Happy 106th Birthday Charlie Barcio

Happy 106th Birthday Charlie Barcio

By Michael A. Aun, Special Columnist to St. Cloud In The News
http://www.aunline.com/


He is a modest man that has accomplished something that few others ever have. He turns 106 years old on March 22, 2010. Happy birthday Charlie Barcio!

There is a Chinese proverb that says, “The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.” That might be a good way to describe the challenges that this centenarian has faced.



Three years after his birth in 1904 in Erie, PA., Charles Barcio’s father died. His widowed mother faced the hardship of supporting a family, and the only work she could find was as a cook. She had no choice; she put Charlie in an orphanage. At least there he could be fed and clothed.

Charlie’s grandparents protested and after a year they took young Charlie in to live with them, making him the tenth child under one roof. Charlie’s mom married again and after three years they moved with him to Rochester, NY where they lived for the next five years.

Charlie and his mom moved back to Erie, PA, the place of his birth, where they resided on a farm while he attended school. Though only a child, he worked part time as a gardener and a handyman, saving 100% of his wages during a summer vacation. The $75 he earned over those three months bought him his first set of wheels, a brand new bicycle.

After graduating from high school, Charlie worked for Burke Electric Company. The company saw his potential and urged him to pursue electrical engineering. He later worked for Edison Electric.

Charlie’s first wife, Winnie, was his best friend’s sister. They had a daughter and two sons, one of whom was killed in 1944 in World War II. His father-in-law sold him his first parcel of land and he built his own home, all of this during the Great Depression.

Charlie was always well liked and had many friends, as is the case today. Every Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. Mass, dozens of well wishers drop by to shake his hand and wish him the best at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in St. Cloud, Florida.

It was friends like those that brought him their cars for him to fix back during the Great Depression. This motivated him to enter the auto repair and mechanic field. He furthered his education by taking courses in St. Louis, MO. What started as an avocation became a full time business for him and it blossomed into a very successful business.

He decided to build his own garage but money was scarce. It was not uncommon for folks to barter in those days for goods and services. For instance, he negotiated an agreement with Scriber Lumber Company for building materials in exchange for gasoline that he sold out of his new garage and gas station, all done by a gentlemen’s agreement… just a handshake. “In those days, your word was good enough,” said the jovial Barcio.

In no time at all, it was clear that the gas station proved to be too small and he needed more garage space. As business increased, he hired 13 employees.

In small towns across America, all fire departments were volunteer. Charlie was one of the founders of West Lake Fire Department and later became Assistant Fire Chief and later Chief. He was also State Fire Instructor for Pennsylvania and a First Aid Instructor for the Red Cross.

A devout Catholic all of his life, Charlie was one of five men to start and build St. Julia’s Catholic Church in Erie, PA. He might have been a mechanic by profession but he could just have easily been a broadcaster. He articulately narrated Mass on radio station WLEU for 32 years.

While operating his garage business, one of his contacts, who had a Kaiser-Frazer franchise, asked him to take the West Erie district dealership. Kaiser-Frazer later closed its doors and Charlie became a Ford Dealership.

Charlie was an entrepreneur before that was even a word. He furthered his business by installing and maintaining coin-operated dry cleaning machines that service the majority of Pennsylvania.
Never one to shy away from challenges, he also took on the Presidency of Millcreek Chamber of Commerce and Commodore of the Presque Isle Yacht Club.

Charlie moved to Florida in 1972 and quickly became the go-to maintenance guy for Father William Corry at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Sharpes, Florida near Cocoa. He actually installed the ornate wall that is the background behind the altar.

In 1990, Charlie moved to St. Cloud, Florida with his second wife, Dorie, who was also widowed. Her late husband, Don Fry, was one of Charlie’s closest friends. They were wed in 1990. The day they arrived, Father Fabian Gimeno called on him to help with the maintenance duties of St. Thomas Aquinas, a job he held for 14 years. At the age of nearly 100, the insurance company that provided coverage for the church said “no more.” He was forced to retire in 2004.

Now six years later, Charlie remains active in the church and maintains a daily exercise regimen that includes 6-8 miles on a bicycle, weather permitting. An active Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus, Charlie still stands outside of stores handing out Tootsie Rolls to raise money for exceptional children.