The "Could Someone Have Made Up All Of This?" Story

Preface:  I had been searching for a variety of information about this and that when I came upon a very unusual story.  Not sure if it was true or not, but it still was an interesting story.  After reading most of it I came to the conclusion that no one could have made up what I had just read.  See what you think ...

It was an ordinary day.  Searching a few local websites when I came across a few stories about a young man from nearby Manheim, Pennsylvania by the name of Jack Fasig who as a youth stood 6'11" tall and weighed 362 perfectly proportioned pounds.  It was said that he left out a peculiar odor that would have felled a bull elephant in its tracks.  He was one of the scariest sights in all of Lancaster County.  Jack was born on March 28, 1894 and was soon known as the "Gentle Giant".  At the age of 16, Jack walked to nearby Lancaster where he had never been before.  Jack saw a group of Amish men and women unloading a wagon of grain.  Each man carried a 125 pound sack of wheat into the nearby mill.

Jack Fasig

 Two women would share a sack due to the weight.  Jack didn't think women should do such work and grabbed the sack from the woman, balanced it on his head, then tucked another sack under each arm and delivered the load to the mill.  The Amish who were watching couldn't believe their eyes and the leader of the group said, "Dot man is wonderful strong."  Jack enjoyed every minute of it.  Jack graduated from High School in Newark, NY.  The family then moved to Lancaster and a few years later, after his parents had separated, Jack moved to Manheim with his father.  Jack did make frequent visits to visit his mother and she would make him a big breakfast when he arrived.  Breakfast consisted of a loaf of bread, a dozen eggs, a pound of bacon and an enormous bowl of coffee.  Jack was said to be really smart and could sing opera, quote Shakespeare and burn images of people in wood.  He eventually worked at Manheim Asbestos where he did the work of four men.  He then worked for Armstrong Cork Company in nearby Lancaster where he could lift 200 pound drums onto a truck by himself.  One day he decided he had enough of work, and he quit.  He withdrew a considerable sum of money which he had invested with the company's building and loan association and went clothes shopping.  He was tired that people though he was a bum.  He went to Lancaster and bought sharp clothes, a derby hat and a cane.  Flashy, so he was, and the Lancaster newspaper began to call him "Diamond Jack."  Jack had trouble with the ladies, since they found his size to be frightening.  From time to time he would seek the company of the ladies of questionable virtue in Lancaster.  Didn't work real well so he advertised in the newspaper for a housekeeper.  This young, attractive young Negro girl from Mississippi named Bessie answered the ad.  They hit it off famously.  Bessie stayed with Jack for quite a few years.  Then she found out that he had gone to Philadelphia to box and after winning celebrated in a brothel in Reading, Pennsylvania.  When he returned she found out about it and up and left.  Jack had a huge pack of dogs on his property in Manheim.  One day they turned on his father who was 75 years old at the time.  Jack heard the commotion and began swinging the limb of a tree at the dogs.  He stopped the fight, but had to take his dad to the Lancaster Hospital where three doctors told jack that his father wouldn't live until morning.  He had hunks of flesh torn from his head to his ankles and had lost a quart of blood.  In less than a month he was back working again.   He had several fighting dogs and many of his dogs were dangerous.  Jack had a moonshine still on his property and at one time it was raided by a half dozen rural cops who were armed with guns and blackjacks.  Jack kicked over the still which exploded and caught fire.  The dogs attacked the police and Jack's favorite dog got shot in the jaw.  This huge Bull-mastiff weighed 200 pounds and knocked the policeman down who shot him and was about to kill the policeman when Jack roared, "Git down, you dumb animule.  Ain't you got no respect for the law?"  Jack's actions in protecting the policeman and when he went in front of jury he told the jury that he was a hardworking farmer who couldn't afford the price of a drink.  He insisted he sold none, but made it only for his personal use.  The case was dismissed and was the only instance of an acquittal after a raid on a still in Lancaster County.  Another story I found about Jack reported that he came upon a man whose car was stuck in the mud.  Jack said to the owner of the car, "I'll get you out if you pay me!"  In no time Jack had lifted the car from the mud.  The man who owned the car told Jack that he wasn't going to pay him, since it was too easy.   Jack picked up the car and dropped it back in the mud.  Story after story about the exploits of young Mr. Fasig seem to tell of his many strongman activities.  When the carnival came to town, Jack would wrestle the strong man, generally winning the match.  Several people thought Jack would make a good strong man, buy Jack seemed to be "untrainable." Alcohol was what caused this strongman the most problems.  That's what probably killed Jack even though everyone said it was a heart attack.  He died in 1951 at the age of 57.  His coffin had to be specially made due to his size.  So that, my friends, is the story of Mr. Jack Fasig.  He was a legend and still is to this day.  Believe it or not!  And, I read about it for the first time just a few days ago!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.