Thank You, Miss Charlotte!

By Mia Freneaux
Pictured: Charlotte Fergerson with her husband Jim
    Last week, the City of Central’s First Employee retired after serving as the Mayor’s secretary since the city’s inception.  Charlotte Fergerson, known to many as “Miss Charlotte”, manned the helm of the Mayor’s Office before there even was an office!
    Born Charlotte Parker in Moulton Alabama, Miss Charlotte graduated from the Lawrence County High School in the same city.  She married James Donald Fergerson (Known as “Jim” to everyone here in Central) in 1959.  Jim was a part of the Space Race in Huntsville, and Miss Charlotte worked as a secretary for J. Gilmer Blackburn, a tax attorney in Decatur.  She continued to be his secretary when he was elected Mayor of Decatur.
    In 1968, after NASA put a man on the moon, Jim’s job transferred him “temporarily” to Baton Rouge.  After renting for a few months, they decided to build a home what their daughter Alicia referred to as “this up-and-coming area called Central”.  Miss Charlotte and Jim raised two children in Central – Steve and Alicia – and she spent a great deal of her free time volunteering at their schools, as part of the Band Boosters at Central High in the 1970’s and at Central Private in the 1980’s and 90’s.  She also devoted her considerable talent and energy working at A-Bou-K Florist and acting as a Tupperware manager.  In 1994, she became a part time manager for the local landmark “Country Emporium”.  She actively supported Jim when he and several other Central cornerstones made history in the 1970’s by forming the Central Volunteer Fire Department.  She has many warm memories of fund raisers and answering phones in the middle of the night that activated the volunteers to fight fires.
    When Central became its own city in 2005, she volunteered to answer phones.  One day she was joking with Mayor Mac Watts about how this brought back memories of working for the Mayor of Decatur.  Mayor Watts, hearing of her experience, offered her the job of secretary for the mayor, for what was supposed to be 3 or 4 months.  All these years later, Miss Charlotte has faithfully answered phones, typed correspondence, kept the Mayor’s calendar and scheduled his appointments, offered information, researched projects, made copies, taken notes, and made innumerable cups of coffee.  Her smiling face and warm welcome have been the first thing to greet visitors to City Hall, offering a dose of “Southern Hospitality” from the City of Central.  Mayor Watts offered this tribute: “I can’t say enough good things about her.  She’d just handle so much for me, she took a lot of heat off of me answering the phones and questions people had.  I would write a memo to someone in a hurry, and she would tidy it up and have it all ready to be sent out without my even asking.  I’ve already missed several appointments since retiring because I don’t have her keeping my calendar anymore!  I’ve had many secretaries, and while I’ve asked a lot from them, Loyalty is one thing I couldn’t.  She offered Loyalty to me freely through all these years.  We’ve had a great relationship.  She’s been my Rock of Gibraltar.”
    Thank you Miss Charlotte for your service to our City!  May you enjoy your knitting, quilting, and time with your grandkids and great grandkids in your retirement!