Born in Des Moines IA, Charles "Tazz" Tazewell chose to call Chesterfield home. He is best known as a radio playwright, TV scriptwriter, and a children’s book author whose work has been adapted in multiple of mediums.

He also wrote “The Small One”, a tale about a little donkey who was destined to the tanner but because of the love of a small boy, ended up carrying Mary to Bethlehem. This was adapted by Walt Disney Company in 1978 into an animated short. His “The Littlest Snowman” won the Thomas A. Edison Prize for best children’s story of 1956. Also, it was adapted as a film, and a shorter version was read on the TV show “Captain Kangaroo”.

Charles Tazewell began his career as an actor. He acted professionally while still in high school. He appeared on Broadway in “They Knew What They Wanted” (1924), “Lucky Sam McCarver” (1925) and in the musical “Sugar Hill” (1931). Versatile, he easily went from stage to radio. In 1934, he appeared with Dick Powell in the first coast-to-coast show ever produced. Also, as a CBS script writer, he wrote for then popular weekly series, “Hollywood Hotel”, and for seven years wrote the script for “Mayor of the Town”.

He married Louise Skinner, a professional singer and actress in 1929. During the Depression when theater jobs were scare, they worked together in a carnival. In the late 1940s, the couple started coming east each summer to be near Louise’s mother. Over the course of their long marriage, they traveled 36 times across the country, an exceptional feat. During one of these trips, the couple discovered Chesterfield and decided to move here permanently. 

The couple spearheaded the “Brattleboro Little Theater” and operated it for 18 years. During its run of over 60 shows, Charles was producer while Louise directed. Of course, Charles did take part in some memorable roles which included “Harvey” and the dramatic undertaking of Capt. Quegg in “The Andersonville Trial”. 

After Charles unexpected death, in 1972 at the age of 72, Louise continued to call Chesterfield her home. Like her husband she was a dedicated thespian. In 1991 she received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Friends of the Somerville (MA) Theater, a group trying to keep a small playhouse alive. At the time, she donated her papers and memorabilia to the theater. Louise died in 1993 at the age of 93. They are both buried in the family plot at Lindenwood Cemetery in Stoneham, MA

In the Bits of History, some of Tazewell's Christmas Stories are discussed.