2/2007
- 1: Introduction
- 2: Taking the plunge
- 3: Retirement
- 4: The book & biographer
- Download the full article
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Most folks know our state has bragging rights for the Wright brothers’ landmark flight at Kitty Hawk. But North Carolina also claims the first parachute jump by a woman, one big feat made by a little woman named Tiny Broadwick. A nonfiction book, “Tiny Broadwick, The First Lady of Parachuting” by Elizabeth Whitley Roberson, reveals a spirited pioneer who soared to bold heights.
As the book recounts, Tiny was born Georgia Ann Thompson in Granville County in 1893. She was the youngest of seven girls, and at three pounds, was soon called “Tiny.” The farm family struggled to stay afloat, and Tiny remembered days in tobacco fields. When she was 6, the family moved to Henderson for employment at the Harriet Cotton Mill. When Tiny was 12, she married a man named Jacobs, and at age 13 had a daughter named Verla. Soon after, her husband deserted her, and she worked 12- and 14-hour mill shifts, making 40 cents a day and breastfeeding her infant on breaks.
She heard from co-workers that the Johnny J. Jones Carnival was coming to the State Fair, and found a ride to Raleigh. The performance featured a showman named Charles Broadwick, who ascended in a hot-air balloon. He pulled into a parachute harnessed at the bottom, jauntily lit a cigarette, and floated back down. As she watched, Tiny’s imagination expanded up and away.
“When I saw this balloon go up, I knew that’s all I ever wanted to do!” she reportedly told a Durham Herald reporter later. Determined to “get into the act,” Tiny lobbied Broadwick. At 4 feet 1 inches and 80 pounds, her size would be an aeronautical advantage. Broadwick finally agreed and assured Tiny’s hesitant mother that he would take good care of Tiny and send home salary money for Verla’s support and education. Baby Verla stayed with Tiny’s mother, and Tiny joined the circus.
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