Charlie Campbell Tribute
It has been a whirlwind few weeks. One father's friends from high school passed away earlier and we made an expected trip down to Murrells Inlet for the celebration of life. They have kept in touch over the years. Charlie moved around a lot during his eighty plus year his roots remained n Allendale, NJ! He and his wife Bev were a fixture a t DeeDee and Anth ony's Fourth of July Parties. I know their kids,John and Annie.Charlie also had to sons from a previous marriage and it was recently discovered he has another daughter. Charlie was the CEO of several companies, like Floor Shine shoes and Munsingwear, a golf clothing company. The family moved around a lot from Allendale,NJ to Connecticut to Minnesota before finally settling in Murrells Inlet SC, founding the Dead Dog Saloon, a fixture on the Murrells Inlet Marshwalk, he later built the Claw House next door. Ironically Charlie and Bev brought a second house in Cape May which meant I spent some more time with him!
I've known Charlie my whole life. Charlie , like my real uncles, Charle (Chuck) and Matt, called me "Jaybird" a riff of my mom's nickname for me We have had many discussions, about sports, music, history and yes politics. Ok so we argued about politics more than we discussed, but we never walked away bitter. Charlie loved Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen even more than I love Billy Joel. We ll he had decades more time to appreciate them. He recited their lyrics as if he wrote them himself. He would also provide a history lesson about his favorite Dylan and Springsteen songs. You can not describe Charlie as "a fan", He deeply respected these two poets and you couldn't end a conversation with Charlie without talking about them.
The service part of the memorial touched me, the tributes [oured in, Bobby Fader, the owner of the famous Blue Moon Bar of Corgie Street in Cape May, has known Charlie the longest gave an emotional tribute to his best friend. When the service was over we went back to our house to change. After a little while we made our way over to the Dead Dog Saloon, the bar Charlie built, and rebuilt after a fire . They had a couple of bands play in Charlie's memory, his grandson Jack song selections were especially touching.The tributes continued to pour in. Charlie's son John thanked everyone for coming. It was hot and we were all getting tired. Right before we left the Dead Dog Saloon, I pulled out my trusty iPhone and managed to compose something, but the ceremony ended. I wanted to share it with you
My name is Justin Mattes my dad Peter has known Charlie, Anthony, Bobby and the crew for over sixty years! They laughed, argued and cried together. I consider it one of my best gifts in my life was to witness just a fraction of what they have been through together. These men are brothers not by blood but by choice. Love you Charlie
Comments