Born in Muldrow, educated in Fort Smith Public Schools, and moving to Los Angeles after service in World War I, Charles Winchester Breedlove seems like he may have been a quintessential renaissance man of the early 20th century.
Breedlove, who was born in Fort Smith in November of 1898 according to death and burial records, was the son of John Breedlove and Carrie Bruton Breedlove. It appears the Breedlove's may have been a semi-prominent family in Sequoyah County and both his parents are buried in the Muldrow Memory Garden Cemetery along with other siblings and family members.
His, father, John Washington Breedlove, was thought to have been born in the state of Tennessee and his mother was born in Clarksville in 1858. Charles appears to have been the last born of 12 sons and daughters produced by the union of John and Caroline (Cari).
Although no records exist showing that the family ever lived in Fort Smith, Charles graduated from Fort Smith High School in 19 17.
Shortly after graduation he enlisted in the US Marine Corps in June, 1917 and was immediately assigned to officer training school in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Commissioned as a second lieutenant he was injured in action during the war and spent six months in the Walter ReedHospital in Bethesda, Maryland recovering from his injuries.
Breedlove was also diagnosed with severe heart problems at that time and was given a diagnosis of a short life expectancy from the attending doctors.
It appears he made the best of the years he had remaining.
He was given a medical discharge in July, 1919 and one month later he moved to Los Angeles where he married Esther Egan at the age of 21.
Two children were born of that marriage, Cigna and June, and in early 1920 Charles landed a job at Metro Golden Studios where he spent the next ten years acting as an extra and working as an assistant director in motion pictures. In 1929 he was given an opportunity to move to Duluth, Minnesota where he directed play revivals for a Little Theater group for six months.
Educational Studio, one of the leading manufacturers of educational films and film strips for public schools across the country, offered him a job in late 1929, and he went to China where he produced a series of those type of films.
After his sojourn to China, he was returned to Los Angeles by the company and was one of the lead directors for the studio for the next three years.
He also became involved in municipal politics, and was elected as the 11th District council member representing the West Side and Palm areas stretching from the ocean as far east as LaBrea Avenue. The family lived in a spacious adobe bungalow that still stands at the corner of Chesapeake Avenue and 30th Street in the Palms District of Los Angeles.
Self-identified as an "outspoken liberal who was never in doubt about where he stood or reluctant to make it known" he swept to victory over the incumbent council member by over 2000 votes.
His short time in office was not without controversy. Supporters of the man he defeated for the office immediately challenged Breedlove's residency eligibility to hold the spot on the city council. During testimony in the trial, Breedlove went through the timeline of his moves after leaving the service, where the only stickling point being that his passport listed "Muldrow, Oklahoma" as his hometown.
The judge ruled in his favor. During his short stint in office he attempted to make 'tango card"games being run in Venice Beach legal and subject to taxation. He also opposed the city council decision to outlaw the West Coast fad of walkathons within the city of Los Angeles.
On the afternoon of April 26, 1934, Breedlove had returned to his home on Chesapeake Avenue when he suffered what was termed a mild heart attack. Before medical personnel could arrive at the home he suffered a second, more severe heart attack and died in the dining room of the home.
His funeral service was held at the patriotic Hall (now known as the Bob Hope patriotic hall) on South Figueroa Street in Los Angeles. He was married with pool military honors and more than 1,000 mourners attended the ceremony before his burial at Rosedale cemetery.
His wife Esther would remarry to Al Fishburn and live to the age of 61 when she passed away in San Diego.
