Jack and Hugh, 1958

Julian Scheer and Bob Quincy
On November 17, 1958 the Rocky Mount Telegram published this Hugh Morton photograph (cropped tighter) of Julian Scheer (left) and Bob Quincy with a caption informing readers that their book, Choo Choo—The Charlie Justice Story, would be published on November 29. The Charlotte News, for which Scheer and Quincy were columnists, published the same photograph three days earlier. The photograph likely dates from September 20, when Scheer wrote a column about the game, or a subsequent UNC home game day at Kenan Stadium.

It was late summer, 1958. I was getting ready for my first year at UNC. In the mail one afternoon, my dad got a UNC General Alumni Association newsletter. Inside was a list of several UNC authors who had books coming out soon, including Bob Quincy and Julian Scheer and their biography of my all time hero Charlie Justice. The newsletter said the book, titled Choo Choo: The Charlie Justice Story, would be out on November 29, 1958.

https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/morton_highlights/id/712
Bob Quincy, Julian Scheer, and Charlie Justice with copy of Choo Choo: The Charlie Justice Story, circa September 1958.

I left for school on September 18th and soon after I arrived on campus, I visited the Intimate Bookshop on Franklin Street. (It was the original “Intimate,” the one with the squeaky wooden floors). The man at the store said they expected to have the book in time for Christmas.

November 29th was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and I was at home in Asheboro, so I went downtown to see if Scott’s Book Store had the book. They didn’t, so as soon as I got back to school on Monday I went to the Intimate, and they had the book. I got it, went back to my room in Cobb Dorm and read it in one sitting. It was great and I could not believe the magnificent pictures taken by Hugh Morton. I knew who Morton was. I had seen his name under sports pictures in the newspapers, many of which I had clipped and pasted in a huge scrapbook. And my dad and I had also visited Grandfather Mountain in August of 1953 and had walked across the Mile High Swinging Bridge.

I wanted to send Mr. Morton a letter and tell him how much I liked the pictures, but I didn’t have his address. I thought I had heard he lived in Wilmington but, since I had no address, I decided to call Grandfather Mountain and leave a message with the switchboard operator. So, on Tuesday afternoon, December 2, 1958 . . . I called.

When the operator answered, I introduced myself and told her why I was calling. Much to my surprise she said, “Mr. Morton is here in the office, would you like to speak with him?”

“Yes” is all I could get out.

And then a few seconds later . . . “Hello Jack, this is Hugh Morton.”

We talked for almost ten minutes. Turns out we were both huge fans of Charlie Justice. And because of that connection, Hugh Morton and I became friends—a friendship that lasted for almost forty-eight years, from December 2, 1958 to June 1, 2006.

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