Longtime columnist for the Dresden Enterprise, as well as reporter for the Paris Post Intelligencer, Jim Dumas, lost his battle with cancer last week.

Mr. Dumas, known by the nickname of "Spider" by his many friends in the area, has been fighting the dreaded disease since falling ill several months ago. He also recently suffered a heart attack.

When his sickness made it difficult for him to continue writing his "I Swanee" column on a regular basis, the Enterprise received numerous phone calls from faithful readers, asking why his articles have not been appearing lately, as they have for so many years. At that time, we ran an article explaining his health problems and how to contact him by mail or email. This resulted in him being flooded with letters and emails from friends and well-wishers from across the region, who wanted to let him know they missed him and were keeping him in their prayers.

The 75-year-old writer died Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2005 at Fort Loudon Medical Center in Lenoir City, Tennessee.

During his professional career, he worked as a journalist, author, historian, columnist and political activist.

Family & School

James Howard Dumas was born in Henry County on Oct. 3, 1929 to the late James Howard Dumas Sr. and Billie Williams Dumas. His parents raised the future writer on a farm in Cottage Grove, where he attended high school. It was during these years that he got his nickname of "Spider."

After graduating from Cottage Grove High School, he attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, where he was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. However, he graduated college at Murray State University.

Working Career

After college, Mr. Dumas served in the Korean War as a member of the United States Navy.

His career in journalism began in 1952, when he started writing for a weekly newspaper called the Parisian in Paris, Tennessee.

In 1972, Mr. Dumas moved to East Tennessee, where he helped co-found The Smoky Mountain Star in Pigeon Forge. He served as editor and publisher of this newspaper into the 1980s.

Additionally, he was later part owner of a newspaper in Sevierville.

Being a direct descendant of Davy Crockett (fourth great-grandson), in 1981, Mr. Dumas helped to organize the National Association of Direct Descendants of Davy Crockett. Additionally, he was a charter member of Founding Families in Henry County, due to the fact that he was related to Col. William T. Tharpe (third great-grandson), Blake Crutchfield, Jeremiah Dumas and John Wesley Crockett, who all resided in Henry County prior to 1840.

He also wrote about local history during his long journalistic career, including three books: Bicentennial Family History of Henry County (1996), Tennessee Stories (1998), and Henry County Legacy (2001). And, the first book compiling his "I Swanee" columns is in production.


Mr. Dumas tried his hand at politics in order to promote a mass rail transportation system in Tennessee. In 1990, he was the Republican Party nominee for the post of East Tennessee Public Service Commission, but in the general election, he lost his bid for the seat to Democratic incumbent Keith Bisseil.

In 1991, Mr. Dumas moved back to Henry County and began writing for the Paris Post Intellengencer, covering the governmental, criminal and civil court beat.

Besides his feature stories, he is well know for his weekly column "I Swanee," which was published in both the P-I and Dresden Enterprise until his health began to fail in recent weeks.

In "I Swanee," Mr. Dumas often talked about the good old days, recalling interesting and sometimes funny stories of his own past, as well as happenings told to him by his many friends. But he also talked about current events of interest to himself and other Tennesseans. These articles were often heard being discussed in the local coffee shops.

Mr. Dumas attempted to win the East Tennessee Public Service Commission seat again in 1994, but was defeated in the Republican Primary.

Public Service Organizations

Mr. Dumas was a member of the Paris Lions Club, Elks Lodge, Harris Camp Sons of Confederate Veterans, and charter member of the Sevierville Kiwanis Club. He was also a member of the VFW Post 1889 in Paris and the American Legion Post in Dresden.

A Fighter Until The End

Mr. Dumas was a fighter to the end, just like his ancestor Davy Crockett. His daughter, Mary Davis, stated that, only last Monday, he talked about writing another "I Swanee" column, but he passed away before he could do so.
The staff at the Dresden Enterprise, as well as his many friends across Tennessee, will miss Mr. Dumas, who always offered a friendly smile and kind word for everyone he met. Always cheerful and upbeat, his warm personality and gentle nature earned him many friends during his long and productive life. With this in mind, the Enterprise extends condolences to Mr. Dumas' family members and friends.

Mr. Dumas is survived by two daughters - Sandy Owens of Farragut and Mary Davis of Sevierville; one brother - Bill Dumas of Cottage Grove; four grandchildren - Jessy, Jacob and Sarah Jo Owens and Ally Davis; two nieces - Pam Choate and Linda Ziemba; two great nephews - Luke and Joshua Choate; a great-neice - Hanna Choate; and special friend - Julia Myrick of Paris.

(See obituaries for more information.)

Forestry officials announced on Friday a major upgrade of the state's most effective wildland firefighting weapon for the protection of Weakley and surrounding counties.
The state-of-the-art equipment, commonly referred to as a "fireplow," is among 112 bulldozers and transport units being deployed across the state to replace aging equipment currently in use by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry.

(Read the rest of this story in this week's Dresden Enterprise.)