As children we four cousins felt we had two mothers. My mother, Naomi, with her girl and boy, and her only sister Kathryn, with her two boys, raised their two families together. Although not in the same household, the sisters did all of their work together so the children were together almost constantly.

Kathryn's older son and I were only three years apart so we were continually finding mischief to get into. His only brother, Charles, was nearly three months younger than my brother, Wallace who is eight years younger than I. The difference in our ages made the four of us like two sets of cousins the older son and I and the younger son and my brother.

Wallace and Charles being so close in age, their mothers' chose many clothes for them that were alike. Family photos show them in their cowboy outfits with toy pistols drawn and another in their little sailor suits at about the age of three. Sometimes people asked if they were twins, in spite of the difference in the coloring of their hair and eyes. (Charles had dark hair Wallace was blonde; Charles had brown eyes Wallace's eyes were blue.)

Charles was a happy, even tempered, smiling, adventurous boy. The family often observed that when the two boys, Charles and Wallace, were together, what one didn't think of the other one did. A couple of examples illustrate some of that adventurousness. When the boys were five or six they decided to imitate what they had seen their parents do with chickens. In the brooder house they quickly gathered up 100 or so little chicks and put them in gunny sacks. However, these chicks were much younger than those their parents sacked to take to sell. Most of the chicks the boys sacked smothered before Charles's mother discovered what the two were doing.

Another time the two wanted to play rodeo. They roped a small calf. The calf took off running with the boys trying their best to hold to it. Wallace quickly let go of the rope, but Charles sat down on the rope hoping the calf would stop. It didn't. Instead it dragged Charles through a muddy hog wallow. I don't believe they tried that one again.

Charles loved music. He played the guitar, sang and when about 12 or 13 took piano lessons from me. The piano didn't appeal to him like the guitar so those lessons didn't last long. As a teenager he was one of a quartet of boys in the church we attended. They sang many specials in not only the local church but in other churches as well. Charles and Wallace also sang duets. In fact, one time when the Ben Bolt movie theater in Chillicothe had amateur hours the two entered and won first place.

During those growing up years, Charles was an active member of the CYF (Christian Youth Fellowship) in our church. One of the CYF outings he especially enjoyed was the roller skating parties. Another activity the cousins and their friends liked to engage in was corn cob fights on a Sunday afternoon. They would gather in the barn of one of the group. Teams were chosen and for a while, the corn cobs would fly fast and furiously.

In high school Charles was a tackle on the Trenton High School football squad. He was also a member of the mixed chorus and glee club. In 1957 he graduated from Trenton High School signaling an end of childhood.

Soon after high school, Charles married a classmate. After a couple of years on the farm they moved to Omaha, Nebraska where he enlisted in the Air Force to serve the next twenty years. This caused our lives to go their separate ways with us living is different states and only seeing each other on special occasions.

In 2005 Charles died after a hard fought struggle with cancer. He still remains in my memory as a cousin who seemed like a brother.

Learn more about this author, Annalou Mack.
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