She was called “Tiny,” weighing only three pounds when she was
born in 1893, the seventh and last child of a poor farm family
in Granville County, North Carolina. Georgia Ann Thompson was
married at 12, a mother at 13, and a school dropout. After her
husband was killed in an accident, she had to work 14-hour days
in a cotton mill to support her daughter Verla. She seemed
destined for a life of grinding, relentless poverty. But when
she saw “The Broadwicks and their Famous French Aeronauts” at
the 1907 North Carolina State Fair, something happened to
Georgia Ann Thompson. She just had to become one of those daring
people. They ascended to the sky in hot-air balloons, then
thrilled spectators by jumping out of the basket and floating to
earth with the aid of parachutes. Little Georgia asked show
owner Charles Broadwick if she could travel with the group and
become a part of the act. Broadwick was impressed by her good
looks and spirit. He could see that pretty little girl, who
stood all of four feet tall, would