Remembering Charley North
RIP: A great coach and a great guy
My Uncle Ed Deerinwater had a habit of taking me along on his adventures. Along the way, I met some influential people.
Uncle Ed was a 45th Infantry major who took me to his National Guard weekend camp in Oklahoma City and let me fire an M-16. I was only about 10!
He also took me to my first OU football spring game, where I was introduced to journalism as a career. I couldn’t believe people were paid to watch a football game.
Uncle Ed also was a member of the football booster club in McAlester. On Friday nights in grade school and junior high, I ended up at McAlester High football or basketball games.
One evening, my mom told me Uncle Ed was dropping by and taking me to a football game in Wewoka. When he pulled up, I got into his Chevy Impala and said hello to his passenger.
It was Charley North, an assistant coach at McAlester High.