When Harry Met: Danny Autwell, the teen-age water tower climber
This is an unbelievable story, a whopper. One that could not have been told by the perpetrator, at least not admitting as the one who did it. Remember the famous Red Skelton skits about a “bad little boy” who said, “If I do it, (pesky laugh), I’m gonna get a whipping! … (heh heh, heh heh) “I DOOD IT!”
Danny Autwell is an almost 74 years old U.S. Army veteran. After finishing his schooling, he served our country with time in Vietnam, came home to a career as an electrician, married beautiful Vickie (she passed away not long ago), they raised a family and became grandparents.
He has the time now, it seems, that in his “old age” to have the time for feeling a few pains of guilt from his teenage years (Ha, ha).
I am quite certain that he feels the statute of limitations (ha, ha) is way past his receiving family (or city) punishment, so it’s time to “come clean” about this one deed. At least, the one Autwell recently wrote about on his internet page. If you missed it, read on for Danny Autwell’s “confession” in his own words:
The Water Tower (My Story)
"(But first, A description of the area)
"North Gadsden Alabama community area. This water tower has been there as long as I can remember. I live close to it, just down the hill a ways; I can see it from my back porch.
"When I was 15 years old, roaming the hills and woods around this community back in the mid-60's, my paths would often be walking by, or near the 100-foot-tall water tower. Sometimes, I would be alone, other times with friends.
"It was like a shortcut to walking on towards Shinbone Ridge.
"We would walk by the old FOP Lodge, the lake below, too. There were entrances to old iron mines along the ridge, where one of those went back into the center of the ridge itself.
"It had a large concreate room on four sides, and the top as well. We enjoyed going into this place a lot.
"On top of the ridge, there were many air shafts that had caved in, and none went down, but maybe 10 to 15 feet. I even camped out on top of the ridge before, in my tent I had then, too.
"I loved that ridge, a huge playground to explore for miles around both ways. We would take the long hike down into Owl’s Hollow to an abandoned construction site where a quarry had been in operation many years ago.
"On the back side of the mountain, above the quarry and toward the west, there were two large boulder rocks. One was laying on an angle on top of the lower one, thus making it like a room underneath it. People long ago had stacked rocks on the sides to close it off. A cool place for kids to hang out in our hikes. We invented an urban legend that this room was the home of a hermit who lived there.
"We called him 'The Lard Man.' Our fabricated story was that he would break into local homes to steal their gallon cans of lard and eat it. Ha!
"Well, back to the Water Tower Story
"Every time we walked by the 10-story tall water tower, I would look up at the top, fascinated by how tall it was, and begin to think that someday, I was going to climb it.
"Unlike current years, there were NO fence around the tower in the 1960s. I It was just open space where one such as me could walk right up to it. Lo and behold! You could easily begin to climb.
"That is just what I did one day when I was alone and no one else was around. It’s a 'tuff' climb to say the least, even for a 15-years-old boy. Nevertheless, I made it to the walking railing platform around the tower’s barrel.
"Man, did I have a view! A view that few would ever see. Being that high above ground was an awesome time as I looked around from every viewpoint.
"Then, there is another ladder that reaches from the barrel platform catwalk that goes all the way to the top. This is where there is another metal cover bowl, I call the 'Hump,' was at the very top of the tower.
"I climbed that ladder, then to that Hump, and I stood on top of it as high as I could go. Then I looked up to the clouds, opened my arms out wide up to the sky, and heavens above, standing on top of the world, I was excited to say the least. I did it!
"I climbed back down to the ground feeling like a wild-eyed kid that had done something awesome, the only thing is that no one had seen me do that. So, I have no one to say they had seen me climb the tower and give proof that I had done so. But it’s OK, I know what I did, and I climbed the water tower, and that’s all that matters to me.
"Now, nearly 74 years old, and looking back almost six decades ago, when I recall that tower climb, I realize now, more than ever, I find what I did was insanely STUPID! I had slipped when I stood on the Hump… well, AS we all know, y’all would not be reading this right now, would ya?
"But I lived to tell my story 57 years later, and I had a chance in my memories to relived my hikes to the old mine, and the Brick Yard, and of course the climb of a life time, of standing tall, on top of Danny's world ... the World at the North Gadsden Water Tower."
Danny Autwell’ s story reprinted with his permission.
P.S. Autwell said that being on top of the Gadsden tower was nothing like the water tower shown in the TV show “Petticoat Junction.”
Harry D. Butler, a former broadcaster, is a motivational speaker and author of “Alabama’s First Radio Stations, 1920-1960.” Butler periodically sits down with someone of note, then brings the conversation to readers.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Harry Butler on Danny Autwell, the teenage water tower climber
