Charles M. Waters - 1920
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Austin Peay State University, Tennessee
I. Biography
Often a man will come along who makes a deep lasting impact on his community. This love of community and possibly a deep sense of civic pride control his actions both directly and indirectly. Over time he will influence others often without realizing he is doing so. Charles Waters has taught many individuals in the art of literature and composition. Some of those students would become teachers and writers. As the city of Clarksville, Tennessee continues to grow, the efforts of individuals like him will ensure the preservation of the colorful and sometimes heartbreaking history of this region.
Charles McManus Waters was born the son of a farmer on May 11, 1920 in Montgomery County, Tennessee in the area then known as Grace Chapel Community, District 3. The Army base, originally called Camp Campbell and later changed to Fort Campbell, would eventually encompass the home and farmland of his mother, Zona, and father, Herman.
Typical of the era and lifestyle of a small community, they visited the city center almost every Saturday. Waters comments in Historic Clarksville The Bicentennial Story, "My first memories of Clarksville are of ice cream and ice water" (Waters, 6).
Waters attended Grace Chapel Community School and eventually graduated from Clarksville High School. After enlisting in the Army and completing a three-year tour of duty during World War II, he returned home and entered Austin Peay State College. Becoming a member of the A.P.S.C. faculty in 1948 he taught Freshman English and was appointed as director of public relations. After receiving his B.S. Degree, he attended the University of Tennessee until 1952 when he attained the M.A. Degree.
During this time he had renewed an acquaintance at A.P.S.C. from his youth. Her name was Peggy Fleming and they would eventually marry in December 1949. She had lived near the location of the "Ringgold Mill" where most of the grain was ground in the community. Together they had two daughters. Melanie would grow up to marry Paul Gardner, a pastor at Hilldale Methodist Church and have two children of her own, Shelby and Lindsay. Valerie married James Lavery, now a retired Major teaching history at Cheatham County High School, and they also have two children, Carrie and Elliot.
II. Current Activities
Waters is currently retired as a professor of English and resides in the rural Excell community located to the southwest and just outside the Clarksville City limits. He still enjoys gardening, collecting antiques and woodworking. He has built a fair portion of the furniture in his home. His favorite projects are creating clocks, which are found throughout his home including a masterful "Grandfather" clock. He and his wife enjoy traveling overseas visiting different countries in Europe to include Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, and Greece.
III. Literary and Film Works
Halbert Harvill was the third president of Austin Peay when Waters began his career teaching English and being appointed as Director of Public Relations and Alumni Secretary until 1957. He would then hold the titles Director of Public Information, Alumni Relations and Student Publications until 1961. After being a co-sponsor of the school's newspaper, The All State , in 1949 he became the sole sponsor or "advisor" of the newspaper that he had served as editor on from 1946 until 1948. He held this role until 1960.
In 1954, he released his first printed work The All State Stylebook, a guide in the form of a handbook, to assist students working on the newspaper. During the same year he scripted a recruitment film for the college titled This is Your College working with three other members of the faculty to complete production. The film was so successful the same four members produced another film in 1956 entitled Happy is the Man. Waters points out the title and theme were based on the "book of Proverbs" from the Bible.
As an Associate Professor of English he became involved, occupying the role of advisor, in the majority of the literary projects undertaken by the students. It should seem no surprise that when Austin Peay turned 50 years old he was asked to take charge of the production of a book celebrating its history. The First Fifty Years of Austin Peay State University was printed in 1977.
In 1983, Waters undertook his largest project as editor and writer. With a support staff he began work on Historic Clarksville The Bicentennial Story 1784-1984. Meeting all deadlines, they were able to publish an extremely well documented commemorative book filled with illustrations and photographs. Since then and even after his retirement he has continued publishing articles like, "Benfolly in Fact and Fiction".
For the past 11 years he has volunteered his time as both editor and writer of the Cumberland Lore, a monthly publication produced to help raise donations for the Clarksville-Montgomery County Museum. He has participated in the production of literary tapes on Clarksville and is featured in a video on the city discussing Austin Peay State University.
Waters's writings, which he considers to be done in a "Journalist" style, are mainly historical in nature. His best work to date would have to be Historic Clarksville The Bicentennial Story 1784-1984 . Although most people today consider reading books only in the form of entertainment in this day of television and video games, without the efforts of those willing to put forth the time and effort, valuable portions of our history may well be lost. The "Internet" although sometimes useful when conducting research can never truly compete with the stores of information located in one volume of a well-written and researched book.
Waters's writings are the culmination of hours upon hours of diligent research combined with love and caring about the subject matter he addresses. That love is put to paper to preserve the heritage of the area he grew up in and wishes to share for generations to come. He has applied his literary skills where they may do the greatest service for those around him.
IV. Influences
Although Waters stated that no single event in his life inspired him to become a writer he agrees, he was influenced by teaching freshman English and being appointed as the editor of the school's (Austin Peay State College) newspaper.
The man who had the greatest impact on his life and writing was Felix G. Woodward, a member of the first faculty of the college and eventually dean.
When asked if living in Tennessee almost all his life had any effect on his writing he said "everything". He was asked the question of which of his writings he preferred and why he confirmed his preference for Historic Clarksville The Bicentennial Story 1784-1984. The reason given was that it was his most in-depth and time-consuming project and could not have been completed without the effort of the publishers and all involved.
V. Waters Gives Advice
Quizzed over any advice to give young writers about this career he imparted these words of wisdom: "Start small, nobody will publish you until you've been published, expect lots of rejection slips and never pay to be published, you should be paid unless you're doing it as a public service or like memoirs to leave for your children". He then added, "Too many people today pay for the Vanity Press." The vanity press is defined as paying to be printed just to see your name on paper. He beamed with pride while presenting a copy of the book Minor Place. The book was written by his great step-grandmother Tamesia Walker Cornell under the penname Anna Fredair and earned her the distinction of being Montgomery county's first woman novelist.
A great writer is not necessarily the author who spends the most time on the "best seller list". Is not a great writer one who makes the largest impact on his audience irrelevant of the size? Consider for a moment where man would be if he had never learned to put word to print. How many today would forfeit their time and efforts for no other benefit than to document and share their knowledge with no monetary gain? Waters and other individuals like him are a dying breed in this country and are men to admire and respect and quite possibly learn a lesson from.
VI. Literary Works
The All State Stylebook (1954)
This is Your College (1954)
Happy is the Man (1956)
The First Fifty Years of Austin Peay State University (1977)
Historic Clarksville The Bicentennial Story 1784-1984 (1983)
Halbert Harvill – My Story (1984)
"Benfolly in Fact and Fiction" (1990)
A Closer Look at Clarksville (1998)
VII. Works Cited
Waters, Charles M. The All State Stylebook. Clarksville: Austin Peay S U, 1954
Waters, Charles M. "Benfolly in Fact and Fiction." The Southern Quarterly A Journal of the Arts in the South. Vol. XXVIII #3, 1990.
Waters, Charles M., Perf. A Closer Look at Clarksville , Videocassette. Sandy Burns, 1998.
Waters, Charles M. The First Fifty Years of Austin Peay State University. Clarksville: Austin Peay S U, 1977
Waters, Charles M. Happy is the Man. Austin Peay S U, 1956.
Waters, Charles M. Historic Clarksville The Bicentennial Story 1784-1984. Clarksville: Historic Clarksville P C, 1983.
Waters, Charles M. Personal interview. 29 May 1999.
Waters, Charles M. This is Your College. Austin Peay S U, 1954.
VIII. Sources
Fredair, Anna Minor Place. New York: E J Hale & Sons, 1869.
Harvill, Halbert. Halbert Harvill – My Story. Ed. Charles M. Waters. Halbert Harvill, 1984.
Waters, Charles M. The All State Stylebook. Clarksville: Austin Peay S U, 1954
Waters, Charles M. "Benfolly in Fact and Fiction." The Southern Quarterly A Journal of the Arts in the South. Vol. XXVIII #3, 1990.
Waters, Charles M., Perf. A Closer Look at Clarksville , Videocassette. Sandy Burns, 1998.
Waters, Charles M. The First Fifty Years of Austin Peay State University. Clarksville: Austin Peay S U, 1977.
Waters, Charles M. Happy is the Man . Austin Peay S U, 1956.
Waters, Charles M. Historic Clarksville The Bicentennial Story 1784-1984. Clarksville: Historic Clarksville P C, 1983.
Waters, Charles M. Personal interview. 29 May 1999.
Waters, Charles M. This is Your College. Austin Peay S U, 1954.
Woodward, Felix G. The First 25 Years of Austin Peay State College. Clarksville: Austin Peay S U, 1950.
This essay was submitted by a student of Judith Broadbent, a college teacher in Tennessee and Kentucky.