Beech Tree News Network

Old Chum never picked a fight- but, if need be he would fight a circle saw, teeth, hair, and eyeballs. 

Chum came to us in 1941 by way of Fort Knox; he was a Wire Haired Fox Terrier, all 18 pounds of him. A neighbor, Morton Russell, brought him to us. Morton had him at first; he couldn’t keep him; Chum got to chasing Morton’s chickens. He had never seen a chicken before. He had belonged to an Army Colonel and his wife stationed at Fort Knox. Morton worked at Fort Knox as a painter. They had begun to expand Fort Knox Army Base in 1941, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and World War II began. 

When the Colonel had to go overseas when war broke out; his wife moved back home with her parents. She couldn’t take Chum. So, Chum found a new home, first with Morton and then with us. We lived five miles out of town where my daddy managed a County Mercantile Store- feed, gas, groceries; cough drops to coal buckets; overalls to gum; boats to long johns…. And above all, pop and candy and some more stuff. 

Chum was the kid on the block-no other dog in the community looked like him. As with all males entering their territory the local dogs figured right off Chum needed puttin’ in his place. As I said Chum never started a fight; at the same time he never walked away from one. 

So, Trig Vincent from up on the hill came at first. Trig was a big black curr, Gobel and Marie’s Vincent’s dog. He came to settle Chum’s hash. Chum sent him limping, bleeding, and crying back up the hill. Uneducated Trig had, had no propriety training. He paid much for his lack of smarts, He did not know Wire Haired Fox Terriers were bred to go into badger holes and go mouth to mouth with a badger. 

Evidently after recovering some, Trig went across the road to Shug Vick’s house and told Shug’s two coonhounds about Chum. They came. Chum cleaned their clocks.. gottum’ real clean. Both of them. The rates left out when Chum came. One got left somehow. He had crawled into a new gutter downspout up on the balcony in the store’s warehouse; Chum treed him there. My older brother was at one end poking. Daddy was laying flat. Chum was at the other end… there is where the rat came out; too fast. Chum missed him. The rat went over the balcony rail, out into space. 

Me and an older fellow was standing down on the floor, watching the episode unfold. Hezzie Stobuck, the older guy had a pipe in his mouth, hands in back pockets enjoying the fracas. Hezzie hadn’t seen any fracas yet. When the rat cleared the balcony rail, he sailed in a bee-line for Hezzie’s striking in his chest about the top button of Hezzie’s overall pocket. The pipe sailed out of mouth; at the same time Hezzie stumbled, falling backwards into a pile of new coal buckets and combinets (potties). We all ran to Hezzie and helped extract him from the lash-up. Ole Chum was there too looking for the rat. The rat? He was huntin’ new territory. 

Chum was the first dog my parents ever allowed in the house. Chum loved fried sweet potatoes. 

Kindest regards….