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Champion dad moment #742

on March 19, 2012

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Moonshine and Murder, A Tale of Charley and Jim Fortenberry

I never heard anyone talk about my great-grandfather. After digging into his past, I imagine that’s because his family probably thought it best left it unsaid. Charles B. “Charley” Fortenberry likely was born in January 1860, if that year’s census record is correct. He was five months old when the census taker came to take his count. Charley was the firstborn child of Henry P. and Nancy Fortenberry, who were 20 and 16. The family of three got a little extra income from Peter O’Bryan, a 33-year-old Irishman, who was boarding with Henry and Nancy. It’s doubtful anyone could have imagined that just a year or two after Charley was born, America would be divided, and Henry would be leaving his young family behind to fight with the rebels. Charley was just two years old when his father enlisted with the Cherokee Grays. Charley was born and raised in Alabama, one of the first Fortenberrys to be born an...

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Tomorrow is Father's Day. It is one of the hardest days of the year for me. Here's why: In June of 1998, I was a busy 35-year-old with a wife and a 21-month old son. I had decided to buy my dad an electric razor for Father's Day that year. He had gotten tired of his old soap, brush and Gillette blades, and he would never treat himself by buying his own electric razor. I didn't made time to go buy his gift before Father's Day, figuring I'd find the time either on Father's Day or soon after, besides, the only thing my dad really wanted was to see his grandson, Ethan. Ethan had become the center of his attention, the apple of his eye since he'd been born. So, on Father's Day, I decided we'd take Ethan over, eat dinner with my folks, let him have all the "Ethan time" he wanted and call it a success. I'd go that week, buy a razor for my dad and give it to him later. I never...

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