Stone Gardens: Huckleberry B. Shell - July 17, 1885 - June 19, 1958

Huckleberry B. Shell.

Just the name alone would be enough to whet the appetite of and draw interest from the curious.

Throw in the facts that the Adair County native attended the Carlilse Indian School in Pennsylvania, fought in WWI where he earned a Purple Heart and Silver Starr, and returned to the states for a career in law enforcement that included a one-term stint as the only full-blooded Cherokee to serve as sheriff of Sequoyah County, and the story tells itself.

Born on July 17, 1895, Huckleberry was the son of Sam and Lucy Shell, both original members of the Dawes Rolls who lived in Adair County just a few miles southeast of Stillwell in the community of Bell. His mother died around 1811 when Huckleberry was about fifteen and for some reason he ended up as a ward of his uncle, a wealthy merchant named W,P. Fay of Stillwell.

As was the practice of the time, many Cherokee boys and girls, especially those whose families could afford the subscription, were sent to boarding schools, the most famous of which at the time was the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. Three years before Huckleberry entered the school i n 1914, the legendary Jim Thorpe had left the school in pursuit of Olympic, and later professional, excellence.

"Huck" was only at the trade school for three years, and not continuously. Records indicate he went home at least twice for summer vacations and there was an incident in 2014 in which a number of the "Oklahoma boys: were sent home after incidents of "drinking and involvement with girls of ill-repute" on the street corners of Carlilse. He was reinstated the following year after the superintendent was convinced of his change of attitude.

A few years later, Shell and three of his Carlisle classmates, fueled by the echoes of WWI, walked into a Pennsyvania Army recruiter office and signed up ahead of the draft. After a stint at Fort Harrison in Indianapolis he was assigned to Company D of the 28th Infantry and sent to France.

Huckleberry was part of expeditionary forces the following year in what became known as the Oise-Aine Offensive, which lasted from mid-August through September 1 in central France.

The communities of Fismes and Fisette were devastated during he fighting as extreme violence and street fighting occurred, as well as the presence of storm trooper attacks and flame throwers.

Fismes would be lost and won again five times by the Allied forces in the thirteen-day period.

During the fighting, Huckleberry ended up as a "slightly wounded" casualty on the monthly list released by General "Blackjack" Pershing. Local hometown newspapers were publishing any and all news from the front, including correspondence from soldiers back to home.

On September 7, the Stillwell newapaper carried a short article after the Fay family share a letter they received in early September from Huckleberry.

"I've been wounded in the leg, but I got several Germans before I was put out" wrote the soldier. The article said he had "gone over the top three times" before receiving the wound that sent him to the hospital and that he was anxious to get back on the firing line "for revenge" .

For his war effort, he received a Purple Heart, a Silver Star, and a WWI Victory Medal. He was honorably discharged from the Army and returned home to Adair County the following year.

Huckleberry returned to Stillwell and worked at his uncle's business, The Alley Store, for a few months and spent time on road construction before a call to law enforcement found him back in uniform.

He was originally hired as a jailer and dispatcher for Adair County and later worked as a deputy sheriff of the county. At some point he moved to the then vibrant community of Marble City, north of Sallisaw, which had a handful of stores, churches, a movie theater, a post office, two cafes, a blacksmith shop, a “beer joint” and a railroad depot.

In 1953, Huckleberry was elected sheriff. EW Floyd, the brother of the late Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd was sheriff from 195o-53 and 1955-1970, with Huckleberry holding the office in-between. In addition to his stint as Sheriff, he also worked as a Stillwell police officer.

As town marshal before and after being Sequoyah County’s sheriff, Shell seldom carried a gun, The barrel-chested Shell had more than his share of encounters with hard cases and always came out on top, despite a "quiet and gentle" nature, according to those who knew him.

Huckleberry died June 19, 1958, at the age of 63. His funeral was held at the Marble City Baptist Church, and he was buried in the Salem Cemetery near Stilwell. He left behind two sons, two daughters, brothers and sisters, and twelve grandchildren.