Zachary Smith Reynolds
Nov. 5, 1911-July 6, 1932
Smith Reynolds was beloved by his older three siblings. Sister Nancy remembered him fondly, stating, "Smith was my friend. He was younger than I, but you never felt that way about him because he was so intelligent, and he was so adult in his thinking... He was a very strong character." Unfortunately, the death of their parents amplified Smith's daredevil tendencies.
Reynolds spent two years at Woodberry Forest School, joining various clubs, including the Smokers Club, where he earned the nickname "Camel" Reynolds. During his time there, he wrote at least two suicide notes, later discovered among his papers after his death. One note, written as a mock last will, mentioned leaving his car to his best friend Ab Walker, his money to brother Dick, his reputation to Virginia, and his good looks to Mary. The second note expressed despair over a failed romance.
He left Woodberry Forest and returned home to attend R.J. Reynolds High School but struggled academically. Following his brother's example, he dropped out at 15 and joined Dick at Reynolds Aviation. Inspired by Charles Lindbergh's 1927 transatlantic flight, Dick Reynolds pursued aviation as a business, buying Roosevelt Field on Long Island and founding Reynolds Aviation and Camel City Flying Service.
Smith Reynolds took his first flying lessons in 1926 from an instructor at the Curtiss Flying School. His brother and he practiced takeoffs and landings on the Reynolda bungalow's front lawn of the Reynolda bungalow and often performed aerial stunts to frighten their sisters Mary and Nancy. On late mornings, they would fly low over Reynolda House and, using a bull horn, would call down to the kitchen staff their lunch requests, before landing on the expansive lawn.
At sixteen, Smith earned a private pilot's license signed by Orville Wright. He was passionate about flying, reflected in his 1928 financial records. He included expenses for a new Waco 10 Whirlwind plane, pilot's insurance, aviation club memberships, aviation magazines, and parachutes.
Smith regularly barnstormed, performing daring shows in farmers' fields. He was also active in the local Winston-Salem aviation community, winning an amateur race at the dedication of the city's new airport, Miller Field, in 1928. In 1929, he got his transport pilot's license and Airframe and Engine mechanic's license, becoming the youngest person in the country to hold a transport pilot's license at 17. Smith Reynolds became a local hero in Winston-Salem and one of North Carolina's notable sports aviators during the "Golden Age" of aviation.
In 1929, Smith began courting Anne Cannon, heir of the Cannon Mills textile fortune. He would fly to Concord to take her on airplane rides. Anne's father, Joe F. Cannon, discovered the two teenagers together one night in his home. He had himself and the couple chauffeured to York, South Carolina, for a “shotgun” wedding around 2:00 AM.
The marriage quickly deteriorated. At a Christmas party at the Winston-Salem Robert E. Lee Hotel, Reynolds and Cannon had an argument. After returning to their apartment at the Carolina Hotel, the argument escalated. Reynolds slapped Cannon twice to quiet her and sent her to bed. He then sullenly sat at an open window, throwing dinner plates out to the streetcar tracks nine stories below. Later, sister Nancy recalled, "I know he had a very bad temper. When he got angry, he was really angry."
By early 1930, despite Anne being pregnant, the couple had separated. In August 1930, Anne Cannon gave birth to a daughter, Anne Cannon Reynolds. She was sent to live with her grandparents in Blowing Rock, North Carolina.
By this time, Smith had moved on to a new life in New York where he would soon meet Libby Holman. [A post for later] But he still had to resolve the final matters of his failed marriage with Anne Cannon.
In 1931, Smith flew Anne Cannon to Reno, Nevada - informally known as the "Divorce Capital of the World." The required residency for citizenship - and then a divorce - was only 6 weeks. A variety of "divorce ranches" catered to the wealthy seeking "quickie" divorces. Anne Cannon stayed at the "Lazy Me" ranch owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr. to meet her residency requirement.
In the divorce deposition, Cannon reported that Reynolds would curse her and made her feel "terribly nervous and upset." Reynolds testified that they separated because: "She likes big parties, and I like small parties."
The divorce was quickly finalized. The terms of the separation awarded Cannon $500,000 (C$11 million) of the trust Smith would inherit and their infant daughter Anne Reynolds II an equal amount.
Smith had closed one chapter of his life but had already begun an even more traumatic one before this one had ended.
Smart kid with too much money and no supervision…train wreck coming based on the age he died.
Interesting stories from a time gone by.