ARLINGTON "BLUE" NETTLES, son of ELBERT SOLOMON NETTLES, has fond memories of
growing up in Charlton County, Georgia during the late 1940's. He remembers all too well what the young people did for
entertainment.
When asked, "How did you get the nickname BLUE?" Arlington begins to reminisce back to a time
when life was much simpler. When there were no video games, no computers and no MTV.
He recalls the times when he and his childhood buddies, ED LLOYD and JAMES PRESCOTT gathered at
various spots in the neighborhood, and street boxed. What started out as good clean fun between friends,
soon became so popular, that everybody wanted a piece of the action.
Pretty soon Arlington was boxing every weekend and he got to be fairly good at it. Opponents from little
towns nearby wanted to try their luck with the good ole boy from "Charlton County" and invited him to their town. Arlington, always
ready to meet a challenge, put on his best blue outfit (which is how he got his nickname BLUE ) and headed out to face the
fight. He traveled to Waycross, Nahunta, Hickox, Blackshear and Hilliard, more times than he could count. Where ever he went,
he made a name for himself because his punches busted quite a few noses.
"There's only a few people that ever got to bust my nose and make it bleed," he chuckles.
When asked how he got started with boxing in the first place, Arlington replies,"Jimmy Nettles gave
me an old pair of boxing gloves that he had and I put them to good use."
When the Charlton County Boys weren't boxing, they were typical country boys. They managed ever now and
then to sneek off to the river, do a little fishing and maybe set out a trout line or two. But then......that's another
story!
