Volume II
Number 35
SfTHE STATE 5£ j-*,*
A Weekly Survey of North Carolina 1935
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Art .1
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Jack Dempsey’s Grandfather
* Till.
НК ипч
a man for von! lie w as a +
hlaeksmllli up in Western Carolina
and he eould pick up a mule bodily
and throw it out of his smithy. The
mountains still eelio with tales of his
niurvelous physical prowess.
THIS is (hr
могу
of
я
Western North Caro¬
lina village
Ы я
e k-
smith who*.. grandson be¬
came heavyweight chain-
jion <if (lie boxing world.
Nathan Dcmpwy. the vil¬
lage smithy nil o*o fame
в*
я
fighter still lives, died
many year* ago. Rut hi* grand ion.
Jack Dempsey, one-time heavyweight
champion of champion* and eonaid-
ered one of the heat fighter* ever to
Step through the rope*, fought hi* uay
to the top with the *nme punch hi*
grandfather uicd in becoming the molt
feared man of the Bine Ridge Moun¬
tain*.
Lived in Yancey County
Up where the Rluo Ridge sentinels
drape through Yancey County. Nathan
Demp*ey ran a village blacksmith «hop.
It wa* situated in the Knne River lec¬
tion where hardy mountaineers had
-cttlod to carve home* for their fam¬
ilies. The time was prior to the War
Between the State* and only strong
men and strong women could face the
rigor* that prevailed in a section where
travail had no meaning.
Mountaineer* will tell you that
Nathan DrsnpMy wa* a remarkable
man; that hi* grandson
на*
a chip
off the old block and was remarkable
alto. The fnet i* that Nathan IVmp-
*oy must have been a remarkable man
to have left *o profound an impres-
sion upon thole who knew him. There
are few living today who knew the
village smithy, hut there arc many
who have heard from their mothers
aud grandmother*, their father* and
grandfather* of the man who could
“throw a horse to the ground with
eaw.”
Nathan Dempsey wa* a big man.
He neighed well over 250 pound* and
wa* about .ix feet six ineh<* in height.
He wa* straight a* a sapling, small
waisted, raw boned, and when he
By JOII\ PARRIS. JR.
talked the rain Mopped and the whip-
poor-will* hu-hed.
He wa* not easily excited, hut wa*
calm at all time*. And there rarely
ever wa* a situation that he couldn’t
handle with |wrfeotion. Because of
hi* giant, perfect build, he wa* envied
by every man of the mountain*; and
there wa* perhaps a little fear in the
heart* of most men who viewed
Nathan.
A Great Wrestler
He ua* always ready to enter into
the rough pastime of that isolated sec¬
tion. Wrestling and cuffing matches
were the only known sports that at¬
tracted these men of hardy pioneer
•train. Saturday afternoon every man
who wa* able to tear arm* met in the
|Uiblic Mfiiarc for wrestling, cuffing, run¬
ning, jumping and feats of strength.
Nathan Dempsey wa* undatable
No man was his superior in any of
the sport*. Ho could clear a seven¬
teen-hand horse in a running jump,
take on any two men of the mountains
in a wrestling match, and lift weight*
that would balk eireu* performer*.
It wa* on a Saturday afternoon that
Nathan really got riled up, once and
for all in hi* life, good and proper.
As was the custom, n certain section
of the public square wa* set aside for
the marketing of fowl, hogs, sheep,
venison, bear meat and wild game. It
was a day of pleasure and burincs*.
with boasting, trading and a little fid¬
dling for the dancer* and women folk.
In the memory of Yan¬
cey County people, thi* par¬
ticular Saturday afternoon
wa* the first time thnt
Nathan Dempsey ever lost
his temper and let himself
go the limit.
Took on Two at a Time
The trouble started during the wrest¬
ling I tout*, all won by Nathan, who
then offered to throw the contestant*
two at n time. Again he won. con¬
tributing a little fun to the victory by
bumping bi* victim- together a few
limes before throwing them to the
ground. Thi* went on for several min¬
ute* and there were several sore head*
in the bunch. Nathan Dempsey was
the whole show that day. And the
crowd, with the exception of hi* vic¬
tim*, looked upon him a* an idol.
They simply worshiped this man who
feared neither man, devil or beast.
Meantime, a fanner had set up sev¬
eral coop* of chicken* for barter ami
ule and had arranged these coop* like
a bookcase. They attracted Nathan
who. after disposing of hi* several
would-be conquerors, strolled over to
where the exhibit wa» located.
As Nathan stood near the coops the
mountain men whom he had conquered
and made the laughing stock of their
fdlowMcn, con-pi red among thciutelve*
to close in on the village smithy and
by sheer force of number* slam him
down to the ground with the idea of
jumping upon him until he cried out
that ho had had enough. At a given
signal, in formation* of four, they
charged.
From left to right the charge
swooped down upon the "strong man
of the mountain*.” He turned from
the coops, let out a roar nnd set him¬
self. He grabbed the man closest to
him. lifted him above hi* bend and
towed him through the air right into
(Continued on page Itcrn(y-foirr)
