What does an 84 year-old man do after he has sailed around the world twice, raised six kids, and worked for General Motors for 30 years? He buys a motorcycle.
‘I got bored, sitting on my butt. I haven’t played golf in three years,? said Charles Wallace, Springfield Township resident. ‘I used to play six days a week.?
After being in the hospital a few times for two hips and two knee replacements, Wallace said he developed ‘seatitis? and ‘televisionitis,? so he decided he wanted a motorcycle.
‘People say: ‘Oh you can’t do that you’re too old? I’m not too old for anything,? he said.
While being a young father motorcycles were a ‘no, no? both for him and his kids.
‘I told my kids if I catch you on a motorcycle I’ll whap your butts,? said Wallace. ‘I wouldn’t ride a motorcycle back then either, I had six kids, if I died who in the heck was going to take care of them??
Wallace recently bought a used Yamaha Royal Venture with only 600 miles on it. His first time on a bike was two months ago.
‘I’ve become very good at it,? he said. ‘I passed both the written and the driving test the first time.?
Driving a car and driving a bike are two different things he noted.
‘You can fluff off 50 percent in a car, you don’t fluff off on a bike,? said Wallace. ‘You watch where you’re at, how far you’re back, whose pulling off to the sides, who’s pulling off the left or the right to get onto the road, you watch every hook and everything that’s going on. It’s the only way you can be safe.?
Wallace spent much of his life living on the water. He was a Merchant Marine from 1943-1948 during World War II.
Prior to becoming a Merchant Marine, he applied for the Air Corp, but was denied due to his height because he wouldn’t fit in an airplane and having one bad eye. Then, he tried for the Navy, but had to have surgery for a Hernia. One night at a local theater with his girlfriend he saw a picture of a ship, which is the reason he joined the Merchant Marines.
‘I looked at my girlfriend and said ‘gee that looks like fun, I’d like to get on that,? he said. ‘I didn’t know how dangerous it was, but I always knew I had a clean bed. Most people don’t realize it but out five sailors three die during World War II. I was a lucky one.?
He started out in the ‘Black Gang? when he first started sailing, which is part of the ships crew that works in the boiler room and eventually worked his way up getting his Third Engineer License, putting him in charge of the ship’s auxiliaries. Two years later he acquired his Second Engineering License, which put him in charge of the boiler room, and later he achieved his First Engineering License, putting him in charge of the Engine room.
‘The high point of my life was becoming an engineer. I was proud of that,? said Wallace. ‘You don’t see many boys come out of that high school and know where they are going and what they’re going to become.?
Wallace was born in 1924 in Detroit graduated from Cooley High School. He went on to various schools in the Maritime Service.
‘That’s the way I became an engineer, thank the dear Lord,? he said. ‘As I will say, the government gave me a million dollar education.?
After the Merchant Marines he went on to sail the Great Lakes aboard ‘The Greater Detroit? steam ship.
‘I worked six months, and got paid for nine months,? he said.
He retired from the sailor life in 1953.
‘I can’t believe how many ports I have been in and how many places I’ve been,? Wallace said. ‘Been to India, Calcutta, Bombay, all North Africa, Germany, France, Gibralter. You name ‘um I’ve been there.?
Of all the places he has traveled in and out of the United States his favorite is Lake Tahoe located between Nevada and California.
‘Tahoe most beautiful place I’ve ever been,? said Wallace. ‘The way the snow lays on the trees makes everything just gorgeous.?
He went on to work for Kaiser Frazer as a stationary engineer.
‘They called me Captain Midnight,? Wallace said. ‘I wouldn’t let them sleep no more.?
After a year, he was laid off.
‘General Motors wanted me to go to Toledo and work for the engineer group building Jeeps and that. I said ‘no,? he said. ‘I went to work for General Motors to build a power plant over in Livonia. It was a spring and bumper plant, largest plating plant in the world.?
He was transferred to Pontiac Fisher Body after three years.
‘We used to burn 300,000 to 400,000 tons of coal a year,? noted Wallace. ‘Three years later made superintendent of the maintenance department in plant engineering 500 people working for me building automobiles.?
Wallace says he enjoyed what he did.
‘I had a lot of respect, many engineers from all over the country worked for me,? he said. ‘That I trained as chief engineers.?
Wallace said he was also given $55 million dollars to put in a generating plant at Pontiac Motors.
‘President of Pontiac Motors told me ‘Charlie Wallace, I don’t know how you got that money, but you enjoy spending it,?? he said. ? I did.?
He and his former wife of 30 years, Beatrice, raised six children, Charles, Barbra, Susan, Mary Joe, Michael, and Elizabeth.
‘They were good kids, and all have gone on to become successful,? said Wallace.
Though he retired as a sailor in 1953, he enjoyed waterskiing with his kids in Silver Lake.
‘I used to give them five to ten bucks a day to gas up the boat, so they would keep out of trouble, run around and ski.?
He owned a 24 footer boat, then a 32 footer and eventually moved up to a 40 footer.
In 1980 he remarried to his current wife of 28 years, Sally.
‘She is a super, super lady,? he said. ‘She is 18 years younger than I am. It’s kept me kind of young too.?
Wallace also has 10 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
‘I’ve been at the right place at the right time all my life,? said Wallace, ‘I’ve lived a good life and done a lot of things.?