Melvin Crivellari
Midi: Auld Lang Syne
Many fond memories of our college years at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa are contained in pictures, letters and clear images in our minds eye. The following pictures hold special significance to me because of our friendship.
Melvin has just returned from a trig final exam and was trying to relax. Everyone in the dorm liked Melvin and they were rushing into his room to see how he had done on his exam. Melvin, in a polite way is asking everyone to leave his room.
Melvin is not in this picture. He has just left the room. Some of his poker buddies are admiring his winnings, which were enough to purchase a months worth of food at Pugs Cafeteria which was located on University Avenue and what is now Bear Bryant Blvd.
This picture represents the only time which I beat Melvin at fishing. Most of the time Melvin caught the limit. Once he accidentally dropped a hook with no bait into the water and caught a whopper.
Bowling Memories
Melvin was an accomplished bowler when we first met and I had just begun the sport. We met at the old King Bowling Lane, which was on Government Street in downtown Mobile, Alabama. He offered to help me improve and our friendship began. Over the course of several years my top score had risen to 157 and he and other excellent bowlers asked me to be on a team as a substitute in league play. Open lanes were available for practice and each member of the team worked with me until I was able to deliver a consistent hook to the strike pocket. About mid way through the league play, I was called upon to be a team member. We finished first in league play that year. My average had increased to 194, but was low average on the team. Melvin was awarded top average with a 264 and had high game of 286. Not many people of Melvin's caliber would take the time to teach a novice the art and sport of bowling and for his help, encouragement and pats on the back I will be eternally grateful.
Hunting Memories
Two fond memories still stick in my mind, the first of which involved my father, Melvin and myself. We talked my father into taking us to Mr. Red Rollins farm, only to realize that the day we were to go hunting was the Alabama and Auburn football game week-end. We tried to back out and reschedule the hunt, but my father insisted that we continue with our plans and have no radio's present.
After several hours of quail hunting and a few bagged, we spread out on a high knoll, with Melvin heading toward the most heavily wooded area. We lost sight of Melvin and then saw about forty or so quail scatter. Melvin had not fired a shot. When we reached him, he was sitting on the ground with his head on his knees. My father asked him was he all right and why didn't he fire a shot. Melvin replied that he had accidentally slipped his chap stick into the shotgun chamber. Future hunting trips would evoke a comment from my father to Melvin, "give me your chap sticks."
My second hunting memory with Melvin was the first time we had gone duck hunting. We took a row boat from Dead Lake, in Creola, Alabama and were heading to the Mobile River Delta, when we saw a snake winding it's way around a tree toward a wood duck house. Melvin fired his shot gun, the boat rolled over, we got soaking wet, lost all of our gear and our wife's would not believe our tale.
Fishing Memories
There are so many fishing memories, finding one which stands out was hard until I found my laughing place. We had set out one bitter winter morning to fish for speckled trout. After navigating Middle Deer River for about two hours, only to find the water getting shallow and shallower, with no place to turn around. We stopped under a bridge to get our bearings. After starting the trolling motor, we found that the prop sheer pin had broken and the prop had fallen to the bottom of the river. We took turns diving into the cold, cold water until the prop was retrieved and we headed home. No fish, soaking wet, cold and a little too much anti freeze. Another tale our wife's would not believe.
College Memories
Panty raids were common when we were in college. One spring night in 1958, which was the Bear's first year at Bama, word spread rapidly through the men's dorms that a "raid" was in progress. Melvin and I ran toward University Avenue and the women's dorm's only to find that the police were dispersing the crowd. We turned around to head back toward the dorm and ran like heck. The next morning our door burst open and several dorm buddies gave us the morning edition of the Birmingham News. On the Front page was a picture of Melvin and myself with the caption "Leaders of Campus Panty Raid." Later that day on the way to classes, Dean Blackburn stopped us in front of Bidgood Hall and said that he thought he recognized us and asked, "where were you last night during the panty raid?" We replied - bowling! Neither of us thought we would ever graduate.
The Jubilee
Those who are not familiar with the Mobile Bay Area which stretches from Fairhope to Point Clear in Baldwin county in Alabama, may not have heard the word "jubilee" This is a natural phenomenon, which occurs along the Baldwin County coast line of Mobile Bay and in Venezuela. Bottom feeders - crabs, flounder and shrimp, for some unexplained reason are left "dazed" and make their way to the coast line, where they are an easy catch.
In the summer of 1958, Melvin called to say that a "jubilee" was expected that night. I loaded every tub and container that I could lay my hands on and met Melvin at his home and we arrived at Fairhope shortly before midnight. We traveled back and forth from Fairhope to Point Clear in search of the "jubilee" and at 2 am, while at Battles Warf, a father and his son arrived to say that they too were looking for the "jubilee." We returned to Montrose and as we arrived, the crabs, in great number were coming onto the shore line. For about two hours we gathered crabs until every container was filled. We returned to Melvin's home, built a fire, boiled our crabs, stuffed them into empty milk cartons, and placed them in the Crivellari freezer. Our catch totaled twelve dozen and four crabs.
The morning edition of the Mobile Press Register, the day after the "jubilee" had a picture of a father and his son, who had caught hundreds of flounder at Battles Warf.