Charles ("Chiefy") Challey
1909 - 2002
Forever the captain of our family's ship
.... he will be sorely missed.
Charles J. Challey died just before 7 AM on Monday April 22,
2002 at Mercy Hospital in Valley City, North Dakota. He visited with all
four of his children a few hours before he passed and he suffered little. His
funeral was held at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Valley City, ND on Thursday
April 25th. Friends from home, the lake cottage, the Future Farmer's of
America, The Woodcarvers and former students and teachers all came to see Chiefy
off. It was standing room only at his reception at the church following
the service.
Memories of Chiefy:
- Giving teddy bears helicopter rides on clothes lines
- Digging for night crawlers - the only REAL bait for sunfish
- Cleaning fish but first knocking it "fluey cuckoo" with the wire
brush
- Catching a snapping turtle - I still have the shell (and all my toes)
- Catching leeches in coffee cans with cat food (the only REAL bait for
Walleyes)
- Painting the eves of a shed for a hard-earned quarter
- Anything is possible if a man is capable of sewing up his own wounded hand
- Singing about a poor little peanut on a railroad track ... Chiefy will be
happy to know that my son and daughter can sing it completely
- Catching fish with the lawn mower
- Properly tying-up a boat (no ... I don't remember the knot's name and yes
... each time I did it the boat would end up in the middle of the lake)
- Appreciating music from other eras
- Siphoning gasoline (a little always must get in your mouth or your not
doing it right)
- Sitting EXTREMELY still during a hair cut or risk a swat from his
steel-cased trimmer.
- Using a divining rod although I still must admit that (as an engineer) I
can't possibly understand how it works but, from what Dad says, the Cabin
well was dug by hand so I can't argue with success!
- Keeping my tools clean, protected and above all else sharp enough to split
hairs
- Barbequing with nothing more than a hand-welded steel box and wood
(although I must admit I use butane at home but, by golly, I could make
those steaks the old fashioned way if I had to)
- Appreciating the simple things in life like beautiful days on the lake and
Grandma's great cooking
- Why my Dad and I call beer "grass-hopper juice" - trust me you don't want to
know the story behind this one.
- How to shoot and care for guns and how to get swatted across the the neck
when you walk in front of ANY gun
- Fresh raspberries from the garden and vanilla ice cream can't be topped!
- Always hum a simple, happy toon when doing anything at all
- Waste not want not ... you can build an entire cottage from scrap building
materials from demolished school buildings ... you can even straighten a
bucket of bent and discarded nails
- Minnesota is truly "God's country"
- There is no richer or blacker soil than on the plains of North Dakota.
- If you don't have opening count don't bid.
- You have to catch some weeds if you want to catch some fish.
- You can make your own soap from Fat and Lye
- When expressing love for your family, sometimes actions speak much more
than words.
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