Profile on Longevity – ‘Tickle’ Thompson
James Earl Thompson – for years known as “Tickle” Thompson – was born in Guston on Oct. 16, 1918. He was the second child born to Joseph Albert “Jodie” Thompson and Eva (Ritchie) Thompson, who had a total of eight children – five sons and three daughters. The oldest child – a daughter – died at the age of 2 before Tickle was born. When he was 12 years old, the name Tickle was bestowed upon James by Braxton Allen, the first cousin of “Slug” Applegate. Tickle laughed a lot and was a happy young boy, so the name was appropriate and stuck throughout the years. Jodie Thompson held different jobs during his lifetime: Meade County jailer, state representative and owner of King’s Cleaners in Brandenburg. When he served as jailer, said Tickle, the Thompson family lived on the second floor of the old jail on Main Street. The Thompson family lived primarily in Garrett, although the family moved to Louisville for a short time in between. Tickle attended school at Garrett, St. Charles Barromeo in Louisville, and Blackjack, as well as Meade County High School. After high school, Tickle attended Louisville Radio and Color Television School. At the age of 21, Tickle married 18-year-old Minnie Helena Manning. She worked for her sister in a restaurant on Main Street in Brandenburg, which is where Tickle met her. When Tickle and Minnie were first married, Tickle was employed in the communication department of the U.S. Army Armor School at Fort Knox. Yet soon after, Tickle enlisted in the U.S. Navy. His boot camp was at the Great Lakes Training and Reception Center in Illinois. From there, he was sent to Hedron Fleet Air Wing 12 Naval Air Station in Key West, Fla. He completed his 26 months of military service in Grosse Ile, Mich., and then returned home to Meade County. Tickle and Minnie had one child, Joyce Ann. Joy Mangin Self lives in Brandenburg. She gave Tickle and Minnie four grandkids, who have in turn produced five great-grandchildren thus far. Upon his return home from the Navy, Tickle was employed once again in the communication department at Fort Knox, where he was considered a valuable employee whose many “adopted suggestions” provided him with some monetary bonuses but, more importantly, saved the military money and helped the communication department to run more smoothly and efficiently. Tickle retired from Fort Knox after 31 years of service. In addition to his job at Fort Knox, Tickle also owned and operated a radio and TV shop in Brandenburg and for a number of years owned a cattle farm four miles outside of Brandenburg. On April 4, 1974, when the F-5 tornado came through Brandenburg, it destroyed the Thompsons’ home and Tickle’s TV shop. At the time, Minnie was employed by Grinnell’s Drug Store on Main Street, which was located where Little Dave’s parking lot stands today. However, Minnie was at home when the tornado hit. The family purchased a new home on High Street but never rebuilt the TV shop. In his leisure time, Tickle enjoyed archery competitions. He was a member of Fort Knox Cazadous Archery Club and won the club championship in 1964. He also holds the 1963 eastern division championship. Fishing also held a lot of appeal to Tickle, who was part-owner of a boat store in town. His daughter Joy’s earliest memory is running trout lines in the river with her father. He hunted deer up until he was about 70 years old, using a bow and arrow before other people around here did it. Tickle and Minnie had many good years together but, sadly, in 1978 at the young age of 56, Minnie died due to congestive heart failure. Tickle never remarried. Tickle has plenty of fond memories of Meade County. He remembers swimming in the Ohio River and going up to River Bottom, cutting grape vines, and swinging on them. He well remembers when the Ohio River froze completely over and still has photographs of himself, some of his siblings, and their friends standing on the ice of the river following Sunday church services. He also recalls who owned the first TV in Brandenburg – an attorney named J.B. Wise. “The TV screen wasn’t very big, but the TV must have weighed 500 pounds,” said Tickle. How has Tickle made it to the age of 88? “I don’t know. I shouldn’t have,” he laughed. He attributes his longevity to the good genes on his mother’s side of the family. Most of the Ritchies lived up to about age 90, and his mother was 98 when she passed away. Tickle is a long-time member of St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in Brandenburg.
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By KAREN KENNEDY