Evening star., 1937-02-07
pilots Have Been Working All Hours and Landing Unghtee
Muddy Airport-Airnen Have Shaved in Soda Water.
Morbid Sightseers in Chartered Planes Grounded.

potatoes over from Boiling Field and
from Wright at Dayton. United Air.
lines brought us down a planeload Of
rubber boots; Transcontinental, West.
ern Air added to the number of our
visiting firemen; Stokeley Bros. Of
Indianapolis had their private plano
bringing canned food, especially
canned baby food. Their pilot, Marvin
Althouse. who grew up here in Louis.
vile, took his license here at Bowman,
and so knew the field intimately, made
six landings one night in mud and
without lights, when none else dared
come in. Every manner of medical
supplies, serums, nurses, doctors, over
300 policemen, reporters, newsreel and
cameramen came in by air."
I OUIS SEELBACH. member of the
Air Board and the Mayors Com
mittee, working with the lieutenant,
added his word: During the first two
days of the emergency" he said,
American and Eastern Airlines, who
run regular schedules into Louisville,
did a magnificent job. I don't know
what would have happened to us if
they hadn't taken over as they did.
They are still carrying on. After the
second day the big Army transports
began bringing in troops and supplies.
The local Air Corps Reserve unit has
done everything it could, particularly
in flying serum to towns in other
parts of the State, helping to make
maps and getting people out of tight
places"
I finally managed to get J. C.
Thompson, district traffic manager for
Eastern, away from his line of refugees
long enough for an interview, and
later, over a sandwich, D. A. McCon.
nell, station manager for American,
for another. All through the telling
the planes kept coming in and the
numbered refugees would dwindle for
a while as the lucky ones scheduled
for that flight were taken aboard.
Then the crowd along the fence OUT
side the station building would break
into animated talk that died away
when the plane scared into the sky.
"On January %, Saturday." Mr..
Thompson told me, with the city
shut of except for the airport, Eastern
began bringing in extra ships. We
had five in between ! in the afternoon
and 3 the next morning. The field
was terrible, wet and soggy, but We
managed. On Sunday 1t was so bad
no one could operate, but Monday We
and American began again. Every ship
in came loaded with serum, supplies,
food or personnel Every ship out
took as many women and babies and
sick as 1t could carry. Our normal
passenger load on these ships Is IA.
But, by leaving OF freight, we added
seven or eight children to each load
Of adults. Women without children
held the extra ones Of the mothers
any difference whether they had the
money to pay or not. We took checks,
promises, anything, just being sure the
need was real and that they had some
place to 60 when they landed. One
mother with a sick child showed me
her purse. She had $5, and that was
all she had, but she offered it all If
we would take her out with her baby.
She went, but she kept the IS.
Sunday we lost our lights, but We
had a portable receiving and sending
radio set hooked up to plane-the
only one in Louisville. On Monday
Continued on Sixth Pase.A