Marjorie Rose Owen's new novella Humpy Jack Fisher And The Toxaway Flood celebrates a heretofore unsing hero, an obscure and unassuming local man who was credited with saving a number of lives along the Toxaway River when the Toxaway Dam collapsed in 1916. It is the retelling of a story repeated to her time and again by her mother, who heard it when she was growing up at Toxaway.
Research has recently yielded conclusive evidence that the book's main character, Humpy (William) Jack Fisher, was a real person, and a genuine hero. Not many people ever heard of his daring adventure, but the people in the Toxaway Gorge for whom he laid his life on the line never forgot him. Among them his story was told and retold. It was an amazing tale; and it is ours today because it gripped the heart of a child, nearly a hundred years ago.
The Asheville Citizen in their article of August 17, 1916 found it remarkable that no one downstream had drowned, but had no explanation for that fortunate outcome. Was it simply good luck, or was there some other reason? Today the rest of the story, that part that nearly slipped through our fingers, emerges fresh and sparkling, an unsullied little gem out of the past.
Mrs. Owen has been writing since grammar school, when she wrote short stories as gifts for her friends. She has published a number of non fiction and historical articles and two small books. This is her first short novel. The interesting front and back cover illustration for Humpy Jack Fisher And The Toxaway Flood was also created by Mrs. Owen and depicts a scene from the book.
Paperback; 81 pages, Available for $12.00 at Highland Books in Brevard, NC and also at Transylvania Heritage Museum in Brevard; at Toxaway Falls Stand in Lake Toxaway, NC; or by mail from the author for $14.50 which includes postage and handling.
Marjorie Rose Owen
13 Little Panthertail Road
Lake Toxaway, NC 28747
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