Bob the Blob: Tales of a Husky Boy

By Robert Duke

Bob the Blob is about a husky boys journey through life in the 1950s and 1960s. The setting is Dugger, a small coal mining town in southern Indiana. Bob relates funny stories about his family which include his grandparents, parents and two older brothers. Many of the towns characters are also mentioned. He tells stories about what it was like to live in Dugger and all the escapades he had with his brothers. Everything from funerals, shopping, haircuts, Friday night at the movies and family vacations are included in Bobs book. One interesting aspect of Bobs life was that his grandpa and both parents were the town doctors. Many of his tales involve being the son of Drs Joe and Betty and the grandson of Dr. Fred. Bob the Blob had his ups and downs but he always prevailed in the end!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 14, 2007
• ISBN: 9781467083249

Robert Duke

Bob Dukes is a retired special education teacher who spent the last 26 years teaching in Dugger, Indiana. He enjoys reading, music, traveling and sports. He resides in Bloomington, Indiana with his wife, Tommi.

Book preview

Chapter One

Dugger, 1911

Living in Dugger in the early 1900s was not easy. It was a rough and tough coal mining town in southern Indiana. However, this was an excellent place for a young doctor named Fred Dukes to begin a medical practice. There were many accidents in the mines, and the casualties needed to be cared for by someone with a lot of skill and patience. Dr. Fred’s only problem was that there were twelve other doctors in town at this time! Making his mark promised to be a challenge. The population of Dugger was around three thousand, and the ratio of doctors to patients was high, but this did not discourage Dr. Fred, because he had a plan already in mind to attract patients. Doc Dukes had to use some creative advertising because he couldn’t rely on some fancy New York firm to drum up business for him. So he used his best asset, his brain, to show the people of Dugger that he meant business. He figured the best way to build a medical practice was go to out and find it. Every morning after breakfast, he would go to the stable and hook up his horse and carriage. Then off he went pretending to go to work but hoping he would find someone in medical need. He drove around for hours until someone called for help. He stopped and offered his assistance, rarely getting paid, and then was on his way again. This did not bother him, because he was looking to the future. Slowly but surely he gained the confidence of the locals and moved into a small office in downtown Dugger. He soon became one of the most admired and respected doctors in the area.

Dr. Fred was a gentle man in every sense of the word, and it did not take him long to gain the trust of the hardcore coal miners in the area. They knew if they called Doc Dukes that he would be there treating them with respect and dignity while attending to their needs. There was no job too small or unpleasant for him. He would go down into the mine shafts if it meant saving a miner’s life. Whether it was soothing a child’s fever or amputating a coal miner’s crushed leg made no difference to him. He was a man of the people, rich or poor, and in Dugger, it was mostly poor. Dr. Fred was not going to become a rich man by any stretch of the imagination. It was of little concern to him because money was not what motivated him.

He always dressed the same every day: a three-piece suit, starched white shirt, and a fedora. It didn’t matter if it was one hundred degrees outside; you could bet your life’s savings that Dr. Fred would have on his standard outfit. His wife, Cecil, made sure he looked like a million dollars each and every day. A good appearance was extremely important to him because he thought it instilled a certain confidence in his patients. It didn’t take long for the people of Dugger to embrace their new doctor who always had a smile on his face, a cigar hanging out of his mouth, and a helping hand ready to attend the needy.

Cecil Dukes was the backbone of this relationship and the best support system the young doctor could ever have. She was a hard-working, no-nonsense person, who fit in with the people of Dugger. She was short in stature and very strong in will. Though she thought of herself as a housewife, she worked as hard as any man inside or outside their home. One minute she was cleaning the house and the next minute she was outside mowing the yard or pulling up weeds. She kept their house and life in order so Doc could be the best doctor possible. People came to respect Cecil as much as Dr. Fred.

The Dukes raised four children while living in Dugger, three boys and one girl. Each was delivered at home by dear old dad. The oldest was Bill; next came Dick, then Joe, and finally Marcella. It was a very interesting life for the Dukes kids growing up in Dugger, especially because their dad was one of the town doctors. All in all, Dr. Fred and Cecil led very sedate lives. They got up each day and just did their jobs.

Chapter Two

Elwood, 1920s

Frank Dick Dickerson liked to work with his hands. He liked to get greasy and dirty on the job, and most of the jobs he did obliged him. He only went to school through the eighth grade, but he was a man with a lot of street smarts and could fix about anything. However, his best asset was his working attitude and willingness to do anything to provide for his family. Among his early jobs were working as a mechanic or around machines of some kind. He was a two-pack-a-day smoker and enjoyed his beer. In spite of his vices, he remained fit as a fiddle and was never sick a day in his life. He was in constant motion. Grass did not grow under his feet. He was proud of the fact that he was a blue collar worker through and through. Dick’s favorite pastimes were hunting and fishing and tinkering with anything that had moveable parts. He married his high school sweetheart, Marie Giselbach, and they set up housekeeping in Elwood. Marie was a pretty, outgoing young lady who wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. This often caused a conflict with her new husband, who was a little more laid back. Dick and Marie had a very colorful relationship that eventually ended up in divorce. They managed to raise three lovely daughters—Betty, Maribelle and Shirley—all three adored by Dick and Marie. All in all, Dick and Marie lived life a little on the edge and everyday was an interesting challenge for them.

Chapter Three

Dugger, 1919

Joe Dukes was born breach and this set the tone for the rest of his life. He had to work harder than most and life didn’t give him anything that he didn’t earn. He wasn’t a big baby and he did not grow into a large man. What little Joe lacked in size he made up in determination. Since he was from a family of high achievers, much was expected of little Joe. He started to work at a young age because his parents expected him to pull his weight. Joe took a paper route and truly had great expectations of getting rich on his first business. He came up with a scheme he thought would help him sell more papers. He went door to door asking people to subscribe to his paper saying he needed only one more customer to win the grand prize. He got so many new customers that he won a free trip to the World’s Fair in Chicago. Quite an adventure for the boy from Dugger, Indiana. Little Joe had a wonderful time at the fair, where he ate his first hotdog and rode on the world’s largest Ferris wheel. Even at a young age, he learned that a lot of hard work could achieve greatness.

Joe led an uneventful elementary and high school career and was anxious for college. He attended Indiana University, which was only forty miles east of Dugger.

Chapter Four

Elwood, 1920

It was apparent Betty Dickerson was bright at an early age. She read the newspaper at four years old and novels at six. She amazed both her parents and everyone else who knew her. She was so smart that she skipped grades in school because the work was not challenging. These were the days before the gifted and talented classes, so Betty had to put up with boredom during most of her lessons. Both parents were blue collar workers and while they had a difficult time grasping Betty’s high academic level, they were supportive. It was obvious that she was destined to become a doctor. Not one neighborhood pet was immune to young Dr. Betty’s medical affection. She ran cats and dogs through her outdoor clinic like a big-city hospital ER. She was way ahead of her time in practicing preventive medicine. Her parents and teachers were desperate to get her into medical school even though she was only ten years old. After her parents divorced, her mother packed up the kids and moved to Indianapolis. There Betty attended Tech High School, which was more suited for her college preparation. She graduated number one in her class and was awarded several scholarships to Indiana University. While Betty seemed well on her way to fulfilling her dream of becoming a doctor, this road was going to be anything but smooth. Even though she had a scholarship, money was going to be a big problem for her, and she knew she would also have to work while attending school. However, Betty never shied away from hard work, and she was mindful of her goal of becoming a physician.

Chapter Five

Bloomington, 1938

Betty Dickerson from Elwood and Joe Dukes from Dugger were on a collision course, each with their destination of Bloomington, Indiana, home of Indiana University. They were from very different backgrounds, which would prove to be interesting. Physically they did not fit the mold of the average boy and girl. Joe was still a pretty small guy at 5’7 and 110 pounds, whereas Betty was a towering 5’10" and 130 pounds. While Joe lived in a fraternity house with the rest of the upper-middle-class boys, Betty lived with a Latin professor, cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, and other chores for her room and board. Besides all the household work, she tutored football players and worked in the library. Betty did not have a lot of free time, but she always kept up with her pre-med classes. Joe’s college days were easier than Betty’s. He had to make sure his shirts were starched enough and his shoes were shined. He and the brothers also had to make sure there was enough cold beer on hand for their frequent social events. Obviously, Joe and Betty didn’t move with the same crowd. Joe’s friends usually emitted crude noises from their bodies and had GPAs in the 2.0 area, whereas Betty’s friends could be found in the library on Saturday nights and had calluses on their hands from doing manual labor.

There were a lot of sexist attitudes toward women going to college in the 1930s, especially toward women who wanted to be in medicine. One professor was heard saying, Women have no business taking science classes when they should be taking home economics, nursing classes or school-teaching classes. Betty was definitely in the minority as a female pre-med student. She felt the wrath of a few of her male professors from the beginning. On the first day of her chemistry class, her professor saw her sitting there and told her to hit the road. He said she would never be able to pass his class let alone keep up with her male colleagues. Betty stood up, looked him in the eye and told him if she got anything below an A she would quit the class. She stayed in the class and received an A+ at the end of the semester. The professor apologized to her and passed the word on throughout his good-old-boy network that Betty Dickerson was the real deal. Nobody ever bothered her again when it came to the classes she took. She finished number one in her class and earned the Phi Beta Kappa award. Not bad for some dumb girl in pre med.

Joe, on the other hand, didn’t have the glorious academic record that Betty did. He was a smart guy for sure, but mostly plugged along, getting respectable grades without much fanfare. He knew Betty because she was in some of his classes and had tutored some of his football-playing frat brothers. However, he kept his distance from her because he wasn’t quite sure how to approach this Amazon genius. He was developing a plan in his head to win Betty Dickerson’s affections, but it was going to take time.

Chapter Six

IU Medical School, 1941

Betty and Joe both were accepted to Indiana University’s Medical School in 1941, but they still didn’t know each other. Betty had a boyfriend who drove a Harley Davidson. This infuriated Joe since his parents wouldn’t let him have one thinking he would get hurt. Joe didn’t tell anyone this; he just said he didn’t like Harleys saying that only apes drove them. However, how was he going to get Betty off that big ape’s bike? Brains over brawn was always his motto and he began to plan.

Their first year of medical school was on the Bloomington campus, and they had almost every class together. Joe decided to ask Betty out on a date, and she accepted. Betty found her kindred spirit in this little guy from Dugger. From that day on, their relationship blossomed into something special. That first year in Bloomington was just wonderful for these two love birds. Betty completely forgot about her ape on the motorcycle because now she had Joe.

Their next two years of medical school were in Indianapolis, and things really heated up. Betty’s grandmother and grandfather ran a boarding house in Indianapolis, and it was a perfect place for Joe and his buddies to stay. They lived in a couple of upstairs apartments, and Betty lived downstairs

020.jpg

Mom (left) Medical School

with her grandparents. Nanno, Betty’s grandmother, used to clean the boys out of their pocket change by fleecing them in poker every night. However, the most important thing she did was approve of Joe Dukes as a worthy suitor for her granddaughter.

Joe and Betty finished medical school and then entered a residency program, which kept them in Indianapolis. One night Joe popped the big question to Betty while they were doing rounds in the hospital. Naturally she said yes!

They were married a few weeks later in the hospital chapel with two of their friends as witnesses. The hospital chapel was an appropriate place for these two to begin their lives together, because they would never be separated from each other or from medicine for the next fifty years.

They worked side by side during their residency, complementing one another in their profession as well as in their personal lives. One day Betty announced she was pregnant; Joe was beside himself with excitement. An added surprise came in the mail when Joe got a letter informing him that Uncle Sam wanted his services in the army! Life just became a little more complicated and interesting!

A few of Joe’s friends decided to play an old med school prank on him before he left for the army. They stole five guinea pig embryos from the lab and placed them on one of the guy’s stomach and took an x-ray. It looked like an x-ray of a woman pregnant with five babies. They casually mentioned to Joe that they probably ought to get an x-ray of Betty to see how the baby was doing. This was before x-raying a pregnant woman was a no-no. Joe didn’t think anything about it and rounded up Betty for the x-ray. The next day his friend ran up to Joe with the bogus x-ray and showed him. Well, Joe just about fainted when he saw it. A friend asked him if he was excited about five babies, and Joe replied, No, I’m more concerned that they don’t have any heads! Evidently a guinea pig embryo’s head is not formed at the early stages of development. However, the shock factor was all they needed, so they explained to Joe why they didn’t have any heads. Joe failed to see the humor in their little stunt. The army began to look good.

Chapter Seven

Fort Benjamin Harrison, 1943

The Army assigned Joe to Fort Benjamin Harrison for his tour of duty. His duty was taking care of the officers and their families. This was good for Joe because he had to deal with ordinary people. It would be good experience for him later when he went into practice. Betty had their first baby on November 3, 1944, a little boy. They named him Michael Joseph after the proud father. Now the Dukes were a happy threesome. Young Mike was a pistol who liked to wander away when the adults weren’t watching. One morning he got out of his crib and decided to go sightseeing around Fort Harrison. When Betty got up and discovered Mike was gone, she was hysterical. Joe woke up thinking the Japanese were bombing the base and started the air raid routine he had learned in basic training. After Betty informed him of Mike’s disappearance, he calmed down and thought about forming a search party. He contacted the base MPs, and a crack search team was formed to find the missing Dukes’ child. How hard would it be to find a two-year-old runaway inside an army base? Well, two hours later they were still thinking the same thing. Finally a trash man found Mike inside a fence by an old abandoned swimming pool. He wanted to go swimming, but luckily hadn’t jumped into the dirty water. After they got home and everything was back to normal, Betty told Joe to sit down. She said, Since we had so much fun today with Mike, I thought you might like to have another little bundle of joy; I’m pregnant again! So they began planning for their second child. Betty gave birth to