Jackson Weightlifting Club
JWC History
Dalton Jackson: The "original" JWC member
Dalton started training in 1928 with makeshift weights. He lifted what he could when he could. This included homemade weights of buckets of cement, rocks, anvils, and whatever else was lying around. He could finally afford the luxury of his own set of weights in 1938 and I still have a few plates, bars, and iron boots from that collection. Dalton really didn't "invent" the JWC, but he was inspiration for it and had he not started training, none of us likely would be where we are today.
The Second Generation: Wayne & Phil Jackson, Gene Thudium, Wayne Gardner, and Wayne Smith
In 1957 Wayne and Phil began to lift weights. Soon, Phil came up with the idea for a "Club" and they called it the Jackson Weightlifting Club. Guys would come and go and at one time as many as 27 lifters were "dues" paying members of the club. But the core group that stuck with it day in and day out were the "Three Waynes", Phil, and Gene. The club moved around often but for the longest time was in an old store front on Jefferson St right where First St. ended. This was under the water tower and next to the old Santa Fe Depot. In the summer they wold pull the weights out back on a make shift platform and lift under the water tower. Wayne Jackson told me that was the "heyday" of the club and they won many individual state titles in Olympic style lifting and in the then fledgling sport of Powerlifting as well as two state team titles! Quite an accomplishment for little Kirksville. Wayne also won the Teenage National Championships so the club actually had a National Champ!
The Third Generation: Just a few of the guys that make up the modern day JWC!
I started training with Wayne in 1977, but it was not until 1998 that we "reformed" the JWC. Where had it been? Nowhere, the heart and soul was always there but it was very much inactive as a weightlifting club unless you count the meets that me and Wayne were entering during that time. That year a handful of new guys, namely me, my brother Tedd Van Vleck, Mitch Ridout, Brian & Brett Kerby had what amounted to picnic and strongman meet in my back yard! John Ware was there as was 2nd Generation Wayne Smith and Wayne Jackson. Wayne Jackson said it reminded him of the old York Picnics. The next year we started a strongman contest and highland games that still goes on today. A short time after that Brian Kerby and I were invited to perform with "Omegaforce", a Christian Strongman team. We were inspired and came home with the idea to start JWC Evangelism. That initial show was me, Brian, Brett Kerby, and Mitch Ridout. Since that time John O'Brien has become one of the core members of that group. I am probably the only member who has been in the over 250 shows we have done to date next to John. We continue to train, travel to contests as a team, put on Christian Strongman shows and just have fun! There is so much more I could write, but I hope you get an feel for the history of the JWC....and it's still being written!
