Charlie Royster, candidate for the Democratic nomination for sheriff in the June primary and a well known and unique character in the county, fell dead Wednesday night about 10 o’clock while ‘possum hunting in the woods in No. 8 township just above Palm Tree. With Mr. Royster were Bish Smart and Pink Jones, the latter the host of Royster for the night.
The sheriff’s office here was notified of the sudden death Wednesday night, and although there seemed to be no special need of an inquest Deputy Sheriff Mike Austell and Coroner T.C. Eskridge left for No. 8 about midnight. The inquest was held about 1 o’clock Thursday morning and it was the verdict that “death resulted from natural causes,” or heart trouble. On the coroner’s jury were H.A. Wilson, A.S. Peeler, B.C. Hicks, J.A. Norman, Forrest Peeler and M.H. Austell.
Mr. Royster, who had recently been living in a house near the Southern railway tracks in the neighborhood of the Arrowood-Howell Lumber company, travels over the county dealing in produce and vegetables. Wednesday evening he stopped at the Jones home in No. 8 township to spend the night, and later with Jones and Smart started on a ‘possum hunt. The two men say that Royster complained several times of being “short of breath” and that on one occasion they stopped with him to rest. Shortly after they had started again he fell to the ground dead.
The deceased was known by a large number of Cleveland county people and attracted considerable attention but only a small number of votes when he entered the Democratic primary for sheriff against Sheriff Hugh Logan and ex-Sheriff D.D. Wilkins.
From the front page of The Cleveland Star, Shelby, N.C., Friday, November 15, 1924
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn97064509/1924-03-25/ed-1/seq-1/#words=November+15%2C+1924
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