Someone in Buzzy’s Country Store mentioned a big plane that crashed in Cornfield Harbor back in the 50’s. I recalled reading something along those lines in Mr. Clarence Bradburn’s book Some Events and People in St. Mary’s County.
I thumbed through all of his book and finally found the incident in the very last chapter about Charlie Davis.
I then went to the Enterprise archives and found this front page article from their December 8, 1955 edition. Although Charlie is not mentioned in the article, Hattie Dunbar is.
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| http://stmalib.archivalweb.com/imageViewer.php?i=1228872&q=martin%20seaplane%20crash&s=q%3Dmartin%2Bseaplane%2Bcrash%26p%3D32%26r%3D0 |
When I get an opportunity to do so, I am going to ask Hattie about this.
Meanwhile back to Charlie, here is a photo I found on You Know You’re From St. Mary’s:
As Mr. Bradburn also noted in his book, Charlie at one time employed over 100 individuals at his various businesses. When I was a kid I remember going with Buzzy to get ice from Charlie’s ice producing plant located in the building across from the entry to Courtney’s Restaurant. His ice operation was in addition to several other seafood-related businesses that Charlie oversaw. (Click here for a good Slackwater article on what Wynne Road and its businesses were like back in the day.)
And speaking of back in the day, when I first took over the Store in 2007 I began stocking Makers Mark Bourbon and Buzzy of course noticed and commented on it. I asked him if he had ever had anyone ask for or drink it. He laughed and said “Yeah, old man Charlie Davis used to drink it when he came in here years ago.“
Today, Charlie’s Great Grandson Ethan Davis is now one of my frequent Buzzy visitors. And while he has not yet developed a taste for Maker’s Mark, Ethan still has time. If he does so, that will be a full circle story won’t it?
On the subject of Kentucky Bourbons, Dierks Bentley had a pretty good take on the subject: