Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Charlie and Kitty Smith at CFA banquet Apr. 1, '08


Charlie and Kitty Smith at CFA banquet April 2008 #1, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.


Buckles:

We are among the many who just got the sad news of Charlie's passing.
We were privileged to be seated at the same table as Charlie and Kitty at
this year's
CFA convention banquet, Also at the table were Phipps and the late Bobby
Hakes.

Attached are two photos of Charlie and Kitty and a photo I took of the
Smith's
grave marker , it's right next to Gunther's, in the Venice Cemetery. I
was surprised to
see a mistake on Charlie's marker; if you look you will notice it reads
in part RB&B
trainmaster. I assume they left off Mr Bailey as an oversight. Caring
thoughts to Kitty.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU AND ALL
from Diane and me,

Paul Gutheil

Posted by Buckles at 11/25/2008 12:39:00 PM

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

So sorry to hear about Charlie, him and Kitty have become good friends over the years. When we first arrived on RBBB in 1968 and none of us could speak English Charlie always gave us a hard time because we where the bloody Germans how wanted to do everything by them self. The first season and already in Venice he would not allow us to use the jeeps to pull the Tiger cages in the arena for practise in the morning. Only with his drivers but the where never there at 8 o'clock in the morning.
So we hooked the cages up to Gunter's 190 Mercedes and pulled them in one by one. I did my own welding and building of props and we where not allowed to use the tool shop without someone there so Tuffy Genders brought me my own welding machine and other tools.
Later in the years when I talked to Charlie about that time he told me:
You guys came here and tried to take over the show and change everything that worked fine for all the years before you came. And everybody made such a big fuss about you guys. He thought that I was very stubborn and that he did`n mind Gunter that much but did not like me. Probably because I was as stubborn as he was.
I had a lot of respect for Charlie, in his job as Train master he was a Master of his trade and ones I got to know him a bit better we became very good friends
and after he retired I went to visit him in his Home a few times and we talked about the old days.
Kitty, my thoughts are with you and I am so sorry for your loss.
Henry

25 November, 2008 15:22
Anonymous said...

Charlie was the greatest. My thoughts and prayers go out to you. Kitty. He will be missed. He is at peace next to Gunther in Memorial Garden and they are noe jackpotting in the big tent in the sky.

25 November, 2008 19:14

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