Nice couple, Shelley and Tim, were in Buzzy’s Country Store and when asked, informed me that they were from Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. My follow-up question then asked if Jim was born there. They informed that Jim is buried there but that his family is now fighting in the courts to have him returned to Oklahoma. This video does a good job telling the story of how Thorpe came to rest in Pennsylvania.
Once the towns people agreed to change their name from Mauch Chunk to Jim Thorpe, his wife directed that Jim be buried there. Obviously, the folks there are not too keen on going back to being named Mauch Chunk (click here.)
I also learned about Jim being stripped of his Olympic medals because he had played semi-pro baseball before he competed in and won the Olympics in 1912 (click here for story.) Eventually Jim’s accomplishments were recognized and his medals were returned to him. Makes me wonder if his widowed wife didn’t shop the medals around for a town to rename itself Thorpe’s Medals.