Arthur "Art" John Charlton

The Nicest Guy There Is

By Deb Baron

Sweet and gracious, funny, patriotic, very helpful, organized, the nicest guy there is, are some of the qualities tenants at Meadow View Apartments use to describe one of our favorites, Art Charlton.

Art was born to Lila and Frank Charlton and raised on a small dairy farm in Williams, Minnesota. Williams is not far from the Canadian border, and its winters are often much colder than the Twin Cities. Many of us have been treated to Art braving the cold and snow to scrape the windows and cars after a snowfall.

The oldest of three children, Art's sister Linda is married and

lives in North Carolina. His brother, Steve, is married and lives in Moorhead, Minnesota. Art has never married.

Growing up, Art enjoyed his farm chores as well as projects involved with building or creating things. He especially took pleasure in his high school mechanical drafting class and hoped to apply the skills learned later in life.

After high school Art worked with a carpenter for two years then, at age 20, he joined the Army with a buddy of his. Though Art never considered re-enlisting, he did his best while serving his 2-year Army stint. Said Art, "Those two years were my healthiest and most enjoyable as an adult."

Reporting for duty, Art was assigned to the Infantry while his buddy, Malcom McKinnon, was assigned to Artillery.

The first six months were spent at Fort Benning, Georgia learning the basics. After basics, Art was given a two-week leave and upon returning he was shipped to Schweinfurt, Germany, Ledward Barracks, where he was stationed until December 20, 1960.

It was a peaceful time to be in the military, but Art and his fellow soldiers were kept busy with the Daily Dozen exercises: pull up, push up, sit up, squat thrust, squat jump, jumping jack, stretching and more. In addition to physical exercise, close order drill, marching, rifle range and remote training sites were required.

After being stationed in Germany for several months, Art and three of his buddies took a 10-day leave to Garmish in Southern Germany. The train stopped near their destination where they found a taxi driver to take them the rest of the way, plus a tour, for an additional amount.

That amount was a carton of cigarettes from each of the men. Garmish had an American PX, so the cigarettes were purchased, and the men received a memorable tour of the Ettal Monastery, Linderhof Palace, and the Oberammergau Painted Houses in Bavaria, Germany.

Several days later, in Garmish, the four servicemen attended "The Casa Carioca" in a night club Where they watched The Ice Follies performance while having a meal and drinks. A trip to Berchtesgarden and a tour of Hier's Eagle Nest Retreat on a mountain top followed.

Back at the base, when the men were tested for doing the Daily Dozen correctly, Art failed which he blamed on too many good times in Bavaria! What young person doesn't push the envelope from time-to-time? After that mishap, Art passed all future tests.

Before Arts discharge, Johnny Cash appeared live at the local Army base EM Club - their last celebration, but what a memorable one!

On December 10, 1960, Art and his fellow 38* Infantry left Schweinfurt, Germany on provided buses/trucks to a train which took them to Bremerhaven Port in Germany where they boarded the Troop Transport ship Upshur for the return trip the United States. Art's fondest memories of the military were the variety of duties and the camaraderie among his fellow soldiers.

The ship docked at a New York harbor on December 21 where the men were given breakfast at 2:00 am and transferred to an Army base where each man received a Army Discharge. The men were given their choice of transportation home, so Art chose the airport and a flight home to Minneapolis. After landing, a cousin offered Art a place to stay and visit family for 2 days.

The following day, while doing Christmas shopping at the Sears store on Lake Street and Chicago Avenue, Art met a car dealer from his hometown of Williams who was in town buying used cars to resell at his used car lot. This man was looking for drivers and Art was looking for a ride home so as luck would have it, their problems were solved.

Driving one of those cars, Art arrived home the following day, Christmas Eve, to be welcomed by his parents, sister and brother. A truly wonderful homecoming.

After Art's return from the Army, he moved to the Twin Cities and began working for Thermo King doing mechanical drafting.

(Remember, Art's high school studies included mechanical drafting.) From Thermo King, Art explored other companies and found himself in the computer hardware field with early industry leader, Unisys.

Most of the work in the 60s involved early manual layout design of printed circuit boards. This work involved a lengthy process, but one Art really enjoyed.

During Art's employment with Unisys, he became a member of the Unisys Photo Club and participated for over a decade. Photo Club members participated in monthly competitions judged by outside

professionals. Winners' photos were displayed for a month then returned to the members. Art was partial to taking photos of the scenic North Shore and Duluth.

Leaving Unisys, Art took his final job with an electronic manufacturing company. There he inspected parts on an assembly line for printed circuit boards before they entered the solder wave machine. Retiring in 2003, Art moved to the Kilkenny Apartments in Forest Lake. Once Art learned Meadow View Apartments was opening, he didn't hesitate to apply and receive tenancy here. Art was one of the first occupants of the building and loves seeing the trees and open spaces, much like the beloved farm he grew up on.

Art has been an integral part of the Meadow View Community. Upon notification, he lowered the flags to half-staff at both Meadow View Apartments and Meadows for special events and raised them afterward.

Art performed these duties for ten years and in honor of his commitment, was awarded a special plaque.

After each month's free table day, Art willingly gathers and then brings the leftover items to Family Pathways. You can also see Art taking a certain someone grocery shopping. An avid bike rider, Art did have to stop riding a year ago, at the age of 85!

Art loves to attend social activities because he genuinely likes people. To be sure, the people here genuinely like Art, as well.

Note: Art Charlton's legacy will someday read; a sweet and gracious, funny, patriotic, very helpful, organized, and the nicest guy