Deitz, witness to three centuries, to turn 102

He joins the rank of an elite few who have lived in three different centuries. No matter which century he was in, being a history "buff" was always a comfort to him. This son of "Bill Tom" and Emary Wilson Deitz would sit up until the wee hours of the night reading history - the Civil War was always his favorite topic.

As a "staunch Democrat," he has also been interested in the political process. He delved deep into the offices of all United States presidents, analyzing their pros and cons. Without hesitation, he can easily mention the name, affiliation and policies of each president.

Time, however, has diminished his sight and hearing. Detiz can no longer read to pass the time. Always a great conversationalist, now he especially enjoys those who will stop by and visit with him, delving into conversation and history.

He likes to talk about "hard work" in the fields and mountains with his three brothers, John, Richmond and Sam, and his dad being the "boss."

His early recollections were of "pulling the other-side of a crosscut saw, all day, while cutting acid-wood." Being tired and hungry, Deitz said he was always so glad when dinner time came, and he could rest and eat.

"It was back down the 3-mile road home before dark, to get the night work done up, only to start all over again early the next morning," he said.

With age the work tempo stepped up. Haw-hiding tanbark, he said, was "the hardest, backbreaking work of all." It was through the Grape Cove Gap into Wildcat Cove on the Tatham's Creek side that his dad contracted a tract of chestnut oak, tanbark timber.

"My daddy, Welson Deitz, Bob Frady and Nathan Buchanan were doing the man's job of cutting, peeling and packing up the bark. Daddy demanded that I keep the men in water, carrying it from the backside of the Big Cove Knob," said Deitz, who found his job almost as hard as the men's.

Deitz's life unfolds as a walking, talking road map of Jackson County. A centenarian, now in his third century, Deitz has mapped out, worked on, walked and driven every road - from holler to holler - in Jackson County and probably knows the county's roads better than anyone.

He was just 17 when he was hired for his first road job. Listening to him call out the road names - Nations Creek, Conleys Creek, North Fork - you'll see his mind is as sharp as ever.

He received his schooling, enrolling in the old Sylva High School along with neighbors Norman Hall and Joe Bishop.

Here's one special event that stands out in his memory. "It was year 1916, World War I was under way, and President Woodrow Wilson was running for a second term, when a prominent young school teacher by the name of Grace Carpenter from Otto, persuaded me to sing with a school quartet as Senator Pritchard, a Republican from Asheville, was coming to speak.

"Embarrassed, I refused to sing before a Œdowntown crowd' because I had no decent dress clothes. A man my size outfitted me completely. So, in his suit, I stepped forth and proudly sang with the quartet 'Let the Lower Lights Be Burning.' Across the sea, our young American men were being killed and buried in Flander's Field."

Like others in his family, Deitz served on the Jackson County Board of Education. His four-year term came "when they were doing a right smart of school building." He recalled the night he made the motion to consolidate Dillsboro and Sylva and to retire teachers at age 65 all in one action.

Education and good roads paved the way for progress in Jackson County, said Deitz, who attended Sylva Collegiate Institute. The road where he lives is named after him, a tribute to a man who helped in that paving of progress.

- Contributed by Lloyd Cowan

Back to Archive: 12/13/01.