Milford chronicle., 1931-01-16
Tells Nichols OF Cooking
First New Years Din
ner In Little America.

Bernt Balchen is unquestionably
/ the most cOlOrful member of the
Byrd Antarctic Expedition. He is a
Norwegian, experienced in aircraft
. operation, second to no man in the
world. It was Balchen, who, when
Byrd and four companions attempt
ed a New York to Paris trans-At-
! lantic flight, brought the plane to a
safe landing in the ocean at Ver-
sur-Wer, France. The plane was
confronted with binding fog over
Paris and was unable to land. This
forced Byrd to turn back to the At
lantic Ocean where Balchen was
given the difficult task of Bleaching
the plane close enough to the shore
so that all might escape safely.
This he did most accurately, and
because of this, Byrd chose him to
pilot the Floyd Bennett" on it's ia
nous flight over the South Pole.
met Bernt Balchen in the Caulk
Laboratories. When l first caught
glimpse of him he appeared to be
a rather small man, but ON a closer
examination l saw that, although he
was rather short, he hal the broad
shoulder and the wasp-liie waist of
a fighter. Ills whole body seemed
to radiate the Tremendous strength
he possesses. Below a shock Of
tawny hair there is a pair of deter
mined eyes, which at times shine
with humOr and wit.
Bernt Balchen was boln in Tveit
Tapdal, Norway, in 1901. He at
tended High School tOT several
years and entered branch of the
Norwegian army, which is similar To
our National Guard. When he was
seventeen years old he won the
heavyweight championship of lis
country. He held this until 1923.
When he was eighteen he served in
the Norwegian mounted artillery
and later the Norwegian air service
in which he won his promotion as
fight lieutenant.
In 1926 he was a member of the
Observation-Disclosures flight
to Kings Bay, Spitzbergen. In
speaking of this flight he merely
stated that the Antarctic regions
held a greater attraction for him
than the country he few over dur
ing the trip. His outstanding ex-
ploit, however, was his heroic trip
to the German-Irish fliers who were
stranded on Greelie Isle in Novia
Scotia, with their famous plane the
Bremen" The people of Milford
will remember this fight with more
than passing interest by reason OF
the fact that Balchen was accom-
panied part way by his best friend,
Floyd Bennett, the fiier who piloted
Byrd over the North Pole. Bennett,
it will be recalled, got up from his
sick bed to so with Balchen, but at
Montreal, part way; he was strick-
EN- with pneumonia, and removed TO
a hospital, where he died three days
later. The week he was buried
with military honors in Arlington
Cemetery, was the very week he was
scheduled to be in Milford for den
tai check-up by DIR. Clyde A. Nelson
in the Caulk Dental Clinic. Several
years later Balchen flew Byrd's
plane safely to Ver-sur-Mer'
France.
Balchen's most famous trip was
That to the South Pole with the
Byrd Expedition. 1t was on January
[, 1929, when Balchen prepared the
irst New Years dinner in Little
America which consisted of pork
Ind beans, bread and peanut butter,
and applesauce. He said that no
east of turkey and cranberries ever
asted better. On January 16, Bal
,hen tested out the "Stars and
Stripes" a Fairchild monoplane. On
January % he went on fight on
which he saw some 10000 square
niles of territory. While on another
light over the Rockefeller Range,
he plane Balchen was flying was
forced down by terrific
,ale which wrecked the plane while
is occupants were trying to secure
The queerest things Balchen no
iced at the South Pole were the
i'd pranks played by the intense
old. The kerosene used on the ex-
edition was always frozen solid.
Whenever metal cameras were used
o take pictures, they had to be
eated or the intense cold would
reeze them so as to be unfit for use.
Balchen said that in spite of the
he went through at the
iouth Pole, it would always hold an
ttraction for him. He also express
ed his admiration for Commander
Iyrd and the way his men respect-
d him.
He stated that aviation is just be-
inning and in few years will be
he most important means of trans
He is planning globe
ircling tour in a Fokker mono-
lane, in an effort to beat the time
lade by Graf Zeppelin in Septem-
er, 1929. He hopes to start in
pril. If he does go on this trip he
as the sincere good wishes Of ev-
rv Offi1au in Ni1ford