Well, I can definately understand your statements about Charley (although, I was living in Tallahassee at the time Charley hit). With that said, the picture you saw was misleading, it is based on advisory to advisory intensities and doesn't show the weakening transition. All data and wind measurements confirmed that Charley was a Category 3 in Hardee county and steadily weakened to a Cat 1 before reaching the East Coast.
I'd like to share the official survey of maximum winds in MPH with you: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Storm_pages/charley2004/charley_flswath_mph.pdf
From a personal standpoint, I can understand why the folks of New Symerna may have felt the winds were stronger that they actually were. After Charley, I have been through 6 Hurricane in my work. At first, I overestimated what the winds were like on the basis that I had never seen winds that strong before. It is quite easy to have the sensation they are much stronger, when one had not seen something that strong or had not been around it in a long time. To that end, winds to category 1 strength had not been experienced in that part of the state in a long, long time.