Charles Tidwell Tribute

My father, Charles Tidwell, was 43 years old when my mother, LaTrelle, gave birth to me in 1964. We were his second family, as he had been married before and had two daughters by his first wife. His other two daughters lived out of state and we rarely ever heard from one and the other one never contacted us after I was born. That really made my father sad because although he may not have earned the Father of The Year award, he did love his children. I have never met his eldest daughter, Sandy, and I've only seen Charlye (named after Daddy) about 4 times in my life. My father was very devoted to me and my mother and I feel blessed to have had him for the 25 years that he lived during my lifetime. My life will never be the same without him. None of our lives will ever be the same now that he is gone.

He lived quite a life. A life that was sad at times, happy, difficult, and outstanding. He lived through the Great Depression when he was a child and nearly starved to death once. He was playing ball with his young friends once and passed out from starvation. When he came to, he realized that a very kind black lady had taken him to her home and was feeding him. She saved his life. What an angel she was!

When he was in high school at Lanier High in Macon, Georgia, he heard the news that his sweetheart since he was 16, LaTrelle (my mother), had married someone else. He told her that he then made the decision to drop out of school and join the United States Army. He served on the front line in the infantry and tank division during WWII in France, Germany, and Austria. He was struck by shrapnel but received only minor injuries which later caused him to have to have his left pinky finger amputated. After the war, he drove a tank in a parade in Columbus, GA which escorted General George S. Patton.

After he returned from the war, he married his first wife and fathered their two daughters. The marriage failed and in 1963 he married his old sweetheart, my mother LaTrelle, who had recently divorced her first husband.

My father lived quite a life after he returned from WWII. He started racing stock cars professionally in 1948 and quickly moved to the top of his rank. He was rated as the top Strictly Stock racecar driver in both his home state of Georgia and also the Southeast. He won 34 races one year, which no other Georgia driver could equal. He held the Southeastern Championship title for 8 years, and he broke two track records. He raced in the first annual race held at Darlington, SC, and he also raced at Talladega and Daytona, and Charlotte NC, as well. He raced all over the southeastern United States and he said that his only regret was that he never raced at Indianapolis. He suffered a total hearing loss during his career and was likely the first totally deaf racecar driver ever. He was also probably the only racecar driver to ever have a human mascot - Little Willie Leonard. I also read in an old newspaper article that he once raced against an airplane in Warner Robins, Ga, and he won! They raced six laps around the oval track and the Cub airplane had its wing tip almost right on top of his car the entire race. The newspaper articles from that time period say that he was fearless and a demon on the track.

I'm very proud of my father and have recently submitted him to be nominated to the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in Dawsonville, GA to be inducted in 2009. My father lived a life that many people would envy. As one person described him, he was more than a driver, he was an entertainer. People loved him. He had the most proud walk the way he always walked with his head held high and his shoulders rolled back. I never knew much at all about his racing days until after he died when my mother gave me all of his memorabilia. I sat down and read all of the articles and realized that he was truly someone special. As a child, I always noticed that he drew a crowd. He always had people around him and he was the center of attention, but I never knew why. He was just "Daddy" to me. Now I know that he was special to a lot of people. Occasionally I meet people who remember him during his racing days and they always have a happy memory of him. I love to hear their stories. If you'd like to read more about him, go to Wikipedia and enter his name, or visit the website I created for him at http://www.sweetgapeach.com/GloryDays .

My father suffered from brittle diabetes from the time I was about 8 years old, and he finally passed away from complications of it on May 4, 1990. He is deeply missed. Not a day goes by that I don't think of him. We talk about him all the time. My 3rd child was born six weeks after Daddy died and he is named for him. He is SO much like my father!! I think they must have sat up in Heaven that whole six weeks, Daddy telling him all about his racing days and his life because my son has shown a great interest in so many of the things Daddy did during his life, and he LOVES cars! He even has many of his little characteristics and tendencies. He even looks a whole lot like him. It's nice to have him as a reminder of Daddy.

In 2005, my daughter gave birth to our first grandchild, and he is also my father's namesake with his middle name being Charles. I know my father would be proud to have these two special boys named after him, to carry on his legacy.