existed at that time! When we arrived in Charleston the next day we stopped and had a very late breakfast and bought a Newspaper and searched for a place to live.

As luck would have it the very first place we looked at suited us just fine. There was a sign inside a small window in the door that said, open come in and look. We opened the door and went inside. There was a note on the table that said if you like it move in and I will catch you later for the rent, $ 50.00 per month.

Map of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina

We moved our gear in, I put sheets on the bed and we sacked out. We were exhausted from the trip, but with both of us taking turns driving we had driven straight through on the over a thousand mile trip. We went grocery shopping the next day, and then he had to catch the bus back to Key West and ride the Boat up.

Our little mobile home for the time the Boat was in the yard was on Carlton Street, it butted up against the Base fence and was four blocks from the Main Gate. 

One night I heard someone talking outside my bedroom window, and I peeked out through the window; there was a hole in the fence behind our trailer where the guys coming back late or for whatever reason climbed in and out through. I soon became used to it; it was an every night occurrence!

For those interested in the history of the Naval Shipyard click here.

The Fish Fry

When he came home I was there to meet the Boat. It had been almost three months since I had seen him, with no communication except through the US Postal Service! This was many years before cell phones or any of the technology that we have this day and time. It was like honeymoon time again for awhile!

One of his shipmates Red Dog Holden got married soon after the Boat got back, and we attended the wedding and afterwards the reception which was held in the Preview Lounge on Duval Street.

I had never tasted Vodka before and Chuck thought I needed to try a Screwdriver and so I did. It didn’t taste like much except orange juice, and I kept drinking one after another. His pet name for me was Baby Love, and he cautioned me to slow down, but I just phoo phooed, him and said, “There’s nothing to it.”

He cautioned again and said, “Baby Love I’m telling you, you need to slow down it packs a wallop and hits you suddenly.” But I didn’t listen.

The entertainment for the evening was male strippers, another first for me. I thought I was having the greatest time of my life. I kept inviting people over to our cottage for a fish fry the next day as I was introduced to each one or each couple.

Chuck finally made me stop and decided it was time for us to leave. On the way home I got sick and had to barf. I opened the door of the car and hung my head out; he grabbed me with one hand and hung onto me to keep me from falling out and drove with the other.

He got the car stopped and pulled me back inside without injury. When we arrived home he managed to get me inside the house, he put me to bed and let me sleep it off as much as he thought I needed. And then woke me up.

We were having coffee, but food was the last thing on my mind. He asked, “What are you gonna feed all of those people that you invited over to dinner tonight?” My response was, “What the hell are you talking about?” My poor head was pounding, and I had zero recall!

He said, “Baby you kept inviting people over here for a fish fry last night. They all said they are coming, and you need to think about what you’re gonna feed them.” Most single John’s will always accept an invitation for a home cooked meal.

My first thought was he is joking, it would be so like him he loved to tease and pull pranks, but he convinced me he was being truthful, and not joking, and I thought my God what have I gotten myself into. I was so hung-over I felt as if I would have to get better to die, the only thing left for me to do was; honey just grin and bear it!

Yellowtail

I sent him to the fish market for ten pounds of Yellowtail fillets; a very popular fish in Key West that is a real delicacy; while he was gone I had an Alka Seltzer cocktail and then baked a Coconut Cake. 

Coconut Cake

I had enough on hand to make a gigantic green salad. I had no idea as to how many would show up. I put it in the fridge to chill and made a couple of gallons of iced tea and set it in to chill.

Tossed Salad

I mixed hushpuppy batter and covered it, and it went into the fridge. OMG my head, and I had another Alka Seltzer cocktail. 

The only thing left to do would be to make a big pot of cheese grits and fry the fish. I took a shower and changed into clean shorts and a blouse.

Cheese Grits

About mid- afternoon the guest began arriving, they brought booze and mixer and set up a bar on the huge coffee table in the living room. I had a drink and began to feel better. The count turned out to be fifteen including Chuck and me.

We had an apartment size gas stove, I was half way through frying the fish and hushpuppies and the power went off. This happened frequently in Key West. Rocky Byers came in to help me, he held the flashlight and tended one deep fryer while I finished the other. We set everything on the table and everyone served themselves and sat wherever they could find a place to sit.

Fried Fish

Hushpuppies

Our little cottage was bursting at the seams; we were so crowded in that small place! But the food was enjoyed by all. The party cranked up into high gear after dinner. 

One of the guys they called Boo Boo leaned over to put his cigarette out in the big ashtray that was in the center of the coffee table.

He leaned over very slowly and he did put the cigarette out, but kept leaning. He placed his hands on the far edge of the table trying to stop his fall, but his unbalanced momentum kept him going, he looked as though he was in slow motion. 

His feet left the floor and were raised up into the air and he was just suspended there on his hands and hanging onto the edge of the table.

Everyone was holding their breath in disbelief, totally mesmerized, afraid to move at first, it was a frozen moment.  A couple of the guys eventually moved, and quickly went over and took hold of his legs and slowly lowered him back down.

That table was covered with bottles of booze, glasses and mixers, also a bucket of ice, and the only thing that he turned over was a single shot glass. This wasn’t actually a sea story, but it was a very funny story and it was told and re-told many times!