Trouble in Cedar Key - "Wayne"

Wayne`s real job was at the hardware store. Wayne opened the store in the morning, making coffee that sat in a pot near the register for any who cared. I cared. When Cedar Key got the Weather Channel, Wayne had it on all the time. The hardware store was the gathering place for fishermen, the place to get ice, block or crushed, bait, snacks, supplies, and most importantly, information.

Wayne knew the weather. He knew the fishing reports, originating some himself. When the guys came back in later in the day, he was there to get stories and, maybe, to take some pictures; the wall was covered with them.

The Cedar Key Beacon asked him to write a fishing column, so he did. I remember that column. It was pretty authentic. He ended the column, "And remember sometime this week, take a kid fishin`."

Wayne was a single parent raising children and paying off debts, so he took on part-time work for the Cedar Key Police Department. He got nighttime shifts. One night Anne`s car was sideswiped by a couple in a pickup doing a little horseplay - a circle turn in an intersection. Wayne came to investigate and write up the report. Chief Walker jumped on Wayne for signing the report.

One night while on patrol alone, Wayne got a call about a fight on D Street between Annie`s and the Methodist Church. He went to check it out and when he saw the crowd, he called the County Sheriff for backup. He waded into the crowd feeling alone but doing what he had to do.

It seems that the Chiefland kids had come to rumble with the Cedar Key kids - I think over a dating incident. When Wayne got to the middle of the group, a couple guys and a whole lot of girls were in a melee in the middle of the road, pulling hair, exchanging punches, and all that goes with that.

When Wayne had the situation pretty much in control, back up arrived and secured Number Four Bridge. Then they came in to town and secured Annie`s Bridge. No one left town `till the investigation was over. I don`t remember the outcome, but I am told that several adults were there, in the background, should Wayne need assistance. He stood up to the crowd and kept things under control.

Wayne and his kids eventually moved to the Tampa area. He knew he could make more money there and still have a lot of time available for his children.

I saw him on Dock Street several days back. He still looks the same. He was in town to do some fishing with "the kids." We talked a while about that different era, his fishing column and his concerns about leaving Cedar Key.

And still today I remember his desire that parents raise their children well, so..."this week, take a kid fishin`."