Highlawn Days Chapter Book

Award-winning author, Julia Black, is a native of St. Albans, WV. Her first book, Meet Charlie, won a Gold Mom’s Choice Award, a Florida Book Festival Award, and a Bronze Readers’ Favorite International Book Award for Best Non-Fiction Children’s Book. She is a registered nurse, a board member of the Roarke-Sullivan Lifeway Center, and a founder of Rhonda’s Closet, a non-profit organization that provides prom wear for young ladies in need at no cost. She lives in Romance, WV with her family.

Julia Black

illustrated by Ashley Teets

JULIA BLACK

Award winning illustrator, Ashley Teets, earned a B.F.A from Alderson-Broaddus College. She continued her graduate study through the Simmons College satellite graduate program at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA and has a Master's degree in Arts Administration from the University of Kentucky. She is also a graduate of the Don Bluth University Traditional Animation program. For more information visit AshleyTeetsIllustration.com.

HIGHLAWN DAYS

Highlawn Days is the second book in the Charlie & the Vine Street Gang series by award-winning author, Julia Black. This is a wonderful memoir about Charlie, a stray dog who quickly became a fun-loving member of the Vine Street Gang and a member of the Kennedy family.

It’s the first day of school and Charlie follows the gang, sneaking inside the school and wreaking havoc on the playground and inside the school room. He joins one of the classes on a daily basis and even gets a diploma at graduation the end of the year!

Julia Black illustrated by Ashley Teets

Julia Black illustrated by Ashley Teets

Charlie and the Vine Street Gang: Highlawn Days

by Julia Black illustrated by Ashley Teets copyright ©2020 Julia Black All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents, except where noted otherwise, are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any other resemblance to actual people, places or events is entirely coincidental. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any other form or for any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage system, without written permission from Headline Books.

To order additional copies of this book, or for book publishing information, or to contact the author: Headline Kids P. O. Box 52 Terra Alta, WV 26764 Email: mybook@headlinebooks.com www.headlinebooks.com Ashley Teets—Art Director Lucas Kelly—Design/Layout Published by Headline Books Headline Kids is an imprint of Headline Books ISBN-13: 9781946664907 Library of Congress Control Number: 2019949673 P R I N T E D I N T H E U N I T E D STAT E S OF A M E R IC A

Dedication Christmas 2018 sadly marked the passing of one of the last of the Vine Street Gang’s parents, Bill’s mother, Mrs. Myrtle Keeler. I can always hear the last thing she said to everyone in parting, “I love you.” Highlawn Days is in loving memory of James and Myrtle Keeler.

Also dedicated to James and Virginia Davis. I miss your love and enthusiasm at the homeless Christmas Dinner.

Remembering littlest angel, Andrew Armstrong. Beautiful little cherub, I wish I could come out and play.

Foreword It is amazing how life-changing pets can be in our lives. They provide an unlimited source of laughs, comfort, and love. And, of course when we lose them, it is like losing a member of the family.

So, let me introduce you to the second book in a series featuring a small-town, West Virginia pet “hero” named Charlie.

Charlie was a real beagle who lived in St. Albans and made lasting memories not only for his “owner” family, but for the people who lived there. Charlie exhibited some character traits that we would like to see in more of our “human” friends including perseverance, persistence, and dependability.

He won over even the toughest of hearts as he made his way around town, school yards, and even the halls of the high school.

How many pets do you remember who had their pictures appear in school yearbooks?

I encourage you to enjoy this book and the further adventures of the Vine Street gang! Depending on your age, it will either take you back or introduce you to simpler times.

Ann Hoover B.S. Journalism, M.S. Industrial and Labor Relations

Chapter One It was a beautiful fall morning on Vine Street in St. Albans, West Virginia. Excitement was in the air as it was the first day of school. Patrick and Marie pushed through the front door with Charlie, their black and tan beagle and constant companion, close on their heels. Sporting freshly cropped hair and new school clothes they were all set for their first day of school.

“Woo hoo! Hold up there,” Mom called, holding an Instamatic camera overhead. “I need a first day of school picture,” she said.

“Okay,” Patrick and Marie sighed as they all three turned around on the family walk to pose.

“You look as handsome as shiny pennies. Cheese!”

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Patrick and Marie ran down the length of Vine Street with Charlie close on their heels. The trees that lined Vine Street were a mixture of brilliant orange, red and golden amber.

Marie ran to the left side of the street to the tall blue house to collect her friend Kristi. Patrick and Charlie ran to the right side of the street to the white house to get friend, Billy. The friends, along with the black and tan beagle, continued down Vine Street laughing and talking about the first day of school and their new teachers.

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As they walked, they were checking out each other’s new lunch boxes. “I have a Lost in Space lunchbox,” Patrick exclaimed. “Billy, what is your lunchbox?” he asked.

Holding up the lunchbox, Billy said, “I have Captain America,” as he raised his right arm and flexed his muscle.

“Well, look at mine,” said Kristi, “I have Dark Shadows.”

“Ooohh!” they all interjected, “Barnabas Collins.”

“What do you have, Marie?” Kristi asked.

“I have the Monkeys,” she said, holding up her lunchbox.

“I love that,” giggled Kristi. “Davey is so handsome.”

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Chapter Two As they walked the length of the street, they passed a yellow house on the right with a metal fence where Major, the German shepherd, sat on the front lawn. Seeing the group, Major jumped up and began barking and jumping wildly at the fence. Since they frequently walked this way, Major would always bark and growl at the group. Charlie, sensing Major was safely behind the fence, protectively returned the bark and growl without incident as they continued past.

The group continued walking, turning onto Kanawha Terrance, passing Mr. Ed’s gas station. Mr. Ed, the owner, always stood outside waving a friendly greeting to the children in route to the Highlawn School. The children always waved back. Mr. Ed’s gas station is a fixture in the town of St. Albans.

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Chapter Three Mrs. Lewis, the crossing guard, with the assistance of the sixth-grade patrols, stopped traffic for the group of friends with Charlie close behind. I can’t wait to be a patrol, Billy thought, That’s so cool. Maybe I can be captain one day. He imagined himself standing with the captain’s badge and seeing all of the patrols saluting to him. “Come on, Billy,” Patrick said, nudging him out of his daydream, “We are going to be late.”

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Two patrols opened the doors to allow the children to pass through with Charlie following close on their heels. “Hey, you dog,” the patrol half laughed and pointed as the other patrol took notice. “You can’t come in here.”

Patrick and Marie got out of line and grabbed Charlie by the collar. “Come on, boy. You have to stay outside,” they said as they walked him out to the big oak tree in the schoolyard. “Now stay,” they commanded. Charlie settled down under the tree and watched them go back in the school.

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Chapter Four Inside, the students all sat on the stairs quietly in single file waiting for the first bell to ring. All of a sudden, with the next wave of children entering through the doors, Charlie came in running fast and up the stairs.

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“Look! It’s a dog,” the children shouted, laughing and pointing.

The patrols were trying to reach the little dog and maintain order, but the children were all laughing and trying to reach out and pet the dog.

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Suddenly, a voice boomed from an upper landing, “What’s going on here? Quiet! Quiet! Quiet! Inside voices, little people!” It was Mrs. Shultz, the principal of Highlawn Elementary. She was clapping her hands hard with her bright red fingernails glistening in the air. “Whose dog is this?” she said—hands on her hips and a look of disapproval on her face.

Patrick and Marie, with heads lowered, slowly raised their hands. While everyone watched, Mrs. Shultz said, “Okay, Patrick. You and that little sister of yours follow me and bring your little dog.” She led them down a hall into her office and sat them down at the desk facing her with Charlie sitting on the floor next to them.

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Mrs. Shultz was tapping her long red fingernails on the desktop looking straight at Patrick and Marie, who were feeling a little sick. “Your dog cannot be here.” Tap, tap, tap, her fingernails went. “I have called your mother and she is coming. I don’t want this dog hanging out here and disrupting my school. You two take him outside. Your mom should be there. I don’t want him back here again. You are now late for your first day of school!” she exclaimed.

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Patrick and Marie led Charlie through the front doors of the school where Mrs. Kennedy was waiting beside the huge white Dodge, the family car they called The Dragon. “Woo hoo! Over here,” Mrs. Kennedy called as they led Charlie over and hoisted him into The Dragon.

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“Well, interesting day already,” Mrs. Kennedy said, sounding slightly exasperated, “See you after school.” She waved out the window as she drove The Dragon towards Vine Street with Charlie hanging out the window. Patrick and Marie ran back into school and joined their classes.

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Chapter Five Mrs. Kennedy arrived home, parked The Dragon and took Charlie inside. He ate and drank most appreciatively and then settled in the corner for a nap. In a little while, the phone rang and Mrs. Kennedy answered, “Well, hello, and how are you?”

Charlie got up and ran back through the front door without Mrs. Kennedy noticing. He arrived back at school just as Patrick and Marie’s classes were starting recess.

The children were swinging, playing on the jungle gym, and jumping rope. Charlie ran and played along with them to the children’s delight. Just then, he spied Marie with her class playing a game of Red Rover. The children stood in two straight lines facing each other. Just then, Anita called out, “Red Rover! Red Rover! Send Marie right over.”

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As Marie took off, Charlie was fast on her heels as they ran and tried to break the chain of kids’ hands unsuccessfully.

Charlie ran straight between their legs and there was a roar of laughter from both teams.

“Okay. You two are on our team now!” someone cried out.

It was the other team’s turn and Tommy, a classmate called, “Red Rover! Red Rover! Send Marie right back over.”

Surprised, Marie again took off with Charlie close behind and alas, was still unable to break the chain of hands and again Charlie ran through the students’ legs. Both sides, including the teacher, Mr. Savilla, erupted in laughter.

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The bell rang loudly signaling the end of recess. “Darn!

That was fun! We were just getting started with Charlie on our team,” one of the children said.

The children filed into a single line and headed back into school. Marie called to Charlie as they passed the big oak tree, “You stay here and I mean it! Don’t you come inside!” Charlie settled at the base of the large oak tree.

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Chapter Six After a while, he began to explore the large elementary school. As he rounded a corner, he noticed some open windows on the ground floor. Charlie stuck his head into one of the windows. There was a sudden eruption of giggling and laughter. “Look! There is that dog!”

When Charlie spotted Patrick sitting in the room, he began crying and trying to climb into the window. Mrs. Todd, the teacher, was standing at the front of the room. She was in the middle of teaching a lesson on the voyage of Christopher Columbus. “Quiet, children,” Mrs. Todd said. “We all saw this dog out on the playground. Does anybody know whose dog this is?” she asked.

Patrick raised his hand as his classmates simultaneously pointed to him. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Todd,” Patrick said, “My mom came and got him earlier today. He must have escaped.”

“Okay. Okay. Quiet, children,” Mrs. Todd said. “Seems like we aren’t going to get anything done. We better help him in. Patrick, you and Billy help… what is his name?” she asked.

Everybody in the class chimed, “Charlie!” at the same time. “Okay. Help Charlie in,” Mrs. Todd said, “He has to sit quietly in the back of the room.”

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Patrick and Billy did as they were instructed.

Charlie, too, as he settled into the back of the class contently.

“You know,” said Mrs. Todd, “Christopher Columbus and Charlie have something in common.

They were both exploring uncharted territories.

That takes a lot of courage, don’t you think?” The students all nodded in agreement. After a while, the bell rang. “Chris, you and John help our sweet little visitor back out of the window.” The boys jumped up, lifted Charlie and he shimmied back through the window to the playground. He ran back to the large oak tree.

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Chapter Seven The final bell rang and the school was a burst of activity with the children spilling out of the front doors. Mrs. Kennedy, worrying about Charlie returning to the school, had arrived back and was standing outside by The Dragon. Patrick, Marie, Billy, and Kristi were starting for home with Charlie close behind. “Woo hoo, children! Over here!” called Mrs. Kennedy.

The group ran back to the white car.

They opened the door for Charlie and they all piled in.

“How was your first day of school?” Mrs. Kennedy inquired.

They looked back and forth at each other.

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“It was wonderful,” Marie said. They all nodded in agreement. “I guess Charlie must know the way. I don’t know how he got out and came back. I don’t know what happened,” said Mrs. Kennedy. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. Let’s go to Tastee Freeze and celebrate your first day of school,” she said.

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“Yeah! Let’s do it! Okay!” they all said, jumping up and down in the car seats. Charlie nodded and wagged his tail in agreement.

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At the Tastee Freeze, they all had huge scoops of Polynesian Blue, which was a mixture of blue and purple ice cream and was as pretty to look at as it was to eat. It was everybody’s favorite ice cream.

Patrick held Charlie’s cone for him, and they all sat down at the picnic table, eating their ice cream. It was a beautiful fall day and everyone was happy. They all gobbled down their ice cream. “It was a great first day,” Marie said, “right, Charlie? I bet we are going to have many more of these to come.”

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Chapter 8 Charlie continued to follow the Vine Street Gang to Highlawn School every day. Even Mr. Ed was ready with a treat for him as they passed in the mornings. Charlie never went back into the school with the group after that first day, but instead, he settled happily at the base of the large oak tree patiently waiting for recess where he would run and play with all of the school children. Mrs. Todd developed a soft spot for Charlie and let him continue to shimmy through the window the whole year with Patrick’s class and the following sixth-grade year with Marie’s class. She presented him with a diploma on the last day of school. Everyone stood up and sang, “For he’s a jolly good fellow,” including Mrs. Shultz, who knew all along about the 6th grade guest. Charlie held his head up high and even seemed to blush a little—Marie blushed, too.

The class celebrated with big bowls of Polynesian Blue ice cream, including Charlie.

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Acknowledgments The first book in Charlie and the Vine Street Gang series, Meet Charlie, was released in October 2018. I remember what made the town of St. Albans such a special place to grow up in--the people. I have been reacquainted with old friends and also met individuals who not only embraced this local-hero story, but were excited to invite me to their establishments to help promote Meet Charlie. The magic generated sometimes led to spontaneous class reunions of people who remember Charlie, freely roaming the halls of St. Albans High School.

Meet Charlie also included older and younger generations who never met Charlie, but were intrigued and delighted by the local story. I want to thank each and every one. The feeling of such excitement and support reminded me of earlier times when everybody came out for homecoming parades or the town fair.

These were happy times, feeling connected to one another and the close-knit feeling that goes with small-town life.

Mayor Scott James is doing such a wonderful job, as are others in the local community, planning events and bringing people together. Thanks to the Frame family, owners of the River’s Edge Café-the ‘Cheers’ of St. Albans, (where everybody knows your name,) for extending an open-door policy to me for book signings any time. I know for sure now why some people never left St. Albans. Thanks also to my wonderful illustrator, Ashley Teets, and to my publisher, Cathy Teets, and Headline Books.

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Award-winning author, Julia Black, is a native of St. Albans, WV. Her first book, Meet Charlie, won a Gold Mom’s Choice Award, a Florida Book Festival Award, and a Bronze Readers’ Favorite International Book Award for Best Non-Fiction Children’s Book. She is a registered nurse, a board member of the Roarke-Sullivan Lifeway Center, and a founder of Rhonda’s Closet, a non-profit organization that provides prom wear for young ladies in need at no cost. She lives in Romance, WV with her family.

Julia Black

illustrated by Ashley Teets

JULIA BLACK

Award winning illustrator, Ashley Teets, earned a B.F.A from Alderson-Broaddus College. She continued her graduate study through the Simmons College satellite graduate program at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA and has a Master's degree in Arts Administration from the University of Kentucky. She is also a graduate of the Don Bluth University Traditional Animation program. For more information visit AshleyTeetsIllustration.com.

HIGHLAWN DAYS

Highlawn Days is the second book in the Charlie & the Vine Street Gang series by award-winning author, Julia Black. This is a wonderful memoir about Charlie, a stray dog who quickly became a fun-loving member of the Vine Street Gang and a member of the Kennedy family.

It’s the first day of school and Charlie follows the gang, sneaking inside the school and wreaking havoc on the playground and inside the school room. He joins one of the classes on a daily basis and even gets a diploma at graduation the end of the year!

Julia Black illustrated by Ashley Teets