Legend Biography

Charles S. Brewer, Jr. (Chuck as he is known to family and friends) was born January 17, 1948 to Charlie and Mary Helen Brewer. He graduated from Lawrence County High School in 1966 and married Linda Hurn, who he had known since high school on December 8, 1968. Their 50th Anniversary will be this December. Chuck joined the U.S. Navy and was stationed in the San Diego area for the first 2 years and then Atsugi, Japan for 2 years. He rotated to DaNang, Vietnam 3 times where he worked as a Navy Aviation Electronic Technician. He used the GI Bill and in 1974 graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He is a former electrical design engineer for TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) in Knoxville, an electrical engineer for Union Carbide Corporation and Murray Ohio Mfg. Co. in Lawrenceburg, TN for more than 20 years.
Chuck is a member of the Salem Church of Christ.
Charlie, as he is known in Rotary and fishing industry, is the past president of the Lawrenceburg Rotary Club. During his tenure as president, the club was named district Club of the Year. The district includes 62 clubs from middle and west Tennessee. The largest fund raiser for the Lawrenceburg Rotary Club is the Middle Tennessee District Fair. It is one of the largest in TN. Charlie was Fair Manager for 4 years and during that time they were awarded Champion Fair and Champion of Champions. During the 2011-12 Rotary Year he received Rotarian of the Year Award, in his district for his service, loyalty, and devotion to the ideals of Rotary. In 2013 he received the Humanitarian Service Award for continuing to bring hope to the people of Honduras. Charlie spent 1-3 weeks for 10 years devoted to this project and other service projects. While in Honduras they provided small villages with water and electricity. They wired simple, little dirt floored homes, churches, and schools with their first lights, making lives better for those who have so little. Charlie’s comments on receiving these awards were, “I don’t do any more than the others. We all work to together.” He also said, “I think I get more out of this project than the poor villagers do.”
Chuck’s dad, Charlie Brewer, Sr., was inducted into the very first “Legends of the Outdoors” National Hall of Fame in 2002. He fished his whole life and was always trying to make fishing fun, easier, and better. He was using heavy tackle and heavy rods, but after watching boys successfully catch fish using cane poles and worms, and watching minnows glide through the water with no action, he developed a method of light tackle fishing. He was laughed at and made fun of for his new method, but he loved it. He designed this method and lures we call Slider Fishing because it made his fishing easier with bigger and greater catch. The name “Finesse Fishing” came about because Charlie Sr. was forced to play Bridge with his wife of 56 years and it was a term that applied to their card game and he applied it to fishing. The terms “Finesse Fishing”, “Do-Nothing Fishing”, and “Polishing the Rocks” were his original terms. Because of his great success with this technique, his neighbors and friends were bugging him to death for some of these Crazy Heads and 4” plastic worms he was using, so they started a small business on their kitchen table called Crazy Head Lure Company in 1970. The small company continued to grow slowly. Charlie Sr. and Mary Helen changed the name to Charlie Brewer’s Slider Company, Inc. before retiring and selling the company.
Chuck always loved fishing with his dad. When asked what his best memories of fishing with him were, he said, “It was when the willow flies came out and we went fishing for blue gill.” In January 1984, Chuck and Linda bought the company. A short time later there was a big recession, so it was a good thing he kept his day job. The 1990s were good years for the Slider Company, when exporting grew much larger than the American market.
Charlie Jr. has accomplished many things during his ownership of the company. One of his more recent accomplishments was his design of the 2 1/8” Slider Minnow. It is a fish catching machine for many species of fish including smallmouth and crappie. Paul Alpers, who is also a member of the “Legends of the Outdoors” was using the Slider 2 1/8” minnow when he and Phillip Haynes won the 2017 National Crappie Master Classic. Another one of Charlie’s accomplishment was keeping his company American made. It has been hard to compete with imports, but Slider has survived and continues to thrive.
When Charlie Jr. received his letter to be inducted in the “Legends of the Outdoors,” the word integrity was listed as one of the characteristics. He is a man of his word, does the right thing even if it is not the popular thing and treats others the way he wants to be treated.
Recently a third generation, Caroline Brewer-Calton, has come on board. Caroline spent 20 years as an elementary school teacher and supervisor in the Lawrence County School System before joining the Slider team.
Charlie’s grand-daughter, Sarah Kate, just graduated from UT Knoxville with a degree in Wildlife and Fisheries. So if you are looking for someone with this degree, she is here along with the rest of Charlie’s family. 
Charlie Brewer’s Slider Co., Inc. will celebrate 50 years in business in 2020. Charlie considers it an honor to be inducted into the “Legends of the Outdoors” Hall of Fame.