The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-02-20
RECOLECTIONS OF THE
LIFE OF CHARLES THOMAS
:: BY Peter Stanley =:

thigh. The joke was heartily appre-
ciated by the other members OF the
Chicago party.
AS the educational, religious and
social interests of the country began
to advance, in the earlier years OF Mr.
Thomas's married life. he discovered
a roughness of temper in his own
makeup, which he considered objec-
tionable in a real heightened citizen,
husband and father, so he began try
ing to master it. Soon after he join
ed the church and was in a fair way
TO conquer this fight of rugged temp
er, an incident occurred one morn
ing and, for moment, it completely
got away from him. A young man
had drifted down to Florida from
Kentucky and was employed by Mr.
Thomas on the farm. He had only
been there for a few days and really
didn't know whether Mr.. Thomas was
a Methodist preacher or just a dea-
con in the Baptist church. At any
| rate the morning referred to Mr..
Thomas told the young man to go
cross the plantation and open gate
that he had to butcher beef for mar
| ket that day and would ride through
and drive the cattle out. After the
|
an hour, wondering what was the
matter, Mr.. Thomas came riding up
without the cattle. He rode briskly
through an open gate, never turning
his head toward the young man, and
| came to sudden stop outside.
Why, where's the cattle?" asked
the young man.
The older gentleman reached up,
| took his hat from his head and threw
| it to the ground, remarking at the
same time: in hell, l hope, by
the-eternal General Jackson"
While this sudden little flight of
temper surprised the young man from
Kentucky, he soon learned that he
was indeed in one of the best homes
in Florida, where genuine article
of pure, old-time religion was daily
dispensed, and the kindnesses of an
interesting family and Inequalities of
a well-supplied home were showered
upon all who came and went, the rich
and the poor, the high and the low,
and the young and the old. Twenty
years of continuous service at the
| Horse Shoe so completely identified
the young Kentuckian with the
| Thomas that until this day he is con-
sidered in the light of "one of the
family
Mr.. Thomas's foresight to the i'm
portance of eduacting his children
was remarkable, especially in view
of the fact that he made his own
success in life without it and even
without much knowledge of it receiv-
ed fair share. Through his tireless
efforts good school building was
erected in his community and a good
public school built up. Then he Sc
cured the establishment of summer
normal school, and when there was
nothing else to turn to he employed
good teachers and put them in his
own home, where his children we're
never kept too busy to give ample
| time to their studies. Hon. w. D.
| earn, who served Marion county as
county superintendent of schools and
| who is now member of the legis-
| lature from chat county. was a teach
er in the Horse Shoe, and no doubt
| credits his first election to the super
| intendent's office largely to Mr..
Thomas's aid and influence.
In so far as his own life figured, Mr..
Thomas's ceaseless 1abors, his home
building, educating, providing-luxur-
| les as we'll as ecessaries-lfving a
model life, fraught with the beauty of
success and studded with upright