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1890's in Coal Hill
In the late 1890’s, a lot of young men from Coal Hill were going to Draughn Business College at Fort Smith. Charley Weathers was among
those who went. The best way to get to Fort Smith was by passenger train. The
railroad ran a small passenger train through to Fort Smith
called the "Dinkey". The boys used this train to get back
and forth to school. They came home on the weekends, went back Sunday afternoon.
When they would get off the train a colored man would rob them. Charley and the other boys got tired of going all
week without spending
money. This must have went on for quite sometime. The man knew when the boys had money
and when they did not. Charley got tired of this so
one Sunday he got prepared to do something about it. When he
got off the train the black man came up to him and laid a knife on his throat.
He said, " Your money or your life". Charley said " Ok, I’ll give you my money, please take the knife off my throat". Charley then reached
in his pocked but instead of money, he came out with a small pistol. He shot the man between the eyes, but the bullet didn’t
penetrate his
skull, however it did cut his forehead open. The man took off screaming. This put an end to the robberies.
Charley threw the gun away on top
of the "Tucker Duck Rubber Company" building.
The last part of this story may or may not be true. Charley was the kindest man I ever knew. If anyone in town
needed help, if he knew
they really needed it he would help them. He was the type of man that would give money,
whether they paid him back or not.
One time the school was trying to get enough money to buy a time clock for the gym. The total cost for the clock
was about 150 dollars,
so he donated $75.00 on it.
He would always donate money to the church when they were raising money for church repairs or such. One time
two Jones
brothers of this town didn’t have clothes good enough to go to school. Charley took them and bought
them enough clothes to start school on.
Another thing you might say he would give you his last dollar but pitty the
man that tried to take it away from him.
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