Clayton Bates

Clayton Bates was born on October 11, 1907 in South Carolina and passed away on December 8, 1998. He started entertaining at a young age, dancing on the streets. Clayton's parents were both sharecroppers, and they tried to make enough money to support their family. Bates had always had a love for dancing, but his life was about to change forever. At age 12, Bates got into a cotton gin accident and lost his left leg. He later got a peg leg, and everybody started to call him "Peg Leg Bates". He continued to dance and lived a great life, even with a peg leg.

I believe that Clayton Bates was a hero because even though he had a huge obstacle in his life he still pushed for his dreams and found a way to get around the obstacle. Bates inspired so many people to do what they love, and if you practice hard enough, you'll become amazing at what you do. There is currently a highway named after Bates, called "Peg Leg Bates Memorial Highway". If Clayton Bates wasn't alive today, we wouldn't believe that somebody could still dance with a peg leg. There might not even be one legged dancers, and some people wouldn't have such a good inspiration.

I was drawn to Clayton Bates because I saw that he was a dancer just like me. I really felt like I could relate to him, so I chose him as my hero. Clayton Bates didn't have a personal affect on me, but he showed people that anything was possible. I wouldn't say that Clayton Bates is a life-saver, but he definitely helped people push for their dreams. I also think that Bates is a good role model for younger kids because, like I said before, he shows people that it doesn't matter if you are different, you can still be successful. If I had to use one word to describe Clayton Bates, I would use "unbelievable". Clayton Bates did something that nobody could believe, and he inspired so many people.