Shoeless Joe and the Mill Hill Kids

By Arlene Marcley and Blue Berry Illustrations

Times were tough for everyone in 1938. The Great Depression had left people with barely enough money for food, much less life's little pleasures. But that didn't stop the kids growing up in textile mill villages across the South from having fun.

Ten-year-old Charlie Miller and his pals loved to play baseball. They made balls out of rocks, cotton, and twine, and whittled bats from sturdy pine limbs. Their team was the Smackers, and their archrivals were the Dogtown Dogs.

Despite his love for the game, Charlie was not very good at it. Splinter Rawlings, village bully and leader of the Dogs, taunted Charlie and made fun of him. "You couldn't hit a ball with a two-by-four," Splinter would say to him. That hurt Charlie's feelings, and he vowed to become a better hitter.

Charlie heard about a local man named Jackson who had played baseball in the Big Leagues and sought him out for advice. Little did Charlie know that his game was about to change, for the old man was a legend—a legend called "Shoeless Joe."

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: Feb 20, 2018
• ISBN: 9781489714824

Arlene Marcley

Born in Blakely, Georgia, Arlene Marcley grew up in an Air Force family. Her father coached USAF baseball teams in Germany and England. Arlenes knowledge of baseball and love of history enticed her to learn more about one of the greatest baseball players of all time, Shoeless Joe Jackson. In 1998, after meeting Joe Jacksons sister, Gertrude Jackson Trammell, and Jacksons good friends, Joe and Kate Anders, Arlene knew she wanted to promote the story of Shoeless Joe. While working as Executive Assistant to the Mayor of Greenville, South Carolina, she held several annual exhibits about Jackson at City Hall and then spearheaded the creation of a bronze statue of Jackson which was dedicated in 2002. She founded the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum which opened in 2008, and is a must see destination for visitors to Greenville. Arlene and her husband live on a small farm in Greenville County, SC.

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Copyright © 2018 Arlene Marcley.

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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-4897-1483-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-1482-4 (e)

LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 02/16/2018

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Contents

IN MEMORY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Wake Up! Wake Up!

The Bully

Making A Baseball

Meeting Mister Jackson

The Million Dollar Lesson

A Priceless Experience

Game Day!

Smackers vs. Dogs

Splinter Is A Bad Sport

Attitude Is Everything

AFTERWORD by the Author

IN MEMORY

Joe and Kate Anders

Tom Perry

Gertrude Jackson Trammell

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To my husband, Bill Marcley, who has always encouraged me to follow my dreams.

I am grateful for the assistance and support of my son, Scott Marcley, and my dear friends, Mike Miller, Jean Griffing, Mike Wallach, Candy Jones, and Mike and Renee Tedrick.

Special thanks to thousands of Shoeless Joe Jackson fans across the country who continue to keep his memory alive.

Huzzah!

Brandon Mill Village

Greenville, South Carolina

April 1938

Wake Up! Wake Up!

T he steam whistle on the roof of the Brandon textile mill was blowing a loud reminder that the work day would soon begin, and it was time for children to get ready for school.

Ten-year-old Charlie Miller turned over in bed and shook his little brother, who was asleep beside him.

Ernie, time to get up, he said drowsily.

Aw, Charlie, I want to sleep, Ernie whined, disappearing under the warm quilt.

Charlie sat on the edge of the bed, scratched his head, and yawned. He didn’t want to get up either, but there were chores to do and breakfast to eat before heading off to school. He pushed his arms through the sleeves of the clean shirt his mother had ironed for him, and then pulled up his overalls.

"Get out of bed right