The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1953-12-11

baggage and material, and Cap
tain and Mrs. Tate and Wilbur
Wright proceeded to construct
the first glider, which was truly
the embryo flying machine of the
present day.
1t required two weeks to con-
struct the glider, and Captain
Tate says that it was also spent
in he and his wife sizing up" the
stranger. Orville Wright came on
September l. Both of the brothers
boarded at the Tate home, but
later moved into tent between
there and the life-saving station
Before the first motor-driven
flight was made, the Wrights
presented the first glider to the
Tates, who carefully dissected it.
The sateen fabric used on the
wings was made into dresses for
Irene and Pauline Tate, who were
then 3 and years old.
"Crazier Than The Wriehts"
Captain Tate soon acquired
the reputation among his neigh
bors of being "a darn sight
crazier than the Wrights." 1t
was the regret of his life that he
did not see the first flight on
/ December II, 1903, after he had
been a right bower to the
Wrights during their stay there
He was engaged in other duties
that morning, when a neighbor,
nearly out of breath, ran up and
yelled: We'll, they flew"
The little Irene Tate, who wore
a dress made from the glider, is
now Mrs. Bennett D. Severn.
She has flown over $4,000 miles
with her husband, who is an
aviator, and once was the only
helper for her husband in bring
ing a plane from Miami, Fla, to
Atlantic City, N j., against brisk
prevailing north winds. All of the
members of the Tate family
have been in airplanes.
Captain Tate is now keeper of
the Coinjock Lighthouse Depot,
at Coinjock, N c. Fame has not
kept Orville Wright from re-
Numbering his old friend, and
they frequently correspond, while
the Tate home has a wealth of
about the men who in those days
mementos and historical data
were unknown. This is his tri-
butte to the Wrights in a recent
letter to me:
They were Christian gentlemen
and moral to the core. During all
my acquaintance and close con-
tact with Them, which lasted
several years, l never heard one
of them utter an oath, never saw
either of them get angry, and
never heard them tell a story
which even bordered on the OBJ
scene. They were scientific men,
, skilled and even balanced, and
nothing l can say can pay them
, too high a tribute.
With their names and their eX-
PLOTS ringing in the ears of the
world the Wrights have remained
the same modest, unasuming
men, untouched by popular ac-
claim. Wilbur Wright has now
gone to his reward, but before
his death he saw his invention
perfected to high point. Orville
Wright still lives in his native
city of Dayton, Ohio. With that
retiring manner that is character
istic of the man, he has shown no
interest in this measure. While
1t signifies an event, is it not
also proper that we honor the
man who accomplished it? The
Government has named a great
aviation field in honor of the
dead Wilbur Wright. Let us by
the passage of this bill acclaim
also the living.
Mr.. Chairman, it would be in
teresting to trace the develop
ment and progress of aviation
since this initial step on North
Carolina soil, but 1 shall not do
SO. In peace and in the broaden
ing of our commerce the airplane
is already playing a dominant
part, while in war it is destined
to be the most contributing fac
tor.
There is nationwide support
for the passage of this bill. My
files are filled with letters from
every section of the country. Mr..
Frank Stick, of Pine Cove, Inter
) laken, N. j., who, with his as
sociates own Kill Devil Hill prop
erty, has recently sent me the
following wire:
Asbury Park, N. J.
Hon. Lindsay Warren,
) House of Representatives,
Washington, D. c.:
: My associates and l are great
ly interested in your bill for a