The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-07-20
LOSES HIS JOB,
 BECOMES HERO
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(Continued from Page D cle with whom he had lived since his parents died more than 10 years ago.
 The Rev MT. Langford, pastor of the First Baptist church at Santa Monica was worried about his job less nephew. So was Mrs. Langford. He seemed to be acting strangely. For the first time in his life he wouldn't eat
 They urged that he go to Sunday school again and even stay for the sermon, but Doug said as politely as he could that he didn't have time. The Rev. Langford thought nothing of that. Doug never had joined the church and his attend ance at services always had been irregular. He went only when his aunt begged him.
 They Learned Reason
 The Langfords didn't learn until after their nephew suddenly be- came one of the best known men in the world, why he wouldn't eat his dinner. nor what he was doing in his bedroom until all hours of the night, nor why his hands always were so greasy he couldn't get his fingernails clean.
 After he had flown nonstop to New York and then on to Ireland in plane which originally cost $310, these triple mysteries ex- plained themselves. Doug wouldnt t eat with his aunt and uncle be- cause he was testing concentrated foods. How could he discover how long five cent chocolate bar would stay the bangs of hunger if he ate beefsteak for dinner? How could he test the nutritive power of dried figs if he also put ham and eggs in his stomach?
 As for the lamp burning over his bedrom table, scraps of paper in the wastebasket explained that. Doug had been figuring how many miles on gallon of gas his 1929 model plane would go. Works on Rusty Wreck His hands, it developed, were greasy because he was working on his aerial jallopy all day and every day. It needed plenty of work. It was a rusty wreck when he bought it at auction in New York and flew it home by easy stages-necessi- tated by the frequent breakdowns of the engine.
 The $310 purchase price was just the beginning. Before he had fixed 1t with new motor and many other gadgets-including gasoline tanks which he welded himself-it had cost him $90O. The new motor really wasn't that. Doug bought two old Wright Whirlwind engines, dismantled them and used the least worn parts of both to make another motor.
 His friends in the Southern Cal ifornia airplane factories still chortle over one of his forced land- ings in what they christened "The Heap"
 Dropped Among Cows
 The plape skidded at dusk to a halt in COW pasture n ear Ocean, side. The curious COWS approached and began licking the dope of of it. It had pleasant taste, like bananas-and Doug had to spend the night with his ship shooing away the cattle.
 In any event Doug has his ship tuned as fine as 1t would go couple of weeks ago. He told his aunt he guessed he would take spin to San Diego. Next she heard from him was postcard from New York, saying it ran to well he just de- cided to go on there.
 Heavens, that boy" she said. Another week elapsed and came an- other postcard saying he was head ing home. At .6:30 a. m. Monday Mrs. Langford was awakened by a phone call. It was United Press correspondent telling her her nephew had made a slight error of 5000 miles and had landed in Ire- land.