The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1953-11-27
PROGRESS RAPID NOW ON
5OTH FLIGHT CELEBRATION
in DARE, DECEMBER l4-l7
Replicas of Buildings Used by Wright Broth
ers in 1903 Under Construction at Kill Devil
Hills; Scene Will Look Like The Memorable
Day SO Years Ago.
BY AYcocK BROWN

Will IoIlT sponsoring groups
cooperating to make it the big
gest celebration of it's kind ever
held anywhere, the plans for the
golden anniversary of powered
flight here at Kill Devil Hills and
Kitty Hawk on December 14-17
are well underway. The sponsor
ing agencies and their leaders in
clude Kill Devil Hills Memorial
Society of which General Frank
P. Lahm is president and Miles
L. Clark chairman of board of
directors; the Air Force Associa-
ton, headed by George c. Ken
nedy with Ralph V. Whitener as
program director; National Park
Service, directed by Conrad L,
Wirth with Horace Dough as
local superintendent of the
Wright Memorial area here and
the North Carolina 50th Ami
versary Commission headed by
Governor William B. Umstead
with Carl Goerch as chairman.
''The four day celebration at
Kill Devil Hills will salute all
phases of aviation" said General
Lahm. Monday, December IA,
will be private flyers and pioneer
day. On Tuesday we will honor
the aviation industry, the manu-
facturers, suppliers and the air
lines. Wednesday will be defense
day and Thursday, December II,
will be Golden Anniversary
Day"
General Lahm, u. S. Army re-
tired brigadier generaD was a
close friend of the Wright Bro
theirs and was taught to fly by
them.
Whitener for the Air Force
Association has announced that
there will be aerial demonstra-
tons and ground exhibits on zach
of the four days.
1--WE will reenact the first
flight on December II, at the
same hour and over the same
course as it was done in 1908. ,
said Whitener.
Governor William B. Unstead
assured representatives CT the
sponsoring celebration agencies
that North Carolina would give
every support possible to make
the observance the most out
standing of its kind held any
where.
Carl Goerch, chairman of the
Gov ernors 50th Anniversary
Flight Commission announced
that top-ranking state and ma
tional officials would be present
for the celebration.
Julian Oneto, of the Mays
Head Chamber of Commerce has
announced that his organization
will be responsible for housing
visitors to the celebration.
Mrs. Lucille Purser and Oneto
of The Carolinian are chairmen
of the dinners, while local in
vitations to same will be handled
by committees headed by Mayor
Martin Kellogg, Jr., of Manteo
and C of C Manager Forrest
Jones of Elizabeth City. Lunch
cons are planned for each of the
four days with Notable speakers
on the program.
Co-Chairman of the publicity
and press facilities are Aycock
Brown of Dare County Tourist
Bureau and A. w. Drinkwater of
Manteo, the retired telegrapher
who in 1908 handled more than
10000 words of press copy for
newsmen covering the Wrights
experimental flights at Kill Devil
Hills that year.
Arrangements, for concessions
at the site of the celebration at
Kill Devil Hills are to be under
the supervision of Horace Dough
superintendent of the National
Memorial area.
The Civil Aeronautics Admin
istration will install an operations
set-up at nearby Manteo airport
to handle the great number of
visitors who will come to the
area by air and already arrange
ments have been made for trans
porting these visitors from the
airport to the site of the celebra
ton here, at Kitty Hawk and in
Mays Head.
Battlefield equipment heryed
peaceful purpose this week at
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina,
birth place of powered flight. DR..
j. C. Harrington and Frank
Barnes, Regional Archaeologist
and Regional Historian, respec-
lively, of the Department of In
terior's National Park Service,
used a mine detector to locate the
exact spot on which Orville and
Wilbur Wright had built two
See CELEBRATION, Page Four