At the time of Pearl Harbor he remembers standing in the front yard, looking up to the sky as a young boy watching what seemed like hundreds of big planes pulling smaller planes behind them.
In his teenage years, he was a lifeguard at Harris Lake in Concord NC. He could hold his breath for the entire length of the lake. He also loved baseball and played on a farm team for the Rocky River Wild Cats. He would cut wood for a local grocery store owner, then he would take his earnings and buy an assortment of candies to take back and share with his brothers and sisters. He loved to see those soda trucks that had orange, grape, and strawberry sodas on the open side shelves of the delivery trucks. The ice-cold bottles would gently shake and clink going down the road.
Our dad loved spending time at the dirt race track in Concord, NC. He was also friends with someone who was the father of a very well known NASCAR driver that actually built an engine in a race car that he bought from him. Unfortunately, he never got to race but enjoyed racing throughout his life.
We love the stories he tells of his younger brother on the boat, how he would catch a fish in the back of the boat then very discreetly, examine it then put it gently back into the water, so nobody would know what or how many he was really catching. Then of course, there's also the story where he was on the boat with his best friend that fell asleep on the boat so he tied a string around his toe and gently pulled so he would suddenly wake up thinking there was a fish on the line as a joke. These are just a few of the stories our dad shared with us.
Fishing at Badin, Tucker Town, Lake Norman, and Lake Lure all in North Carolina were some of his greatest memories; catching many bass, crappie, catfish, and bream. They are also some of the greatest memories of our life... going shopping for sandwiches or making them, buying colas, bottled water, chips, and lance crackers, then filling the cooler with ice for an amazing day on the bass tracker or simply on the river bank. We would stay as long as we could. The days were so peaceful and beautiful and we just loved talking, eating, and of course, catching those fish!
Our dad loved his children and grandchildren very much and loved spending holidays with his family!
He would always say time fishing was no time taken off of your life. I believe when he said this he was saying that fishing was the cure for all; whether it was a bad day at school, work or really anything at all. At the water's edge is a place where you could find peace and serenity leaving all of your troubles behind.
We would like to thank the SOCC Tournament for giving us this opportunity to honor our dad with this dedication page. He would be honored too.
Best wishes and good luck fishing!
The Carroll family
