Self Taught and good with his hands!
So... Charlie was a high school graduate and served in the National Guards.
But he was great with learning how to do ANYTHING!
He watched and taught himself how to work on huge expensive equipment for the Bristol Herald Courier.
Pretty soon they no longer had to call in the out of state machine mechanic - because Charlie could fix them and do the service himself!
He once said he that he didn't want anything to do with computers--- but a few years later he was an expert--- he could take them apart - put them together and make them do anything.
He loved to work with his hands and in his later years he could make beautiful tables and stands out of odds and ends.
Just give him anything and he could figure it out!