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Tribute Prepared by
Woody "Pat" Dewberry
 During the
years, 1951-1964, “Charlie” Dewberry was the town’s most admired and
accomplished barber. Countless young men whose pictures have appeared in
Gleason’s high school annual during those years usually sported a fresh
haircut from “Mr. Charlie’s” barber shop. Many years have gone by, but,
looking at the haircuts from that era, Charlie’s craftsmanship with shears
and clippers is still visible in those pictures to this day. As a
professional businessman, a barber doesn’t rank very high on the business
totem pole such as doctors, bankers, druggist, or some of the other
business professions, but every one of these businessmen came to Charlie’s
barber shop because of his professional grooming abilities and his modern
clean shop. One other thing, Charlie could cut a flattop haircut better
than anyone. Many school boys from elementary to high school liked the
popular hairstyle and some of Gleason’s businessmen liked it, too.
Charlie, who worked briefly in Lansing, Michigan near the Michigan State
University campus, learned early on the flattop haircut was becoming a
very popular hairstyle to the young men attending the university. Charlie
grew a large clientele of “flattop” customers while he was in Lansing and
it was only natural when he came to Gleason and opened his barber shop in
space rented from Mr. Frank Margraves, next to Mr. Frank’s sweet potato
warehouse that many boys and men trekked to the barber shop to get their
very first flattop. The flattop haircut was popular for many years.
Later, during the early “rock & roll” years, Charlie was cutting flattops
with the now famous “ducktail”. Charlie jokingly told his friends and
customers that every man needs four good men in his life, a good doctor,
good banker, good mechanic, and of course, a good barber!
Charlie was
born June 3, 1904 to Callie (Raines) and Robert Lee Dewberry in rural
Conecuh County, Alabama near the town of Brewton. On June 30, 1944
Charlie and his bride-to-be, Gladys Beauton Tilley, along with a couple of
their friends drove to Corinth, Mississippi and were married by a JP
(Justice-of-the-Peace). They had one son, Woody Patton (Pat), and one
daughter, Peggy. Charlie, who was raised in a Pentecostal family since
his father was a Pentecostal minister, didn’t attend the local Baptist
Church with his wife and children and therein lies the story of how he
became such an excellent checker player.
Wednesday
nights were prayer meeting nights at First Baptist Church where Charlie’s
wife and children attended, but Wednesday night was also a night for
Charlie to go to Barber & Hagler’s Pan Am (before the oil company name was
changed to Amoco) service station owned by Raymond Barber and Finis Hagler.
Someone usually had a checker board game underway and the best
two-out-of-three winner would take on the next person waiting to play.
When Charlie played he seldom lost a game and it was even more seldom for
him to lose two-out-of three, thus he played many games of checkers
against some of the best players in and around Gleason. Later, Mr.
“Froggy” Everett, before he became Gleason’s Chief of Police, owned a gas
station across the street from Hattie’s Dairy Bar and the men and the
checker games moved to his place of business after the Pan Am station
closed.
During the
latter years of the 1950’s Mr. Paul Brundige opened a new farm feed mill
and the checker games became even more popular. There would often be two
games in progress at the same time. Usually, the winner of one game would
take on the winner of the other game. Charlie was modest about his
winning, but inside there was always a competitive fire to always play the
best, and to beat the best. To many who were serious about the game, and
particularly the less notable players, Charlie was “crowned” as king of
Gleason’s checker players. It was a title of respect and Charlie enjoyed
their appreciation for his checker playing skills.
Being in the
public as the town’s barber and not wanting to offend a customer who might
be of a different political persuasion, Charlie became a voting Republican
in 1952 after many years of voting as a Democrat. Voting as a Republican
in Weakley County where Democrats ruled the “political roost”,
so-to-speak, the only voters who were more rare than Republican’s were
those who labeled themselves as an “Independent”. It was when Dwight
Eisenhower first ran for President and promised to end the bloody Korean
War that Charlie voted for the first time as a Republican. Living and
working in Gleason where many in Weakley County had strong feelings for
Democrats and the Democratic Party, Charlie supported and voted Republican
and to those who knew his political persuasion he good-naturedly took
their kidding. Being the “people person” that he was, he gave some
kidding of his own to his many Democrat friends without being offensive,
or losing a good customer.
In 1964,
Charlie and his family moved to Memphis and he resided there until his
death on April 22, 1989. Since Gleason and Weakley County was considered
as “home”, Charlie was buried nearby at Dresden in Sunset Cemetery.
Later, in 1996, his wife was laid to rest beside him.
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