Charles Freel a cornerstone of the Town of Andrews

  • For many years Charles Freel would sit on the bench outside his furniture store on Main Street and visit with the locals who stopped by. It was like a scene in a Norman Rockwell painting. Sitting beside him is Jack Ledford, but the writer could not identify the next man. You can tell it was a nice spring day, as the garden tillers were displayed on the sidewalk. 
    For many years Charles Freel would sit on the bench outside his furniture store on Main Street and visit with the locals who stopped by. It was like a scene in a Norman Rockwell painting. Sitting beside him is Jack Ledford, but the writer could not identify the next man. You can tell it was a nice spring day, as the garden tillers were displayed on the sidewalk. 
  • Charles Freel is shown with his wife, Lillian, who was a school teacher in Andrews. Charles was one of the last original store owners left during the “glory days” of Valleytown. He will be missed. 
    Charles Freel is shown with his wife, Lillian, who was a school teacher in Andrews. Charles was one of the last original store owners left during the “glory days” of Valleytown. He will be missed. 
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    I used to do the children’s time sermons on Sunday at United Methodist Church in Andrews, and I loved to give them a history lesson about the members who were a “pillar or rock” in the church and in the community. They were lessons on Miss Jean Christy, Big Jim Wood, Roy Gilbert and Maurice West Sr., just to name a few.

    But my favorite story was about a man who passed away last week. He was a cornerstone of the church and the town of Andrews for many years. The story was to show the children why we should show mercy and compassion to other people who may not be as fortunate as ourselves.

    Charles Freel used to own a furniture store on Main Street in Andrews in what is now “Cups and Cones” and was adjacent to the Andrews Cleaners owned by Frank Ledford. A lady came into the furniture store one day to buy a refrigerator but said she could not afford to pay for it all at once, so Charles let her buy the appliance on time, which meant that she would make monthly payments on it until it was paid for, and he did that for a lot of people around town.

    Several months had passed but the lady had not paid anything else on the refrigerator and she had not contacted him in any way. Charles knew what he had to do, so he put the hand-truck on the back of his pick-up and drove to where the lady lived.

    When he got there, she met him at the door holding a baby on her hip, and he told her he was there to pick up the refrigerator because she had not paid any of her payments. She invited him in and he noticed that she had several other small children. He went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door to see what would have to be taken out in order to remove the appliance.

    The only thing in the new refrigerator was the baby’s milk. There was not any other food on any of the shelves. Charles Freel said, “While I stood there, I looked around and understood the hardship this young lady was having, trying to raise all of those little children. So, I closed the refrigerator door, wished her a good day, and I walked out of the house and never went back.”

    This is the kind of man that Charles Freel was, and he gave us an example of how we all should live our lives, to have compassion and mercy for those in need. He needed the money for the refrigerator, but he thought that family’s need was greater than his own. The Bible says in Proverbs 11:17, “The merciful man doeth good to his own soul.”

    I ended the children’s time with this prayer: “Oh God, when we have food, help us to remember the hungry. When we have work, help us to remember the jobless.

    When we have a nice home, help us to remember the homeless. When we are without pain, help us to remember those who suffer. And in remembering, help us to destroy our complacency and bestir our compassion for others. Make us concerned enough to help by word and deed, to those who cry out for what most of us take for granted.” Amen.

    Kandy Barnard is a columnist for the Cherokee Scout. To talk about the Andrews Valley, call her at 361-3268 or email kandybarnard@gmail.com.