Local woman who acts, and lives, like ‘Long Sam’
LAKE NORMAN, N.C. (QUEEN CITY HOMETOWN) — “We are the keeper of lost things.”
It may not seem like it, but inside the archives room at the Mooresville Public Library, there’s life to be found.
“What archives do is we keep people alive- we keep the memories of people alive,” said Andy Poore.
In this case, those memories have been cut, pasted and now are cared for by Andy.
“It’s fun because you’re piecing together a story,” said Andy.
This story started with a phone call. A woman called the library and told Andy she had some old articles and pictures of her friend, Dorothy.
“She doesn’t tell me at first who, she just keeps calling her Dorothy. She finally says, Dorothy Brown. I stopped her and I said, are you talking about Long Sam?” remembered Andy.
Her name was Dorothy Brown. But after being discovered in the woods near Troutman by local journalists in 1957, she became better known across the country as ‘Long Sam.’
“(They) saw her and immediately associated her with Long Sam, and that’s how the story began,” said Andy.
The famous ‘Long Sam’ cartoon was based on a woman who lived in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, far away from civilization. Not only did Dorothy look exactly like Long Sam, but she lived like her too.
“She was a fabulous celebrity for Mooresville because she briefly put Mooresville on the map long before Nascar. Sorry, Nascar,” laughed Andy.
One small article snowballed into more, then a spread in Life Magazine, and an appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. She was only about 17 at the time and was experiencing the world in an entirely new way.
“Rural beauty catches New York’s eye,” read Andy, from an old article.
Though fame was at her fingertips, Dorothy wanted one thing. A college education. She had to drop out of school in the eighth grade to care for her family.
Dorothy went on to finish high school and then finish college. She taught school for a while and then tutored children throughout her life.
“She is still telling us her story, so that’s a good thing,” said Andy.
Dorothy passed away in 2023. Her life quieted down after several years, but she’ll forever be known as ‘Long Sam.’
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