Jimmy lived across the street from me when I lived on Mercer Avenue. He was my best friend until the Atlantic Coast Line moved his family to Jacksonville, Florida. His father was a Ham (Amateur Radio Operator K4RVE) and worked at the ACL. That is where I got my interest in radio and years later I would also become an Amateur Radio Operator K4DPC.
Now that the statue
of limitations are passed I can tell this story
but in doing so I take full blame for what happened. I guess at the
time we were 5 or 6 years old maybe 7 but no older I am sure. It was
probably around the summer of 1955 or 56 and Jimmy Walker and I were
building a camp on a hill in the woods behind the church between Mercer
and Live Oak Avenues. We had picked an area on top of the hill at the
edge of a young pine thicket because it was hidden from view. Next to
this pine thicket was a broom straw field.
After
picking our location we began collecting small pines and stripping
them of limbs to make the framing of a tee pee like structure. To give
it a little stability we used a large live pine in the southern wall.
Once the framing was done we used green pine limbs with needles to
cover the walls. After this was finished we dug an entrance under the
north wall. Last we dug a pit the size of the inside about 10 foot
across and 2 foot deep. The camp was finished and was hard to see even
if you were close by.
Now
it is time for the camp fire which all camps must have. We were in the
process of gathering sticks to build the fire when we realized we
didn't have matches, so we sent Jimmy's little brother back to the
house to get some matches. Upon his return we started the fire inside
the camp made of pine straw. Now we were ready to cook, but again our
planning fell short. Now this time we left Jimmy's little brother at
the camp tending the fire, while Jimmy and I went back to the house to
sneak hot dogs to cook. Just as we reached Jimmy's backyard we heard
something. It was his little brother telling us to wait for him. As we
turned and asked why he wasn't tending the fire, nothing we said really
mattered at that point. Big columns of black smoke and flames were
filling the sky.
Thank
goodness it was not far from the street and it form a natural fire
break and things were a little different back then, no police involved,
but you can bet the fire was no hotter than the seat of our pants went
our parents got finished with us. Luckily the fire only burnt to the
road and was put out by the local VFD.
