Keith Wadley Remembers

Keith Wadley is the son of Bob and Lisa Wadley and the grandson of Tommy and Sandra Monts.


My entire family, on my mom's side (the Monts/Temple folks), lived in Plantersville. We had been in Brewer since moving back from Arkansas and dad getting out of the Air Force. We would go to Cecil's park back in the 80's when we would visit Granny and Pappy (Tommy and Sandra Monts). The guys would be playing football, but I was always too little to play, but I sure did want to play. I mainly spent my time in the sandbox or waiting on the pole with the ball hanging off of it.

I remember getting angry with an older kid and wanting to fight him. Cecil came over and found out what was going on. He then proceeded to get the boxing gloves for us. I could not believe that I was going to get my chance at beating up this older kid. Well, I did not win the fight, needless to say when you stand 1 foot shorter and a couple of years younger than your opponent. Cecil let the bigger kid go and then pulled me aside. He told me that I was not always going to be able to beat up people to solve my problems. He said that I had to learn how to control my anger and to get along with others. I can't say that I did what he was telling me from that moment on but I certainly did remember it all these years and I did get a lot better about picking my fights, physical and mental. Cecil's park was just a great place to be a kid and to grow up. He was a great man with a lot of love to share. He and Uncle Ed were always fun to listen to.

Uncle Ed (Ed Parker) had gotten a keyboard one year. It was one of those that comes preprogrammed with certain tunes in it. Well, along came Cecil one day and Uncle Ed told him that he had gotten a keyboard. Cecil didn't know that Uncle Ed could play (neither did anyone else!). Uncle Ed hit one of the programmed songs and began playing away. Cecil was impressed. I don't know if he told him after he was finished or what but the story got passed on to me at some point and I got a nice chuckle out of it. Those two were always scaring my mother with a fake snake that had fishing line wrapped around it. Uncle Ed would hide it and ask mom to get something for him. She would go to reach for it and Uncle Ed would pull the string. Out came the snake and up jumped mom screaming and hollering like she had gotten ants in her pants. I felt bad for her but at the same time it was fun to watch.

I have so many memories of growing up in Plantersville, but mine are from a later generation, probably not the generation you guys are looking for. I remember Mr. Malone's barber shop, working at Quality Discount for a little while, getting large cherry snow cones at The Igloo when it was by Mr. Malone's, and working at Matt's Cafe for Larry and Wanda Matthews. Let me know if you want any other little bits of information or a story about any of those folks.

Sandra Monts comments:

Keith, Thanks for bringing to mind such fond memories.
Cecil is still touching lives today through those of us
who remember anything about him to relate to others.

Tommy and I are probably the only couple Cecil helped with
courting. When Tommy was playing ball at Brewer and later for the American Legion Team, my Mother and Daddy let me ride to away games with Cecil. Tommy would ride back with us. I REALLY DID like baseball, and still do. Thank you, Cecil, for wonderful memories, and for putting up with silly teenagers such as I.