Charles Thomas Plummer - Where my history starts

Charles Thomas Plummer was born on April 27, 1910 in Metamora, Indiana.  James Plummer and Anna Boughner Plummer were his parents.  His father was a tobacco farmer.  He grew up in a large family as was typical of the times.  His father and mother had both been married before so he had half-siblings on both sides of the family. He was one of the nine children his parents had together.  I don't know a lot about his years as a young boy. I do know that he made money as a young boy by working at the Brookville, Indiana,  Theater. My last post shows a picture of him that resided on their bulletin board for many years.

As a young man I know he spent several years traveling around and playing semi-pro baseball (I need to do research and see if I can find out more about the team he played for and details). During those years he got married.  I have never known who he was married too.  My mom told me he was married and had a daughter.  She said the marriage was very short-lived.  My oldest sister tells me that he had a son and a daughter.  When my sister was  around 12 or so the daughter came to our house looking for Dad.  That is the only time she ever had any contact I guess.  I would really like to figure out who he was married to and if his daughter and son, if there is one, are still around.  I think my older sister would really like to know too!  I believe he married her somewhere in another state, but I don't know which one.  I don't know if his children had his name or not.

On October 31, 1938 he married my mom, Shirley Hoover Plummer.  They were married until the time he died.  My mom and dad had nine children together.  My oldest brother, Jack, died in a water skiing accident at the age of 35.  They also had a daughter, Joyce Jean.  who died at 10 months of age from pneumonia. I have not been able to find birth records on my sister and my older siblings do not remember when she was born.

My older siblings remember traveling around the country when mom and dad were looking for work.  Their memories include living near a small town in Missouri.  They lived in a rural area, but they would go to town for shopping.  The little town they traveled to was Steel, Missouri.  My sisters said the town had a boardwalk and when they got into town mom and dad would give them money. The kids would go to a movie at the theater while mom and dad were doing what they needed to do in town.  My sisters and I have talked about talking a trip there this summer to see if it is still as they remembered it.

One of my male cousins told me some stories about hanging out with my dad and my brother, Jack. He said he had such a great time with them.  He reminisced about  hunting and fishing with them.  Dad taught him how to put up fence.  Apparently Dad used to roll what ever he could find to smoke when they were out building fences, a tobacco leaf, a corn stalk or whatever was there.  My cousin says that is why he never smoked, he tried a corn stalk when he was young and it turned him off ever smoking anything again.

During the years that I was growing up Dad still traveled around for work, but we stayed in one place and he would be gone all week at times.  I remember him coming home one time with a little tiny puppy in his pocket.  He brought my younger sister and I our first grown up dolls.  I was so excited to get my doll.  I named her Cynthia.  I just thought it sounded fancy at the time.

When Dad got sick with emphysema he couldn't work any more.  He was at home a lot with my younger sister and I which was great for us.  He got sicker and skinnier as the years went by.  My brother, Jack, used to stop by almost every day on his lunch to talk to Dad.  When Jack died my Dad grieved so much and he died within the next year.  My oldest daughter was two, and my oldest son was six months when  Dad died.   My daughter had gotten very close to him.  He was spending most of his time in bed by then, but he always found the energy to play with her.  He had little dog figurines that he kept by his bed.  They would walk the dogs all over the bed and she loved their little activity   When I told her that he had to go live with Jesus she reacted as a young child might.  She said she didn't like Jesus because he took her Grandpa away.

We had our last father's day get together for Dad on June 15, 1975.  He went into the hospital the next day. He went into a coma not long after that.  We were trying to get all the kids there to see him for the last time.  My youngest brother was out of state and could not be contacted.  My brother Wayne had to come from Ohio.  Shortly after Wayne arrived my Dad awakened from the coma.  He said, "Wayne, you're here!"  He really didn't say much else, but we all talked to him.  My mom sent a few of us to the cafeteria, I think she knew it was the end.  I remember thinking he was better.  Someone came to the cafeteria to let us know he was gone.  He died June 19, 1975.  He was buried on my brother's birthday.

Here is a copy of his family tree from Ancestry.com.