Back in the 50s when I was just a lad, my family lived on Highway 74 west of Rockingham. Back then, 74 was just a winding two-lane road with a lot of hills to go over before you reached the Pee Dee River. The river was just a few miles down the road from where I lived. On each side of the river bridge, there were two stores, one in Richmond County and the other in Anson County. Both stores sold all types of merchandise and goods. Each store also sold all types of fish that were caught in the river nearby, such as shad, mullet, and catfish.
In the evening and on Saturdays when my Dad got off work, he and I would drive over to the store across the river. At that time it was run by an older fellow by the name of Charley Perkins. If my Dad and I were going fishing, we’d stop by Charley’s store and buy some bait and get us a couple of R.C. Colas and a Moon Pie. Most of the time we’d just sit around the store and listen to some of the local characters tell their stories and tales. To tell you the truth, that probably was where I got my background in storytelling ‘cause them fellows could tell some whoopers and have you believing ‘em too!
The biggest reason I liked to visit Charley’s store was that he kept a big black bear in a cage behind his store. You couldn’t do that today cause animal rights groups would have you put under the jail, don’t you know! Old Charley was making a little money selling peanuts for folks to throw into the bear, and if’en you were brave enough, you could slide a coke or drink into the cage for the bear to slurp down. When he drank it, he would throw the bottle back at you.
You know all good things must come to an end sometime, and so it was with the bear. One day, a couple of hunters from the mountains was a’ traveling down Highway 74 headed to Wilmington to go bear hunting. The men stopped into Charley’s store to take a break and get something to eat. The men noticed the bear there behind the store, walked over to the bear’s cage, and asked who might be owning this here bear. Some of the fellows said that thar’ bear belongs to Charley Perkins, the man running the store. The hunters went into the store where they found old Charley sitting behind one of them big cash registers people used to have. Ya’ll know the ones with a big crank on the side? Well them men asked Charley if’en he’d be interested in selling his bear. Charley said he didn’t rightly know, but what would they be a doing with his bear? The hunters told him that they wanted to use the bear to train their dogs with. Old Charley loved a dollar but he knew that the bear was bringing him in some business too. He started to tell the hunters he didn’t much want to sell his bear. But before he could get the words out of his mouth, one of them there hunters reached into his bib overalls and pulled out two hundred dollars bills and laid it on the counter in front of Charley. Two hundred dollars back then was a lot of money and Charley’s eyes got as big as a saucer. Somehow or the other Charley got a hold of himself and told them hunters “No, I don’t want to sell my bear!!” Well them hunters wouldn’t take no for an answer and pulled another two hundred dollars and just threw it on the counter. Folks, anybody that knew Charley knew that if’en he made up his mind, won’t no power on earth gonna change it! Charley spoke up right loud and told them hunters “you two fellows get on down the road, you hear!!”
Well about two weeks later, according to Charley, them two fellows came back through and poisoned his bear. Now I don’t know for sure if’en that’s what happened, don’t you know, but anyway the bear was as dead as a doorknob. If’en Charley Perkins could have gotten his hands on them two fellows, ain’t no telling what he’da done to ‘em cause Charley was mighty ornery if’en you got on his bad side!
Next week, I’ll tell you more about Charley and how he found religion over that thar’ bear.