A Halloween display at the Dollar General store on SH 321 in Tarkington, across from Cannon’s Feed Store, drew concern over the weekend after employees dressed a skeleton in a shirt labeled “Charlie” with a name tag reading “Chuck.”
The display came to light just days after the Sept. 10, 2025, assassination of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA. His death has led to vigils and memorials across the country, including one nearby in Cleveland on Saturday, Sept. 13. Some community members believe the decoration was insensitive given the timing and Kirk’s prominence.
When asked about the display, Store Manager Valorie Dowdell told Bluebonnet News that the skeleton was not intended as a reference to Kirk. The shirt belonged to a former employee named Charlie who left for another job, and the “Chuck” name tag was added as part of an inside joke among staff.
She said the skeleton had been hanging in the store for two weeks before the assassination.
Dowdell said employees were unaware of who Charlie Kirk was even after the issue was raised.
“Once it was brought to my attention, that’s when I made the connection,” Dowdell said, adding that she also was previously unfamiliar with Charlie Kirk and his political activism.
She apologized for the unfortunate timing and emphasized that the store does not wish to be connected to politics. The skeleton has since been removed from the store.
“It was terrible the way he was assassinated, and the store wants no part in any political commentary,” Dowdell said. “The timing was bad, and we regret the misunderstanding.”
Only radical, uneducated people would draw a connection between Charlie Kirk and Dollar General’s Halloween decoration!
This kind of display is the kind of things liberals do, and then gaslighting people about it is right in their wheelhouse.
More demon-rats on here. Spread your hate and rage somewhere else.
He was none of the descriptive words used to erroneously describe him. He was simply a good Christian man.
It has nothing to do with Kirk literally an old employee worked there named Charlie it’s a joke between them all since he left for a different job.