Evening star., 1944-04-18
Continued From First Page)

water boy In the gas company al
Columbus, Ohio. He remained with
them for 25 years. He rose to be
foreman and he kept up our home
and raised my sister Edith. who is
two years younger than myself, anC
me on $50 and $50 week. saving
his money until, when repeal came
he could do what he liked. which
was to open a bar and grill and
live off that.
But even though he was not rich
he is what they call regular" and
he was really wonderful to me
When he gave me SIS to take a girl
out I'd put So or 81 into the bank
and splurge the rest on the girl
When he gave me sic I'd put eight
or nine of it into the bank. Dad
was amused and mother was de-
lighted, I think, but I knew what ]
was doing.
7 wanted to fly.
First Plane Ride at II.
I was pretty bashful and afraid
OF people, and Dad, who is q
ground minded man, chose his own
way to correct that. When was Is,
in 1896, he had me come in to wait
on tables in the good old Geneva
Bar and Grill. 1t worked out all
right, I guess. Anyway, I got SO
that I could talk right along with
the boys and kid them back as I
brought them their beer.
But it was not until was II when
I finally got into an airplane. At
that time I felt T had come to the
place where I belonged in the world.
The air to me was what being on
the ground to other people. When
7 felt nervous it pulled me together.
Where things got too much for me
on the ground, they never got that
way in the air.
Flying came into my mind like
fresh air smoked up into the lungs
and was food in my hungry mouth
and strength in my weak arms. I
felt that way the first time got into
an airplane.
Nice Kind of Excitement.
7 wasn't nervous when I first So
loed. There was excitement in me.
but it was the nice kind you get
when you're going home after a
long, long, unhappy time away
Dad gave up then and started
buying me a half hours flying time
every Sunday. 1t cost about $40,
depending on the kind of plane you
could rent.
Then I began pestering him to
buy me an airplane. His eyebrows
went up again and my mothers
mouth went down again. They said
no, no, no, and I said yes, yes, yes.
I found q man with a homemade,
single-seater, open cockpit plane
that he was willing to sell for $500.
Mother said I was crazy and dad
said he wouldn't hear of any such
thing. So went down to the bank
and drew out the $500 and paid 1t
over.
FIeeced Out of Plane.
Somebody, we never knew who,
called up mother anonymously and
said: 'Your son bought himself q
death trap to fly in"
This made mother rush scream
ing down to the airport to cancel
the sale. It turned out that the
man who had sold me the plane was
a crook. He had somebody fly the
thing of to Indiana at mothers
first scream and dad went down
with me to try to get my money
back. We couldn't, without lawyers,
and dad figured it would be too ex-
pensive that way.
"Okay,p he told me. You've
learned q lesson. You've got. $500
worth of experience now"
But ] brought up the subject
again and again and another time
and another time--every chance
could. Finally dad bought me a
singie-seater biplane Aerosport for
$3.50. When dad gives In he gives
in good.
The general reputation I had In
Piqua was not, I think, too good.
The folks around there thought
was pretty crazy kid. played
football and baseball for Piqua Gen.
tral High and managed to make the
second team in basket ball and was
average in my studies, going along
with the middle of the class. There
wasn't anything they could pick on
there.
But when got into an automo-
bile that had a lot of horses to
gallop galloped them. I'd race
every car on the road. I'd 60 100
miles an hour sometimes when the
cops chased me because they were
in Fords and could make only 80,
while had dads Lincoln Zephyr.
Maybe twists and turns and skids
and looking back while driving
wasn't good citizenship on the Ohio
roads, but it turned out to be good
training for driving over Germany
On Saturday afternoons would
beat up the town in by airplane, and
the cops chased me In that, too. I
could see their cars running after
me, trying to get my number. I'd
raise the hair on everybody's head
with my propeller. I'd blow In the
curtains on Betty Levering's house