The Deitz Family, 2006

  Members of Jackson County’s Deitz Family band receive the 2006 Mountain Heritage Award at Western Carolina University’s 32nd annual Mountain Heritage Day held Saturday (Sept. 30). Family members were presented the award by WCU Provost Kyle Carter (far left) and...
Dr. John Brinkley

Dr. John Brinkley

At the turn of the 20th century, most areas of Appalachia remained rural and isolated. In North Carolina, the county of Jackson fit that description. It seemed unlikely the county would produce an individual who would go down in local and national history as one of the most colorful characters of the 1920s and 1930s.