The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-03-11
OF
 ROCKINGHAM IS
 POPULAR FIGURE
Cowboy at l7, Now Di- rects RaCetrack War
 Against Narragansett
BY ROBERT WEBB United Press Staff COrreSp0ndent)

United Press Stan COrreSpOndent)
 Boston, March Il - (U.P0 The current New England racetrack war Involving Narragansett and Rock lngham, which plan to compete against each other for A consecu- tive racing days this summer, may add another lively chapter to the checkered career of Colonel c. E. Fauntleroy, a modern soldier of for tune.
 Just as Fauntleroy overcame the obstacle of scant schooling to rise to the head of Polands air service during the Polish-R Russian war so does he now as co-owner and treasurer of Rockingham plan to force larger, more powerful Nara gansett to realize that the little New Hampshire track has right to a fair share of the better racing dates.
 Born 1T miles from a backwoods Mississippi schoolhouse 47 years ago, Fauntleroy left school in the Sev- enth grade and ran away from home to be a Texas cowboy. As 15-year-old youngster, he did not measure up to the generally accept ed cowboy standards and was forced to work as a dish-washer on chuck wagon to earn three meals a day.
 Likes Horses
 Eauntleroy gradually climbed the prairie ladder of success until he became coWpuncher at IT. His in- terest in horses, which manifested itself almost 30 years later when he accepted an executive position at Rockingham, dates from his early cowboy experience.
 He left Texas a year later and after holding more than 50 different jobs, many of them for only week, Fauntleroy interested himself in aviation when Lincoln Beachey, an English aviator pioneer, came to Chicago where Fauntleroy was working as taXi-cab mechanic.
 T always had a mechanical ten dency," said Fauntleroy, "and dur ing my spare time in Chicago, I constructed airplane models. Just at time when I had saved $750, erough to buy everything for a plane except the motor, the Lusi- t8inia was sunk and I decided to join the air corps"
 Because Fauntleroy lacked a col- lege education, his application for the American Air Corps was reject ed and he sailed for France to join the Foreign Legion, using his saV- irGs to buy passage. After the French officials spent three months satisfying themselves that he was not German spy, Fauntleroy be- came a second-class private at five cents 8 day.
 He studied airplane design and maintenance during the six months before leaving the French army to help the Americans assemble their training ships in France. He de- signed the Issoudun flying field where the United States did much of it's airplane test work.
 1t was during this period that he became reaSSociated with Eddie Rickenbacker, most famous Amer ican war ace, whom he first met as an automobile racing driver in Chi cago before the war. Both men were interested in auto racing but Fauntleroy never rode in big races as Rickenbacker'S mechanic.
 Big" Money
 In the Spring of 1919, Fauntleroy was preparing to leave for America when Polish Premier Ignace Pader- ewski asked him to assume com- mand of the Polish air service at greater salary than Paderewski him. self was receiving. Fauntleroy re- jected the original terms but took the job for $7.50 month.
 Although his recent activity as Chicago banker and motion picture associate in Hollywood has proved only mildly exciting, he said today: T still love fight" which augurs well for Rockingham in the present situation.