Jack Hook and his story (8 photos)

There is a Sports Rock restaurant in Rapid City, Pennington County, South Dakota. It used to have a different name, but it had to be rebranded. Because the now deceased man, after whom the establishment was named, was very interested in intimidating visitors.





Jack Henry Leary was born in Newborough, New York in 1849. And at the age of 16 he left his father’s house to get rich. The country was just in the midst of a Gold Rush.



Great Sioux War

An attempt with several comrades to find wealth in the Black Hills of South Dakota ended sadly. The Indians, whose territory was the mountains, did not like the appearance of strangers. And the young man, having discovered his friends dead, immediately got ready and left the inhospitable place.

But a few years later, Leary returned. The Black Hills War, known as the Great Sioux War, began when US authorities fought the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians of the northwestern Great Plains in 1876–1877.



Golden fever

The guy settled in the mining town of Myersville and even got married. The couple had twins, but only one girl survived. The 1882 incident changed Jack's life forever and made him something of a celebrity.

It was mid-March. Together with his friend Jim Scott, Jack warmed up dynamite by the fire, knowing that frozen sticks often did not explode. One of them exploded right in his hands, throwing the man more than 10 meters and tearing off both arms. Leary also lost some of his vision and was deaf in one ear. Jim escaped with a broken arm and concussion.



The arriving doctor, who was called by the rushing miners, provided first aid to the victims. Scott's recovery was a matter of time, but Jack had no chance. But contrary to predictions, he pulled out after lying there for more than six months. Alvin's wife left the poor man, and he decided to return to work.

New life



Jack Leary

Can you imagine an armless worker, half-blind and hard of hearing? And he was. An active friend, Henry Moll, built articulated structures for the man with hooks that were tightly attached to pieces of wood fixed to the stumps.

Jack-Hook, as he was instantly nicknamed, moved to Rapid City and got a job as a night watchman. The archives even preserved a contract for the purchase of housing, which the man signed by dipping the tip of a hook in ink.



There were no law enforcement officers in the tiny town of about 1,000 people. And Jack gradually took over this function. Even the most notorious hooligans understood that getting into a fight with a disabled person without both hands was such an act. Overall, it's a shame. Thus, a kind of unspoken code of honor was formed in the town.

Perhaps the hotheads were carrying out a showdown somewhere outside the city limits. But that was beyond Leary's responsibility. Of course, although the majority of residents respected Jack-Hook for his constant watch and desire to maintain order in the town, there were also protesters. So, the unruly students somehow hung the poor fellow from the fence with hooks. Jack was rescued by cowboys from a neighboring ranch. And the next day they caught the smart guys, lined them up and forced them to flog each other.



Pizzeria Hooky Jacks

With Alvina they raised 8 children. All of them became decent, hard-working people. In 1926, a man was hit by a car. And since that time, they say, his ghost has taken up residence on the top floor of the former house, which was turned into a restaurant and later into a pizzeria.

The employees refused to go up to the third floor, where Jack lived, unless absolutely necessary. And even work the last shift alone. At night, voices, rattling and eerie sounds were heard upstairs.



Strange flashing lights were captured on surveillance video. Numerous witnesses have seen chairs, tables and billiard balls move on the table by themselves. Several bartenders claimed to have seen a figure sitting at the end of the bar out of the corner of their eye. And when they looked up, there was no one there anymore.

Reminds me of land a ghost about himself who continues to serve even after death, or are these just stories? Who knows. But this man, taking into account his physical characteristics, lived an unusual and worthy life.