Although I've heard the name “Gypsy Smith,” my knowledge about him was limited. I knew he was an evangelist with a gypsy background, but I was not familiar with the details. When I was reading the April 1931 “News-Topic” I learned that the evangelist had preached in Lenoir.

I did a little research to get the background on the man. I learned that there were two evangelists named Gypsy Smith, father and son. It was the son, Gypsy Smith Jr. who preached a revival in Lenoir in 1931. However, the promotional material stated that his father, Gypsy Smith Sr., had preached in Lenoir on two previous occasions, and that the son had led a local revival in 1920.