Robert's Memoirs Page 2 (1932 - 36)
 When I first came to Charlotte in the spring of
1932, Marvin and Vashti lived in Concord. Their only child at the time was June Carol.
Marvin worked in a cotton mill when there was work. Marvin could play a guitar and was
also a layman preacher. They were very active in the Church and the Church programs.
June Carol was just a few years old when the
Church was having a children's program and June Carol was to sing "Jesus loves
me". No doubt the radio played the songs of the time and the song "Frankie and
Jonnie were sweethearts" was popular. Even though June Carol was young, she knew the
song well. Vashti told me that when the piano started playing and June carol was supposed
to start singing "Jesus loves me", she sang instead the entire song
"Frankie and Jonnie are sweethearts. Vashti said they could not get her attention and
they were embarrassed. I remember her saying it went over real well.
My friend A.W. Haynes' father worked as a salesman
at the local Ford dealer and he kept a new Ford car that he would let A.W. use to date and
go to the ball games. A.W. wanted me to drive since I had more experience driving and was
not afraid to drive fast or race with other cars.
On one occasion, the occupants in an Essex
Terraplane a very fast car in 1934,wanted to race from Little Rock Rd. and Wilkinson Blvd.
to the Catawba River Bridge. We accepted and won hands down. The State Highway Patrol was
formed in the early 1930's. They used motorcycles and later the silver painted Ford V8
Roadsters.
There was a Sgt. Moore that was stationed in the
Charlotte area. He used a motorcycle and would park at the McCoy Service Station and wait
for speeders. A.W. and I would get up to speed and when we were close to Sgt. Moore was
parked we would push the clutch in and let the engine wind up making a noise as if we were
going 100mph. He would give chase and we would slow down so he could keep us in sight We
would turn off onto Little Rock Road which was a dirt road and very dusty. We would let
him keep us in sight until we reached Berryhill School. We would turn onto Walkers Ferry
Road known to us as Smoky Holler Road. We would leave Sgt. Moore in a cloud of dust and
stay the dirt roads to the Dixie Store and then go on our way.
Several years after this escapade I became a real
close friend of Sgt. Moore while working on several clinic organizational projects. After
W.W.II we were playing cards at Tom Maddox's used auto parts business when we were talking
about the thirties and I asked Sgt. Moore if he remembered when he was riding the
motorcycle and racing the kids down past Berryhill School. He replied he had often
wondered who those wild boys were. I told him that A.W. Haynes, who was in Law Enforcement
at the time, was also one of the wild ones. He told all of us it was the most challenging
chases he had ever experienced. We remained friends until his death.
Another time I remember we were chasing
Spiro Poulas, Lathum Cloniger (Popeye) and their dates from Moore's Chapel Church toward
Wilkinson Blvd. The road was a gravel road and we were following very close at a very fast
rate of speed when the dust cleared and I realized we had crossed all 4 lanes of Wilkinson
Blvd (US Route 29). It scared me to the extent that I don't remember racing
after that experience.
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