I sent a link to the HRD wind analysis earlier, but if it is helpful...I'd like to share some other links with you:
Zoomed Wind swath in Volusia County of Charley: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mlb/charley/charley_windswath.jpg
NWS Melbourne Charley Summary and Reports: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mlb/charley/index.html
NWS Tampa Charley Summary: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/tbw/html/tbw/HurricaneSeason2004.htm
NHC Hurricane Charley Tropical Cyclone report: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/TCR-AL032004_Charley.pdf
NHC Advisory Archive for Charley: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2004/CHARLEY.shtml?
(This one shows that at the 5PM Advisory, Charley was 140MPH(Cat4 entering DeSoto County), at 7PM intermediate advisory it was down to 115MPH(Cat 3 entering Polk County), 9PM intermediate was 90MPH (Cat 1 near Orlando), and 11PM down to 85MPH (Cat 1 near Daytona).)

Your statements accurately demonstrate why even category 1 strength hurricanes are nothing to take for granted and individuals should prepare for them just the sam as stronger systems. You mentioned tornados in the neighborhood. A tornado would have been stronger than the storms winds, and would have produced damage greater than that of the storms sustained winds, but are considered independant of the storms strength. Hurricanes typically have tornadoes and are most prevalent in the right front quadrant of the storm.

With that said, I also had a chance to survey damage in the path of hurricane Charley in the days after the storm and many times since. If you ever get a chance to take a gas tank trip, you can definately see the path of Charley to this day...and you will notice how it weakened on it's path. Some evidence is still there in Kissimmee, more in Lake Wales, but once you get to traveling south on US 17 through Hardee into DeSoto, then Charlotte County you can really see what a Category 3 or 4 hurricane can do. Especially if you take note of the trees. To this day, about half of Downtown Punta Gorda remains as empty dirt lots and homes and buildings in Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, DeSoto and Hardee county are still in need of repairs from that storm.

I stand behind all the data that was produced in the Hurricane Research Divisions output, along with that of the actual surface observations, recon reports and National Hurricane Center advisories. The map that you posted shows does not represent the gradual weakening of Charley...at 5PM advisory, Charley was a Category 4...at 11 PM it had weakened to a category 1 (with weakening gradually occurring all the time. That Cat 4 line is just and extension of the points between the 5PM and 11 PM advisory...intermediate advisoryies were not included in the map, so it's easily misleading.