Editor's Note: TIMES NEWS Correspondent Michael A Heery of Lehighton shares his views about the recent Best of the Road contest, in which Jim Thorpe was one of the finalists.

*****Like so many in our area, I waited with great anticipation for the results of the 2012 Best of the Road Contest, sponsored by Rand McNally in collaboration with USA Today.As a life-long resident of Carbon County with a long personal and professional history in Jim Thorpe, I am very proud that our county seat finished as one of the top five finalists in the "Most Beautiful Small Town" category. The volunteers who worked so hard on this project should be commended for their efforts.Rand McNally and USA Today sent a married couple from Spicewood, Texas Nikki and Dusty Green to visit towns that were finalists in this category of the contest. They were enthusiastically welcomed to Jim Thorpe by a large contingent of dignitaries, residents, business owners, and guests, some of whom were even dressed in Victorian garb.During the welcoming ceremony in which Jim Thorpe Mayor Michael Sofranko presented the Greens with keys to the town, he mentioned that he thought it fitting the couple should visit the town this year the 100th anniversary of Jim Thorpe winning gold medals for his performance in both the pentathlon and decathlon in the 1912 Olympics.With so many wonderful things to experience in the Jim Thorpe area, the Greens were escorted through a busy itinerary that included a horse-drawn carriage ride; attractions; a birds-eye view from atop Flagstaff Mountain; mountain biking; and white water rafting, in addition to relaxing overnight accommodations and enjoyable meals.They missed knowingJim Thorpe the manWhile closely following the Best of the Road Contest process, there is one thing that puzzled me about the couple's trip to Jim Thorpe. Why was a visit to Jim Thorpe's Mausoleum not included in the itinerary?I have read the Greens' blogs about the town, including the history of its birth, boom, "long and painful decline," and rebirth. I couldn't help but think that they missed a significant part of the last 58 years of the town's history HIS story an inspiring athlete by the name of Jim Thorpe.For years, I have helped direct guests visiting Carbon County to the mausoleum and give them a quick history of the area and share the story of Jim Thorpe the man. To me, not escorting the Greens to the Jim Thorpe Mausoleum is like visiting Ocean City, Md. and not seeing the ocean. It's the namesake of the town, and they missed it.I began to wonder whether anyone else felt the same way about such an apparently obvious exclusion. That's when I contacted Ray Brader and Anne Marie Fitzpatrick of Jim Thorpe. They serve as co-event coordinators of the Jim Thorpe Birthday Celebration, an annual commemoration of the life and legacy of this great Native American Indian athlete for whom this historic and picturesque town is named.According to Fitzpatrick, "I feel bad that the namesake of our town, school, and county seat was not given the recognition that he deserves during this contest.""I received numerous inquiries as to why Jim Thorpe the man was not included in the Green's visit to town," added Brader. "I told each one that I was not involved in this particular project and suggested that maybe contacting Rand McNally and USA Today would be the best way to correct the oversight."Finally, the results of the contest were announced at the annual meeting of Destination Marketing Association International in Seattle, Wash.Bardstown, Ky. - "Bourbon Capital of the World" was crowned "Most Beautiful." Other "Best Small Towns" for 2012 include Gainesville, Texas for "Most Patriotic;" Santa Fe, N.M. for "Best for Food;" Murray, Ky. for "Friendliest;" and Delray Beach, Fla. for "Most Fun."Shortly after the results were announced, "Best of the Road" premiered on Travel Channel, a program hosted Bert Kreischer.While watching the TV show, I was at first pleasantly surprised at not only the mention of Jim Thorpe the man but also photos of the mausoleum and one of the statues honoring the athlete.At the same time, Dusty Green said in a voice-over discussing the town of Mauch Chunk, "In 1953, they changed the name of the town to Jim Thorpe, after the most famous athlete of the time."Well, close. Apparently, the information that he was given was a little off. It was actually 1954. To be exact, the vote was conducted on May 18, 1954, and what about the former borough of East Mauch Chunk? It was actually both communities that voted and consolidated under the name of "Jim Thorpe." Yet, East Mauch Chunk and the consolidation were never mentioned.I was shocked and saddened by what came next.An unnamed man made the claim on this program that, "They (the town of Mauch Chunk) actually purchased his (Jim Thorpe's) body. The idea was the football hall of fame was going to be here."While the possibility of the football hall of fame coming to the newly-named town MAY have been discussed, it was never part of the official signed and sealed agreement between Jim Thorpe's widow, Patricia Thorpe, and the boroughs of East Mauch Chunk and Mauch Chunk. It couldn't be. What authority would she have to make such a commitment?Boroughs neverpurchased the bodyMy biggest problem with all of this was the allegation that the towns "PURCHASED his body." This is a total misrepresentation of the facts because the boroughs NEVER purchased the body.As Jim Thorpe's widow, Patricia Thorpe had exclusive right over the disposition of the remains of her deceased husband. She entered into a formal agreement with the boroughs of East Mauch Chunk and Mauch Chunk. The towns would consolidate under the name "Jim Thorpe" as a fitting tribute and memorial to her husband. In addition, the remains of her husband would be laid to rest in the community bearing his name … his final and permanent resting place to be above ground.Joe Boyle, editor of The Mauch Chunk TIMES-NEWS, had organized an effort to revitalize the towns. This campaign was known as the "Nickel a Week Fund," asking residents and businesses to donate a nickel a week to the effort.On Memorial Day of 1957, Thorpe was finally laid to rest in a 20,000-pound, red granite mausoleum, paid for by the special nickel fund. It is the borough's responsibility to provide perpetual care.Again and I want to make this as clear as I possibly can THE BOROUGHS NEVER PURCHASED JIM THORPE'S BODY.Apparently, I was not the only one who was upset with this false statement.Brader was approached by a concerned co-worker and "native Thorper" who is part of a story that would certainly make a thrilling Hollywood movie a local "Hoosiers" basketball team if there ever was one.In 1954, shortly after the overwhelming majority of residents of East Mauch Chunk and Mauch Chunk voted to consolidate under the name of "Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania," the Kmetz family was blessed with a new addition … a baby boy. Although they had planned on naming the child Jerry, the Kmetzs were so excited about what was going on with the renaming of their town that they marked the occasion by naming the baby Jim Thorpe Kmetz.Along with Dan Albeck, George Albert, Don Herman, and Jim Zurn, Kmetz was destined to become part of a team that is still remembered locally as "The Iron Five."In 1971, first year coach George "Chuck" Hanna first looked at his Jim Thorpe High School basketball team, and not a single player was over six feet tall. Although as freshmen this team had gone 0-19, they "had heart" and stuck together. Over the next few years, they became much closer as a group and began to move together on the court as a single unit. In their junior year, the team improved to 7-14 and they were hoping for a .500 season as seniors. Well, destiny had other plans.Not only did the team exceed that goal, but they made it all the way to the district championship, where most onlookers assumed their postseason play would end quickly. The Olympians were taking on St. Clair, district champions the previous two years running and state champs just two seasons before. They would win the district title again in 1973.Despite the fact that the St. Clair players towered over each of their Olympian counterparts, Jim Thorpe kept the game close in front of a packed gymnasium in Hazleton.The Saints went up by 10 points in the third quarter, but the Olympians came back and tied it up. It was back and forth, back and forth in the fourth quarter."I can close my eyes and visualize everything that happened," says Jim Kmetz. "I can still see it all after 40 years."With 20 seconds left on the clock, St. Clair was ahead 50-49. The Olympians tried to get the ball down low to all-state player Don Herman for the game-winning shot. However, the guard dribbled to the corner and got trapped. He shot the ball with seven seconds left. It hit the front of the rim, and bounced out to the foul line. And guess who was standing at that foul line?"The ball hit the floor after it hit the rim," said Kmetz. "And I beat everybody to the ball. I had to turn to protect the ball, so now I have to do a '180' in mid-air to get the shot off, and there were two guys, six-foot-four, right behind me."Kmetz turned, shot, and hit nothing but net. The Olympians won 51-50."After the ball went through the hoop, I must have jumped three feet in the air," said Kmetz. "It was the highlight of my life."A David and Goliathtype of matchupOn March 8, 1972, a player named Jim Thorpe from Jim Thorpe High School from a town called Jim Thorpe hit the winning shot at the buzzer to knock off the defending district champs. Both Kmetz and Coach Hanna are very quick to point out that this win was all a team effort.The undersized Olympians would go all the way to the state final four that year, where their dream run would end on a controversial call late in the semifinals.According to Coach Hanna, "They came back the next day and won the consolation game, making them the only team who has ever finished third in Class 'C' final four state competition."While a state title certainly would have been nice, it seems that "The Iron Five" will be forever satisfied with memories of their dramatic win over St. Clair. I am sure that this is one of many proud moments in Jim Thorpe High School Olympians history.According to Brader and Fitzpatrick, next year's Jim Thorpe Birthday celebration scheduled for May 18 and 19, 2013 will feature "The Iron Five" and their David and Goliath-like story."We think it would be a nice addition each year to feature great Jim Thorpe Olympians stories like this at the annual celebration," said Brader. "And it does not necessarily have to be sports-related."Wondering why the apparent misrepresentation of Jim Thorpe both the man and the town was made on "Best of the Road," Kmetz said, "I feel slighted that our namesake got slapped in the face like that.""After all," he continued, "Jim Thorpe was named Athlete of the Century. His memory certainly deserves better than that.""We have 58 years of Olympian graduates that we expect to support our local businesses. I think a little more respect of our namesake would be a reasonable request," added Brader.He challenges the students at Jim Thorpe High School, alumni, and anyone else who in some way may feel slighted by the misrepresentation of the great athlete on such a grand scale to contact Rand McNally and USA Today to "set the record straight" maybe, even write a review on the Best of the Road official website …

www.BestoftheRoad.com.Let the whole world know "the rest of the story" in the proud history of Jim Thorpe both the man and the town.