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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 1955)
Scilem Barnstorming Day s of Aviation: Fitted With Color, Crackups Preparations for Aerial Fair. Honoring Lee Eyerly Recall City's 'Golden Age of Flying' By CONRAD G. PRANGE '' Staff Writer, The Statesman Barnstorming, balloon strafing and frequent crack-ops marked the early days of aviation in Salem days being recalled as, this eity now prepares for an Air Fair Sept 18. - , And there is still a scattered handful of men in Salem who participated in that "golden age of flying." They made, flew and demolished their own planes with true pioneer intensity. Those were the 192(rs-when . . . . 1 A ',- I T - I Xz, ft e y Lee Eyerly of Salem, prominent figure in Oregti aviation growth, win be honored at Salem Air Fair next month. (Statesman photo.) Lawy Witness Says per Killed By Waitress HEPPNER tft Mrs. Ann rhitney Avent's employer testified r'oesday that he saw her fire the : ollet that killed Dellmore Lessard, l ortland attorney, last June. Mrs. Avent is on trial on a f xond-degree murder charge. She j: accused of shooting Lessard, r no was representing ner iormer J jsband, when he went to the i xtaurant where she was em- l-Oyd. to discuss custody; of her Russell O'DonneTl, owner of 'the cife, said he came through a, door jTSt as Mrs. Avent" fired at Ees rord as the attorney tried to dodge L-2hind a cigarette machine. Circuit Judge William A. Wells h trying , the. case before, an, alt r-.ale jury. v --v ine oeiense won over lucsudjr the "aeroplane" was beginning to evolve from a "thrill machine into a flying speedster with vast potentials. Most flying was eon- fined to fairgrounds, race tracks and pastures. ' It was a day when many young men to ' the consternation of their parents were turning their allegiance from race-cars to fly ing machines. They weren't in terested in the stratosphen their main object was to get -off the ground and remain aloft as long and as safely as possible. Enthusiasm High World War I pilots returned home, purchased surplus Army training Jenny s and opened fly ing schools. Despite the finan cial burden involved, hundreds ot young enthusiasts paid or worked their way through flying schools. Never has personal en thusiasm for flying been so high. The roster of early-day Salem aviation leaders is a long one But it includes names like Lee Eyerly, former airport superin tendent; George Douglas, with the state board of aeronautics;' Verne D'Autremont, flying school operator; Brazier Small, attorney; Elmer J. Cook, West Salem jus tice of the peace; Lee Inman, retired; H. G. Maison, superin tendent of state police; Forrest Smith, foundry owner, and others. Promoted Aviation . The man who is generally re garded as having played a major part in the growth of aviation in Salem and in Oregon Is Lee Eyerly. operator of Eyerly Air craft. Co:, at. the airport - . . -" Eyerly, who directed construc tion of the first modern-type Lplane in Oregon some 27 years ago, will be honored for his life long interest in flying at a Salem Air Fair on Sept 18 at McNary Field, the airport he helped to promote. ' ."We , did. a- lot -of barnstroming in those early days to-help spark interest "an aviation," recalls Eyer ly. "We pulled a lot of wierd stunts to give crowds a thrill There were very few regulations concerning .aircraft." Drove Racing Cars :' . " . Eyerly, who " as i. -.. - i L , When aviation was in its infancy, if early-day Salem pilots didn't have planes el their own they imply built them if they could raise the money. The above picture shows Oregon's first mod era plane built under direction of Lee Eyerly in Salem in 1928. Inman, who helped build it 1920. -His instructor was Elmer J. Cook, now a West Salem resident, who was a World War I pilot The flying field was' located at the north end of 17th street adjacent to what is now the State Fair grounds. Eyerly later opened his own fly ing school on that field. He de signed a plane. Assisted by others, including the Salem Chamber of Commerce and such men as In man, a plumber; Smith, a weld er; Jimmy MacManiman and others, Eyerly built and later flew the plane. It was hailed as the Backed Airports in 3k ivuuci ii picnic vuusu uiicu ill , jn 1928 uregon: A year or so later, Eyerly was strafing ballons at an air event in Eugene and cracked up the ship. The plane was a total loss. Eyer ed. 25-40 horsepower Eagle motor, which powered that first plane. "The IS cents admission charged," reads an account of the exhibition, "nearly paid for the cost of the plane." The flight, however, ended unsuccessfully in a crash into the fairgrounds fence. Later Taylor made a successful flight. In 1910 C. B. Ely. a local pilot, took off from Lone Oak track at the fairgrounds and circled the capitoi at 400 feet and then "passed a racing car doing 51 miles an hour." few cracked ribs Picked a by Ferry The only other serious crash in which Eyerly was involved occur red in 1931 when he was forced down in San Francisco Bay on a foggy night. Luckily he and his one year after Lind bergh's transatlantic flight, the American Legion began pushing construction of airports in Oregon. A group of Salem Legionnaires in cluding Maison, Seely -Hall and ly received a broken arm and a Brazier Small, an m.Nivt nilot ot world war I. talked city voters into approving a $50,000 bond issue for an airport here. And in 1929, during a rousing Legion conven tion here, the airport was dedicat ed. Eyerly, still with his arm in a three passengers were picked uplcast following his Eugene crash, bv the Berkelev-San Franc sco wns w'i buii imciiuciu, ferry a short while after their land plane sank beneath the chop- "f XREXV AND BUTTER LETTER GAINESVILLE. Fla. UB Ala chua County jailers accustomed to abuse from prisoners were surprised to receive a postcard from Ernie Thomas, mailed in Jacksonville 60 miles away after he was released from serving a sentence for being drunk. It said "I got here O.K. Thanks to every body for being so nice to me. Photo is from collection jf Lee Eyerly finally bought the proper ty. Today it houses his 30 -em ploye plant which manufactures carnival rides. On State Board In . addition to his activities on Salem airport committees, Eyerly has been a member of the State Board of Aeronautics for the. past 20 years. One of the members of the board's safety department is George Douglas, who was the first Eyerly student to receive one of the state's first Aircraft and En gine Mechanic's licenses. One of those eager young men in the beginning of aviation progress in Salem, Douglas recalls at least one student who suddenly lost en thusiasm in flying. She was the daughter of a local paper mill ex ecutive. She was getting ready to take off one day when onto the flying field strode C. K. Logan, reporter for a Salem newspaper and a close follower of flying. Logan was accompanied by a large bulldog. The dog leaped at the whirling propeller blades of the girl's plane and was, of course, demolished. This sp unnerved the girl, recalls Lee Eyerly, local pioneer flier Tin cockpit) is shown after complet ing successful test flight in 1928 in the plane be designed. Con gratulating him at old airport at State Fairgrounds is Lee Inman, who later built planes and operated flying school in Eugene. those days, via air, were such well-known, "air-devils" as Tex Rankin and Dorothy Hester. Ran kin was killed several years ago in a Klamath Falls plane crash and Dorothy Hester, billed as the worrd'i outstanding "airobaf (she was famous for her outside loops) is married and resides in Portland. Another well-known aviator then was Walter (Scout) Hazel wood, now an Air Force colonel in Tacoma, Wash. V In the early 1930V Eyerly taught to fly what was hailed by the press as the youngest pilot She was Martha Bowman of Tex as and she soloed at the age of 11-, "It was about that time, too," he recalls, "that I flew a load of fresh Salem cherries to Denver, Colo. They sold for a dollar a pound. Local growers toyed with the idea for a while of making regular air shipments of cherries to other sections of the country. But the plan fell through." One o'f Eyerly's proudest pos sessions is a "porting License py waves. One of the passengers was Frank Hrubetz, still living in Salem.. In the late 20's Eyerly also de signed and constructed a plane sporting the first tricycle landing gear on a modern plan. Ho .called it the Wifflehen, after a - comic trip character. - StUl'HM-EngiM . . .- . Salem's first glimpse of an air plane came before Eyerly's time. It was in 1909 and the plane was built in Salem by Dr. S. C. Scovil and Ben Taylor, a postal employe. Eyerly says he has in his pos- post he held until 1941. Eyerly re-;Georg;r she stepped out' of the issued t0 him in 19? by.th Na: calls that Tom Holman and James niann waikorf nit ih pM and tional Aeronautics Association.lt Linn sold the city the 93 acres on the contingency that someone pur chase an additional five acres, containing buildings, for $5,000. never returned, "Air-Devils" Frequent visitors to Salem in is signed by the chairman, Or- ville Wright "You had to have one of these to compete in those air shows," Eyerly explained. "And, besides a plane, it was about all you had to have." New Beer Can Size Considered OLYMPIA in The State U quor Control Board will consider permitting sale of beer in 16 ounce containers at a meeting Sept. 1, a Board announcement said Tuesday. At present the Board allows beer to be sold in 11, 12 and 32 ounce containers. A RUBBER STAMPS NOTARY A CORPORATE SEALS made to order in our shop NEEDHAM'S ' 465 STATE ST STATIONERY PHONE 2 2485 vou your next tar UNO OUT A ROUT STAT! FARM'S IOW-COST ?AK& PLArT FINANCINO Yon may m at orach a $100 at nort on the purba of a new or m4 oar when )fNwni Stato Farm "Bank Plan17. Yen save on financing through your noarby bank ot their low bank rates. This m ing, plus your saving on State Fan insurance amounts to real money. And your State Farm Agent han dies all the arrangement for you. Call today your State Farm Agent b only a phono call away. if f f I fr Toor STAT! FARM AO INT " '-'Si" Olson Phone 4-2215 S26 N. High St Britain Wants Cyprus For Defense Reasons a younr man built and drove racing cars in and ; ternoon with Mrs. Avent, who around Salem, learned to fly in session the four-cylinder, air-cool 1 is pleaded innocent, the only r itness. Her attorneys. John Bas i Ht of Portland and Ralph Currin rf Pendleton, contended before i ltroducing her that no crime was t wnmitted. They said Lessard ; ed improperly in interviewing I t at her place of work. She testified that Lessard threat ened to take the boy away from 1 t and place him in a Portland i -phanage. She said her mind ent blank before the shooting and fiat she remembered nothing ot it. . Mrs; Avent testified that she did rot know "when,' how or where fie gun went off. She said she divorced her hus l md in 1953 and their differences I lve been about - support' money 1-t the boy. . ! The prosecution has two rebuttal r itnesses scheduled for Wednesday j 'orning.' After that the case. was t 3ected to go to , the jury. Judgment Day Arrives Quickly GALVESTOM. Tex. iB City ,Tjdge C. C. Wright witnessed an i jtomobile accident, then watched . ; one irate woman driver assailed l e other one. He interposed to -,y he thought the irate one was in t e wrong. That will' be for the judge to t'scide," he snapped. "I am the. judge, lady," he re i;ied, ' The case was 6et0ed out of court: By ARTHUR GAVSHON LONDON CP Britain told Greece and Turkey Tuesday she intends holding Cyprus so king as she has responsibility for defending the Middle East Diplomatic informants said this was the gist of a statement made by Britain's 'Harold MacMillan at a secret session of British, Greek and Turkish foreign ministers who are discussing the future of the East Mediterranean Island. The in formants included delegates who sat in on the talks. In his speech, described as being conciliatory yet firm, MacMillan reportedly called - on Stephen Stephanopolous of Greece and Fatin Rustu Zorlu of Turkey to seek a reconciliation of their attitudes on the Cyprus question. Cimmoi Interest . : The British foreign minister said it was in the common interest of the three powers to work togeth er if the . Middle East is to be defended effectively against ' the possibility of external aggression and internal upheaval. MacMillan' s statement led off the three-power talks on the future of the island which both Greece and 'ish descent Turkey want to take over. Stepha- nopoulous and Zorlu are due to make their introductory policy speeches Wednesday and Thurs day. Negotiations will follow on the basis of the three statements. The British statesman was said to have emphasized this country has no intention of abandoning its vast strategic commitments in the Middle East commitments which, in the British view, are impossible of fulfilment by smaller powers. Vital Link... Cyprus serves as Middle East headquarters for British land and air forces. It is a vital link also in Britain's imperial defense and communications system stretching from Europe to Asia and Africa It now has crown colony status which means 500.000 Cypriots are ruled directly from London. Greece, although it has never owned the island, is supporting the claims of 400,000 Greek-descended Cypriots for the right of self-determination. But Turkey, which 'possessed the island for 350 years until 1914, wants the island to remain under British rule if she cannot get it ' back for herself. About 100,000 Cypriots are of Turk- "OLD REMABLE'MNT A iFOSM OF FIRE! fMaid of Calif ornia9 Finalists till. I 1 5 ll.LStll X" s i 1 ! i -J .: - 1 r i f: X if t -,vv' s " Xjm" V ,iiti J ; " t . Great Features back up Chevrolet Performance: Anti-Dive Braking BaU-Rac Steering Outrigger Rear Spring -Body by Fisher 12-Volt Electrical SyitemNine Engine-Drive Choice in ell models. We wager that the first thing yoiiU say when you drive the new Chevrolet is: "Who changed 'Old . Reliable into a flash of fire?" For years and years, Chevrolet has given you ' those qualities of materials and workmanship that make it the best investment in its field . . . and now added to all that is sizzling performance! Proof? You bet In official ' NASCAR Trials Chevrolet out-accelerated all tow and -medium-priced cars and every high-priced car but one! . , Yes,- sir!. Flash of fire! Thafi why we ask you to try Chevrolet before you buy any car. 'National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing Drift with can .'. . EVERYWHERE! , Taki a drivi In thi new Chevrolit and set hiw new thi biw Chivrelef really Is. Wi can almost uaraotct that when you try it, j you'll think you'n drivlnr a ear costing v twtct as much. "Old RellabU" Is red hot. America's hottest performer because it's got America's most modern Y8I SACRAMENTO Eleven finalists selected from contestants of 41 California counties are pictured k here. The winner will be selected frost the frtnp on the opening day of the state fair Sept. 1. - wrm lefL thev are: Mareia Milatesta. Amador: Marilyn Van Dense n. San Bernardino; Joan Ben- sett, Sacramento; Jey Monroe,- Fresno; Nancy. Smith, Alameda; Elain Herrmann, Monterey; Fa- tricia HuteieM, Truuy; vowje,.nam utego; jnqy .auieen,. avern; muri nvrec, ou natcwi Arlyta Grver Cntra Costa, Tht-winnex win relga. as ald tf Califnrala" durias tht fair. (A DOUGLAS McICAY CHEVROLET GO. S10 N. Commmiul St. Phont 3-3 17S