Charley Elmer Seddon was born August 27, 1888 in Graham, Texas. He came to Oklahoma when he was a young boy. Charley and two of his brothers, Sim and Dick, earned a living by hauling freight between Hollis and Quanah, Texas with wagons and teams of mules. The roads at that time were very poor and crossing the river often hazardous. As more and more people were settling in the Hollis area, Charley and his brothers saw a need for someone to provide supplies, building materials, etc. and filled the need by providing a freight delivery service.
Jerry Daniel, Charolette�s husband, remembers hearing Charley tell about riding his motorcycle to Quanah to put together the loads of freight he and his brothers would be hauling to Hollis. Later Sim and Dick would follow with the wagons and teams of mules.
Charley and Ethel Dennis were married in 1912 in Hollis Oklahoma. The wedding took place while they were sitting in a buggy. Ethel and Charley were the parents of Cleo (Eubanks), Willie Ray (Sprout) Seddon, Cecil Seddon, Perry Seddon, and Maudell Hunter. Ethel was a wonderful homemaker according to her family. Charley farmed for several years east and southwest of Hollis. The Seddons moved into Hollis in the early 1920�s.
Charley delivered groceries for several grocery stores in a Model T Ford. Some of the grocery stores he delivered groceries for are J.G. White, A.D. Hollis and Long and Newberry.
(Taken from "Keep the Horses Up Tonight" by Bo Guest)
"About that time, Andrew Bolton delivered groceries for all the stores on the north side of Broadway, and Charley Seddon delivered for those on the south side. Model T�s still had to be cranked, but Charley had a unique engine. If he killed the engine with the spark lever up, he could start it later by pulling the lever down - the engine would fire and he didn�t have to crank it. Of course, if it was cold or wet, that didn�t work; sometimes nothing worked. That spark lever changed the timing of the engine. One had to have the lever up while cranking or the engine would fire too soon, jerk the crank out of the cranker�s hand, and turn backward, too often resulting in a broken arm. People took it for granted that a feller with his right arm in a sling had been kicked by a Model T. Mostly it was so."
Charley worked as a plumber for Charles McKinley�s and Vern Hostetler�s Plumbing Shop before going to work for himself. He was self employed as a plumber for many years in Hollis. His first plumbing truck was a Ford pickup. Later he equipped a 1956 model GMC pickup with plumbing tools and worked out of it and from a shop in the back yard of his home at 1004 East Eula. Charley�s pickup now rests in the back yard of Gaye and Sprout Seddon�s home... the original pipe vice still attached to the back of the pickup. His grandson, Kevin Seddon, now lives in his grandfather�s house. Charley purchased the house in 1923 from Henry West and worked and lived there until his death in 1976.
Charley did plumbing work out of Spooner Hardware, Dascomb - Daniels Lumber Company and retired in 1966 after working out of Cicero Smith Lumber Company. When some one needed a plumber, they would call the lumber company. Charley would drive his pickup to the site and do the work. Most everything he needed would be right there in his pickup. He continued to do small jobs for friends after he retired.
Charley served as water superintendent for the City of Hollis and was a volunteer fireman for over 20 years. For several of these years he was the Fire Chief.
Charley was very witty. He always had an answer of some kind for you. He was well loved by family and friends.
