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Centenarian Early Deitz enters his third century

By Rose Hooper
Centenarian Early Deitz - Herald Photo by Rose Hooper Early Deitz is a walking, talking road map of Jackson County and the 21st century.

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. This East Fork native was just 17 when he was hired for his first road job - looking after the compressor for a crew at Soco Gap.

Listening to him call out the road names - Nations Creek, Conleys Creek, North Fork - you'll see his mind is as sharp as ever.

"His mind is better than mine," his daughter Eunice Nicholson said. "He can remember names and places when the rest of us can't."
His sharpness, alertness, keen wit and constantly racing mind haven't slowed down long enough for old age to set in. Having strong interests (just ask him about politics!) and keeping active (he uses a walker) continue to move him down life's highway.

Although it was 93 years ago, Deitz, with vivid recall, told about his mother, Emary Wilson Deitz, taking him down to visit her cousins, the Cannons, in Dillsboro.

"Lewis (Cannon) and I were about the same age, so we headed off to the apple trees above the house. There was a muddy footpath all around the apple trees, from where the cows had been standing," he said. "Being boys, we both got in that mud and ended up terribly muddy. Mother stripped me down, and I had to wear one of Lewis's dresses home. That was back during the day when boys wore dresses."

When the flood of 1940 ripped through the county, Deitz was working at Thorpe Dam.

"It was raining awful hard that night, and it just kept getting worse. Around 11 p.m. they told us to get out and go home. Three of us were riding together in Howard Keener's car," he said.

"We couldn't get through at Glenville, so we came down to Trout Creek where we had to move trees out of the road. At Grassy Falls, we unexpectedly ran into the creek and drowned out the car. Then came this big slide, a whole side of a mountain came rushing down, trapping us."

Deitz said the "river roared all about us, carrying on something awful, but we made it through the night inside Keener's car. The next morning I footed it out."

Just like a road map, Deitz describes his amazing journey that next morning by the roads he traveled.

"At Caney Fork a big farm house had smacked into the bridge; the bridge was cracked but in better shape than any others in the county," he said. "When I got down to Wayehutta, Johnny Long's garage was setting clear on the other side of the creek; the current was so heavy, it just whirled the building around. At Dillsboro, they stretched cables so people could get across the river."

About a week later when Deitz was back on the job at Thorpe, it started raining again real hard one night.

"My boss, Harry Horton, who was from California, acted worried and asked me, 'Just how often does it flood here in the mountains?!'"

In addition to Thorpe, Deitz worked the shipyards at Newport News, Va., the nuclear power plant at Oak Ridge, Tenn., and also took up blacksmithing, carpentry and sign painting. In 1965, he retired from N.C. Department of Transportation.

He remembers "when Social Security came about. We had a choice to go with it or not. I thought it was a good thing."

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 the 20th century, said Deitz, who attended Sylva Collegiate Institute.

"I can remember people using the expression, 'I'll never see it in my lifetime,' referring to integration and such. Well, I've seen integration and plenty more."

He would like folks to remember him as "truthful and honest. I don't want to be caught up in stretching the blanket or in telling any lies," said this former Sunday school teacher. When his hearing got so bad, Deitz had to give up his church activities.

Now his big outings are "going to the eating joints, especially the Coffee Shop."

Like a well-worn map with folds and creases, Deitz may have plenty of miles on his 100-year-old body, but none show on his wrinkle-free face. A few laugh lines highlight his eyes, indicting a strong sense of humor and the ability to move others to laugh with him.

He's laughed a little less these days since his wife, Gladys Beatrice Herring Deitz, died in April of bone cancer. They had been married since Oct. 18, 1930.

"I first met her at Catalooche Dam near Fines Creek when she lived over there," he said. "Then her family moved to Hazelwood and finally here in Jackson County at Savannah. I always felt like she loved me a little 'cause she kept moving closer and closer to me."

Now Deitz spends much of his days, "just sitting around thinking about the good times."

While Deitz can guide you on any road in Jackson County, even unmarked, unpaved, nearly-hidden side roads, the road where he lives is clearly marked Early Deitz Road, a tribute to this man whose life serves as an example of how one can travel the road of life to reach 100.

A celebration, combining Deitz's birthday (Dec. 17) and the new millennium, will be held Sunday, Jan. 16, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Community Service Center in Sylva. All friends and relatives are invited, and it is requested that gifts be omitted.

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