The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Moderator Appreciation Day

UPDATE -- Charlie Hardin, our friend and moderator, has finished his battle with cancer.

Charles Vernon Hardin


We have a great group of volunteers and helpers and supporters who keep this site successful. None of whom contribute more as do the moderators.

I'd like to take a few days to show our appreciation for everything our moderators do, for nothing more than a "thank you" every now and then.

All of our moderators are tremendous. But to to begin with, I'd like to shine a little light of recognition on one moderator in particular who long ago took on a big, giant PITA, a thankless job with long hours and a certain amount of abuse, who took a wild west town and turned it into a smooth running yuppie utopia (I'm waxing metaphorical here, gang). Who long and faithfully discharged the duties of the office to which appointed, who well and faithfully has upheld the highest ideals and traditions of the knowledge sharing standards of Stovebolt.com. Who has completely and definitively defined the role of moderator

I am, of course, talking about my friend, brother and fellow Stovebolter, Mr Charlie "Cletis" Hardin.

Cletis, Peggy and I couldn't be more pleased with how you have turned this forum into the smoothest running, least worrisome forum on Stovebolt (considering the wanton destruction it previously cause ... ). The cool, even handed way you carry out the duties of moderator of the toughest forum on Stovebolt ... and make it look easy. It has truly become a model for this, and other web sites.

Well, it reminds me of a certain evening not so long ago in old Ft. Worth. After a nice evening of dinner and walking around the historic stockyards... and then watching you deal coolly and effectively with a Texas street gang ... it was that same evenly balanced sense of right and fairness, with a sinewy toughness and willingness to "git 'r dun" that I've seen at work many times here on the 'Bolt that quickly defused a potentially bad evening into a decent sea story. You, Sir, are the Real Deal. The Man. And not too shabby of a guitar player (from one who is characterized, and rightfully so, as one heck of a shabby guitar player )

It has been a rare honor and privilege to know you as a friend. Thank you very much for your accomplishments and contributions to this web site and know that the lives of many are all the more enriched because of the efforts you've made here and elsewhere.

Thank you for being a friend to all of us.

We love you, my Brother.

Anyone else willing to share a Cletis testimonial on this special Moderator appreciation Day??

Step right up, don't be afraid, the mic won't bite...

I don't have a good Cletis story, but I do want to join John and give a huge thank you to all that you moderators do. You are much appreciated. Good judgement and keeping us focused on the trucks. Well done !

I have a good Cletis/Charlie story, but my memory is dimmed by time and by drink (not imbibed by Charlie).

In Kansas, several/many, years ago. Charlie provided musical accompaniment to a tornado at an ATHS national gathering in Kansas. Charlie/Cletis played-on with great music as we waited for the tornado to move on.

I consider Charlie a good friend. He has made the trip to my home town a couple of times for one of our local car related festivities and of course brought along his lovely wife June. He even managed to tow along a couple more of the Texas Connection. This hobby of ours is one of his great passions in life and he deals with all of us rowdy grouchy old and no so old Bolters with a fair and even hand. Thanks Cletis for all you do and for your friendship.🛠

Charlie and June are great people and we consider them friends for life.
Vicki and I have been around them a few times at the Reunion and really enjoyed their thoughtfulness and caring personalities.
Charlie and June.
http://s160.photobucket.com/user/st...202011/DSC_0103.jpg.html?sort=6&o=45
A big thanks to the both of them, by keeping the Spoon under control and not like most other forums out there.
The civil and regimented way this site is moderated, has kept me coming back for years.

Also a big thanks to John and Peggy for starting this movement.
Keeping it a respectful place to share thoughts and knowledge.
Peggy and John, two other friends for life.
http://s160.photobucket.com/user/st...%202011/pic072.jpg.html?sort=6&o=153

And there are many others due to this great site.
Don & Vicki King

One of my memories of Cletis is a certain restaurant in Fort Worth, when Cletis, June, John and I ate mountain oysters. (For you city folks, them are bulls testicles). That and his driving to the Kansas show in his pickup truck.

I think he played guitar one night out by the pool at the motel, but at my age, memories are less firm than they once were.

Anyway, Cletis, here's to you. A true Stovebolter for life.

I remember one year I was hard up for a steering column. There was one in Texas somewhere but, being in Canada was too far for me. Sure enough, Cletis brought it up with him to Kansas City where we met up.
The other thing about him is he tells it like it is. Lots of knowledge, especially GMCs, I don't recall ever getting incorrect info from him.
Not afraid of long road trips either. Good on you Cletis.

Gosh Guys, y'all are making me blush. Thanks for the praise.

Dang Charlie, ya got a fan club.

Thanks for all you've done and continue to do for the 'Bolt Cletis, you're the man!

How about a link to one of your guitar performances?

You guys run the best darn Chevy Truck site, period.
I tell everyone with an old stovebolt to check it out.
Thanks for being here!

Thanks Tim for the links!
I knew Charlie was good.
But the vids, let Vicki and I see another side of Him and June.

Okay Charlie, I'm calling you out.
Play with the band at the Reunion!

Don and Vicki King

Maybe we need to find a way to get Cletus out to homecoming next year for a big thank you!

Don, remember that one year when Cletis *WAS* the band at the reunion? Well, at the American Inn poolside Lounge, anyway. He even had backup singers. "Cletis and the 'Bolts" The backup singers were Mongo and I .... and Leo and Rusty Rod, Rusty 64, Mo2Cyl ... Baldeagle was our stage manager, and all the drunks at the bar were the groupies. You were probably in on that, too. June and Peggy were working the crowd with the hat. They got almost a dollar!

Yes John, I do!
That was my first time meeting the gang in 2009.
That was also the time that the killer whales were circling us and waiting for a groupie to stray a little, then attack.

Don

With all due respect, shouldn't this topic be moved to the Greasy Spoon, cletis?! Come on man, you're slipping...

If anyone other than the boss had posted it, it would have already been moved. But if the boss wants it here, it stays.

I'm really enjoying this. I didn't realize I'm a legend in my own time.

Charlie, some members have not liked your adherence to forum rules. You have set an example of consistency and fairness. Other moderators try to emulate your strictness - keep it up.

Thanks to Cletis and ALL the moderators and to John and Peggy for a great site. Whenever I post, I repeat to myself, "Please be in the right forum, please be in the right forum." Cletis and others have a tough job and they do it very well and with no nonsense Maybe, Cletis, like Ronnie Hawkins, a legend in your spare time?

A legend in your spare time....I like that. What Charlie, and all the people who volunteer to help with Stovebolt, has/have done is immeasurable. The site wouldn't be what it is without the help of every volunteer.

In case you're wondering what impact this site has, here's the stats for April 2017:


 

Hits		Bytes		Visits		Page Views
12,174,305		112,925,949,915		185,743		9,917,785

113 billion bytes is over 105 Gigabytes of monthly data

Couldn't agree more!!
Check out my "why did you register" post in the 'spoon.
You'll read that I never bothered looking for other pre-'73 Chevy/GM sites after I found this one.
All Hail the Stovebolt Staff!

Thanks to all the moderators. This is the one site that I go to for any and all things "stovebolt." I've had some post moved but always in a nice way. So I say to you all, great job. By the way this is the only site that I go to. I have really been helped. Thank you.

Sometimes I get mad as a wet hen when my, or other's posts get bounced around, but without the moderators (even cletis ), this site would be a total mess from just what I personally try to pull on here.
Carl

So now those of you who were scratching your heads and thinking it was rather odd that I started a thread like this "out of the blue." Well, it wasn't out of the blue, but most of you couldn't have known that. A few days previously, Cletis had given us the latest report and that he figured it wouldn't be too much longer. Well, I got fairly depressed about it for a bit and thought about how after someone dies, we all sit around and share stories and say things that, in retrospect, it would have been nice to have said to a friend while they were still around to hear it. So without letting too many cats out of the bag, that's what I tried to do -- get folks to share some nice thoughts that Cletis could read to see how much we all truly cared for him and valued his friendship and support. I think we did that, so thanks to all who chimed in. I think it meant something to him.

Thank you, Charlie, and God Speed. See you in Glory Land, my brother.