On this date, January 8, 1919: William C. (Bill) Strother, known as the “Human Fly,” made his second visit to Winston-Salem in two years.
Strother was an entertainer, and he went to great heights to thrill and chill as he climbed the eight-floor O’Hanlon Building. In addition to reaching the top of the building, Strother performed acrobatics on the roof and the flagpole. He performed similar feats during his visit in 1918.
Strother was a North Carolina native who began building-climbing during a nation-wide building climbing craze that hit the United States in the mid-1910s to the late 1920s. This craze coincided with a skyscraper building boom in the country.
Strother continued to climb many of the country’s tallest buildings, including the 57-story Woolworth Tower in New York. He was injured in a fall in 1930 and later ran a boarding house for military personnel in Virginia.
In the early 1940s, Strother began appearing as Santa Claus for Miller and Rhodes department store in Virginia. He used his acting abilities and elaborate makeup to “play” Santa and engage the children in conversation. Strother died in 1957.
