Mr. Hester's Bait Shop

[Arkie John]

Come with me to Saline County, Arkansas and lets mosey over to the Congo Road. I have somethin' I want to show you.

************

Mr. Hester was a stand-up sorta guy and a fixture in the lives of me and my family. I never saw him in anything but Big Smith Blue-bib overalls and a long sleeved cotton denim shirt and old brogran boot/shoes. When I was a teenager Mr. Hester looked ancient. But he was a kind, gentle old man that always gave Daddy a good count on whatever we bought.

He had a shop that was about 12' wide and 40-50 feet long, stick built with wood clapboard siding w/ a composition shingle roof. There was a window at the end of the shop facing the man roadway, Congo Road. His modest home was not 50 feet to the NW from his shop, where he lived with his equally aged wife.

Every time I passed there in my later grownin' up and adult years, I would look through the window habitually, and see the row of regular light bulbs hanging from the center of the ceiling, just a-glowin', going the length of his shop. The pretty much lined up one right behind the other.

I bought bait there every time I could, but even when I wasn't fishin', I'd look over at his shop whenever I'd pass and see that the lights were still on. To me, that meant the Mr. Hester was still alive and kickin'. I really thought the old man was going to live forever.

One day, brother Tom and I went by there and the lights were out--and it was up in the morning. For weeks they were out and we feared the worst but hoped that he was only under the weather, He was our old buddy and one of the remnants left over when Daddy was still alive, savvy. Then one day as we were goin' to Little Hurricane in search of legendary bass, we noticed they were back on!!! This made our day, donchaknow. We bounded in there with minnow bucket in hand expecting to see his smilin' but weather-worn face, but were surprised to see only his wife there instead. She was all of 5'3" and dried up lookin' but business-like. She didn't know us and her demeanor let us know it from the start.

To the constant humming and gurgling of the aerators, we ordered two or three dozen brood minnows--I can't remember. She counted them out, one by one, in her HAND from the net! On the last net, one of the minnows flipped into my bucket. "Oops, I gave you what you ordered already, put one back." We couldn't believe our ears. Tom just grinned at me and shook his head in disbelief as he "put one back."

It was the end of an era fer sur. Our inquiry brought the sad news of Mr. Hester's passing.

I never went back. The shop struggled for a few months and succumbed to its eventual demise. But I sure have some good memories because of Mr. Hester and his finely-run bait shop on Congo Road, and for that, I am most grateful.

Growin' up in Saline County was great! Thanks for comin' along. <><

aj

"Keep a song in your heart." L. Welk

 

[Micheal_R]

We had a fellow called Happy, owned the sporting goods store, in Courtenay.. When us kids went in too buy our boxes of .22s for the great rat shoots up at the dump, sometimes, not always but with enough regularity to count,he would toss a box of longs if you bought shorts, and long rifles if you bought longs. Always made you feel special.

Those were the days. There would be a buncha us , all carrying our .22s through the centre of town to Happys, and then all walking up to the dump for the shoot. You could not do that today. :

fair winds

Mikie

 

[George-CT]

what made the business a success. He knew how to treat a person and keep them coming back. I miss those days. We had a guy they called Old Man Spicer. He passed it on to his son and he to his 2 sons. But it never was the same. He taught me to tie flys, and a lot about fishing up in the brackish water for fish I never knew existed. He added many months of fishing each year by knowing what was available in those inland waters. He taught me to make my own fishing poles. He had the blanks made and depending on what you were after would try and pick a rod to handle it better. I still have a few of those rods here. I enjoyed the friendship as much as anything. Just and older man who took the time to take you under his wing and teach you a lifetime of his experiences. And believe me, back then I could put callous under your wings....

Those are great memories to have for sure. They last a lifetime..

Tnx for post.

Geo-CT

 

[Wayne in BC]

perhaps we will be remembered as such? Enjoyed the glimpse into such a persons life!

 

[ojm bc]

n/t

 

[Royal]

I used to sell night crawlers and crickets to all of them.

Shorty Hooks Place was the one that really comes to mind though. I have written a story about diving out in front of his old bait shop and swimming area. That is where I found a bunch of rings and a State Policemans badge.

Shorty was a crazy old fart. Small in stature but feisty as heck. He was banned from all the bars in the area except for a few. Loved to fight. I was too young to go in the bars but I used to hear the story's. He was always good to us boys though.

I used to sell the night crawlers for a penny each and he started wanting to just weigh them and give a us a dollar for a pound of them. I argued with him and he said to count them then. He weighed out a pound and I counted and it came out to within one or two of a hundred. That is the way we did it from then on.

That little sucker could do hand stands and back flips and we thought it was amazing! He was an old man for crying out loud. Had to be 40 or 45 at the time. Ancient!

It was a far different time from the world my grandkids are growing up in

 

[Arkie John]

Thanks for reminding me of it. Have you had the hookah out this summer?

aj

 

[Arkie John]

and I hope to never forget them.

I owe them a lot. I just wish I could remember more so I could write anothe story or three.

aj

 

[Dan-MO]

We had a older gentleman who sold nightcrawlers on the honor system. He kept a small wood box with a slot cut into it mounted on a tree-the price of a box of crawlers was written on the box and you dropped your money into the box. I never heard of him getting ripped off or cheated

 

[Arkie John]

Thanks for reading this story, friend Dan. It is but a small remembrance but rich in sentiment. I really appreciate you, bud...but you are too kind!

AJ

 

[WillyP]

n/t

 

[Arkie John]

It makes it all worthwhile when someone has their memories jogged and can remember long-forgotten gems of our past.

Have a great day!

aj

 

[Jackpine Savage]

Arkie John,

Thanks for the great story.

I started working at a local bait shop on the river at the age of 13. My duties consisted of counting crawlers, pumping gas on the gas dock and wating on customers. We always gave a good count on the minnows and no one ever complained about the count until this one crotchety ole coot. He ordered up 3 dozen crappie minnows and I counted our usual more than fair count as I dumped them from the net to his bucket. Well he complained about the count one to many times so I put them in one of our buckets and counted them individually into his. Shoulda seen his face as I dumped the extra dozen and a half minnows back into the tank!!!

My favorite job was pumping gas for the boats that pulled up to the dock in the summer. Not many bikinis back then but what the heck I WAS 13 !!


Tom

 

[Arkie John]

...like you can really relate to it.

It's funny how the little stories that just seem to flow from the fingertips to the keyboard, written completely off the cuff, seem to trip people's lever more than the more thought-out ones.

Hmmmm. Wish I could do that every time!

Thanks for reading and posting back! <><

aj

PS Down here, we have 'bikini babes' pumping the gas for the boaters. But...what would you expect from a resort city? (Hot Springs)

 

[Arkie John]

...we are the sum total of all such characters we have encountered in our lives.

I sure wish the world had a few more kind old souls like Mr. Hester.

aj

 

[Arkie John]

Why don't you treat us to a story about the old gentleman. Seems like he was responsible for molding and shaping you quite a bit.

I just know you had some good times with him and just maybe you could let us in on some of the conversations????

Thanks for the read and the insightful post-back.

aj