SGT. YORK ABOUT TO LOSE HIS TENNESSEE FARM
Pall Mall, Tennessee (JFK+50) On July 26, 1921, a special dispatch to the New York Tribune states that Sergeant Alvin C. York* "is about to lose his farm...because he cannot meet a mortgage of $12,500** due...this fall."
Alvin York, according to the dispatch, "has found the drop in corn and produce prices in the last year a much tougher enemy than the Boche--machine guns."
The Sergeant refused to take advantage of his fame by taking money for appearances, lectures and lending his name to advertising. Thus, he is "working in the fields and worrying how he will meet the note."
*Alvin Cullum York (1887-1964) was born near Pall Mall, TN & worked on the family farm, on the railroad, & as a logger in Harriman, TN.
A member of the Church of Christ in Christian Union, he was drafted into the US Army infantry despite having filed as a conscientious objector.
ACY became a "super-hero" of WWI by capturing 132 German soldiers "with his own hands." His fame was enhanced by the movie "SGT YORK" starring Gary Cooper.
**York's farm had been partially paid for by a popular subscription of $11,235 when he returned home after WWI.
SOURCE
"Sergeant York, Super-Hero of Argonne, Faces Loss of Farm," The New York Tribune, July 27, 1921, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
