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A Columbia County Boy's Recollections and Memories of Columbia County Florida (2012) Lenvil H. Dicks

MY BROTHER TRIBBLE

My older brother, Tribble, was born almost 15 years before I was, his birthday having been February 4
th
and I was bom the following September 10 after he turned 14. After Tribble was born came Emerald,
then Opal, then Fay, and then me, and almost 5 years later Rodney came along.

I was of course Tribble’s baby brother and he was in his mid teens, and I always had the feeling that
Tribble was very fond of me, and this feeling continued on for the rest of his life. When I was a very
small boy 1 could remember looking up to Tribble a great deal, and was very fond of my big older
brother.

The only time that I can remember when Tribble ever actually got on to me about something was when I
was about 3 years old he caught me playing his harmonica. Now Tribble was very fond of his
harmonica, and could really play it quite well, but he did not allow anyone else to fool with it, especially
a three year old. I can remember he gave me a swat or two about going in his raincoat pocket and taking
out his harmonica, and 1 learned not to do that again, and I never did. I think later he bought me a
harmonica of my very own.

Tribble attended his last 2 years in high school at Columbia High School in Lake City, rather than the
Mason School, which district we fell into, but Tribble found a way to get transportation back and forth
to Columbia High, so that he could play football. Apparently he was pretty good, and the team was
pretty good, because one of the years he played the team was undefeated and untied, and the following
year the Columbia High Tigers were unbeaten, but had one game which ended in a tie. Back in those
days when the clock ran out, if a tie existed at that time, it just remained a tie, and nobody won.

The coach of the Columbia High Tigers back in those days was a fairly young man named Hobart
Hooser. Everyone, except his players called him Hobe. Of course they all called him Coach.

When I was in high school in 1944 and 45, my Physical Ed teacher was Hobe Hooser, and there were
probably 75 boys in that particular Physical Education Class, inasmuch as the coach who taught
Physical Ed had to be through with his regular teaching day somewhat early, so that he could coach
sports after school. I did not hardly know Hobe Hooser, and thought he did not hardly know me.

Years and years later, after I was a grown man and in the Real Estate business, Hobe Hooser came back
to Lake City and was the speaker at a banquet in which I was in attendance. In the meanwhile, Hobe
Hooser had gone to Tennessee as a Line Coach for a couple of years at the University of Tennessee, and
then he went to Florida and served years and years as a Line Coach for the Florida Gators.

The particular night of that banquet I had something happen that was extremely flattering to me, and one
of the things that I will always remember. Inasmuch as I did not think Hobe Hooser even knew me when
I was in his Physical Ed class in High School, at the banquet he came up to me before it started and said
“Lenvil how are you? Good to see you”. I was flabbergasted that he even remembered me, much less to
remember my first name. Then he told me that when I was in his Physical Ed class that he learned that I
was Tribble’s younger brother, and he really was tempted to try to get me to come out for football, since
in those days I was a fairly husky boy. He told me the reason he didn’t was that he and the Band
Director, Mr. Carl Roberts, were good friends and that he knew how much Mr. Roberts counted on me

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