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John Harrison Finger (November 24, 1915December 22, 1989) was known as Mr. WalkAmerica. On January 22, 1949, John Harrison Finger walked from
High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph County, North Carolina, Randolph, ...
, to
Greensboro Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...
and back for a total of 32 miles. During this walk he pulled a wagon and collected money for the
March of Dimes March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to co ...
."Finger Launches Mercy Journey for Dimes Drive" High Point Enterprise Jan. 22, 1949 This was the inaugural walk for the March of Dimes a tradition which is still being done annually. Although this was the start of his claim to fame, he also became famous for his collection of photos and autographs of famous people and for his sense of humor. Mr. Finger didn't obtain notoriety by just starting the tradition of walking for the March of Dimes but he continued walking for the March of Dimes and other charities for the remainder of his life."Walking Man and His Schooner" Front page, High Point Enterprise, July 3, 1949 Other events that contributed to his fame was his unusual hobby of getting his picture taken with famous people and having them autograph his Holy Bible at their favorite scripture, thereby gaining an insight into their personal life.


Family and early life

John Harrison Finger was born on November 24, 1915, in
Hartsville, South Carolina Hartsville is the largest city in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. It was chartered on December 11, 1891. The population was 7,764 at the 2010 census. Hartsville was chosen as an All-America City in 1996 and again in 2016. Harts ...
, to John Pinkney and Mary Jane (Meekins) Finger. He was the 6th of 10 children. The family moved around a lot because his father was a heavy drinker and therefore had a hard time holding a job. John began helping out the family at the age of 9. He would purchase 24-count boxes of candy from a warehouse for 75–cents and sell the candy for 5–cents a bar on the streets; thereby making a 45–cent profit on each box. When he reached the age of 11 he started delivering papers. At 14, and having only completed the 4th grade, John quit school to work 80-hour weeks running speeders in the cotton mill. It was tiring work that only paid 10-cents per hour but it kept his family going. His childhood taught him never to drink a drop of alcohol, a promise he kept his entire life, and to laugh in every situation."Let John Finger Do The Walking"
by Eric Neumann, 2014


Marriage and children

The
New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
, in 1933, set a minimum-wage of 30 cents per hour, which instantly tripled Finger's wages, such that he could cut back to a 40-hour work week. A couple of years later, he took advantage of another one of President
Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
's programs by working at the CCC (
Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...
) Camp in High Point, N.C. While at the CCC, he got into
racewalking Race walking, or racewalking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asses ...
and finished fourth in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1936, one position shy of making the U.S. Olympic team. He also started attending
Church of God of Prophecy The Church of God of Prophecy (COGOP) is a Holiness Pentecostal Christian Church. It is one of six ''Church of God'' bodies headquartered in Cleveland, Tennessee that arose from a small meeting of believers who gathered at the Holiness Church at C ...
, where he met and married Gertrude Mae Ashwell on May 8, 1937. After marriage, Finger began working at the Pickett Cotton Mill in High Point, N.C. He worked there for 16 years. During that time he had four children, Larry, Yvonne, John and Richard. While his children were in elementary school there was a drive put on by the city and public schools to collect dimes for the polio fund. When his children started asking for money for the polio drive John decided to do what he was good at and that was walking. After all President Franklin Roosevelt had helped him out with the new minimum wage law and the CCC Camp so he wanted to do something to help out President Franklin Roosevelt. Consequently, on January 22, 1949, John became the first person to ever walk for the March of Dimes, walking 32 miles from High Point to Greensboro and back, while wearing a dress suit and pulling a little, red wagon to collect donations. He raised over $1,700.00, breaking the wagon, and became the father of all modern-day charity walks, since the walk was also his own idea. In 1949 John also did a walk (86 miles) to raise money for the church he attended. He would continue to walk for the March of Dimes for the rest of his life, logging his 1,000th mile walking for them on January 23, 1983, on an anniversary walk in High Point, N.C. where it all started. In 1958, he moved his family to Southern California, where he would spend the rest of his life. He drove a taxicab for Southeast Taxi in
Downey, California Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program and Taco Bell. It is ...
, for 22 years. In 1972, Finger began getting his picture made with celebrities and, shortly thereafter, started getting them to autograph his
King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by ...
at their favorite scripture.


Retirement

When he retired in 1979, he began pursuing his hobby full-time. He went on several, 30-day bus trips around the United States and showed up at Hollywood studios at other times to collect photos with celebrities. If there was a celebrity appearing somewhere, John Finger was there to meet him. By winning auctions, he was able to play tennis with a few celebrities and his match with
Rob Reiner Robert Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and liberal activist. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael Stivic, Mike "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitc ...
who played Meathead on ''All In The Family'' that got him into show business himself. He appeared on several shows, including
You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radioBuddy Hackett Buddy Hackett (born Leonard Hacker; August 31, 1924 – June 30, 2003) was an American comedian and comic actor. Known for his raunchy material, heavy appearance, and thick New York accent, his best remembered roles include Marcellus Washburn in ...
, Joker's Wild,
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
, the
Tony Orlando Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis (born April 3, 1944), known professionally as Tony Orlando, is an American Pop music, pop/Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and music executive whose career spans nearly seven decades. He is best known for h ...
Show and on two episodes of
All In The Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...
. That's not bad for a man who grew up poor and lost all of his teeth by the age of 60. John learned how to turn his weaknesses into strengths, even making his toothless mouth his trademark with a personalized license plate on his car of "NO2TH". John's main hobby was getting his picture made with celebrities. With his Actors Federation membership, he gained full-time access into the Hollywood studios. As a result, his photo collection grew from 1,000 to 8,000 individual photos with celebrities in a few short years. He also ended up with over 1,200 autographs in his Bible. His picture collection includes five
United States Presidents The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. Under the U.S. Constitution, the officeholder leads the executive branc ...
, the Queen of the United Kingdom, and many well known celebrities, such as John Wayne, Carroll O'Connor, Red Skelton, Milton Berle, Jesse Owens, Mickey Mantle, Muhammad Ali, and many, many others. On Nov. 29, 1984, John suffered a stroke while walking in Hollywood to try out for a game show. He would be paralyzed for the rest of his life. However, he continued his fundraising for the March of Dimes through his celebrity contacts, his humor, and his motivational speeches at fundraisers. Individually, he raised over $20,000.00 for the March of Dimes in his lifetime, but probably indirectly raised more than 10 times that through his speeches. He died of a heart attack on December 22, 1989. John received numerous awards for his walking, such as the Battered Boot Award, the Carnation Silver Bowl Award for exemplary volunteer service to the community, HomeTown Hero plaque, March of Dimes Service Award plaque for Distinguished Voluntary Leadership in the fight against birth defects, March of Dimes Outstanding Walker plaque two years in a row (1986 and 1987), and a March of Dimes plaque award for 38 years of continuous service. In 1990 the "John Finger Memorial Award" was established in Orange County, Calif. Per Terry Salgy, National Walk America Coordinator, it goes to the top fund raiser each year."Finger Memorial Established" Anaheim Bulletin, page A5, Jan. 1, 1990 He also received the Key to the City from seven different cities in recognition of his outstanding service and he became known as "Mr. Walk America".


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finger, John Harrison 1915 births 1989 deaths People from Hartsville, South Carolina