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Dedicated to the history and preservation of artifacts and memorabilia commemorating
CHARLES A. LINDBERGH and The Spirit of St. Louis
First solo, non-stop flight from New York to Paris - May 20 - 21, 1927
VOLUME MMIV
JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, 2004
ISSUE No. 3
Inside This Issue!
- 2004 Symposium
Presentations
- 2005 Symposium
News!
- Lindy’s Dog and
Cat?
PUBLISHED IN THE MEMORY OF MAX HEALEY, FOUNDER (1915 - 1990)
C.A.L./N-X-211
Collectors Society
Executive Committee
President
Juan A. José
5 de Mayo #136 - Casa 1
Col. Tepepan
Mexico D.F. C.P. 16020 Mexico
Vice President
Joena Meier (217) 243-7032
2 Millwood Manor
Jacksonville, IL 62650
Secretary
Bill Grant
P.O. Box 295
Patton, CA 92369
Treasurer
Gary Fisk (310) 539-2599
24506 Cadiz Drive
Lomita, CA 90717
Immediate Past President
Doug Studer
14154 Aulick Road
Butler, KY 41006
Board of Directors
Doug Bielanski
Kurt Francis
Duane Jacobson
Havner Parish Jr., MD
Max Rensberger
Marketing & Communication
Juan A. José – Director & Chairman
Newsletter Editors
Doug Studer & Joena Meier
Preservation Committee
Duane Jacobson, Curator
9119 16th Avenue South
Bloomington, MN 55420
(952) 854-8260
Membership Committee
Gene Weisenberg, Chairman
1562 Bradbury Road
San Marino, CA 91108-2727
(626) 286-9596
t
i
r
i
p
S of the
Society
Aerospace history was made June 21st, 2004, when
SpaceShipOne became the first privately funded
spacecraft. It was a first step by the Rutan team to win
the Ansari X Prize that has been offered to promote
space travel in the spirit that the Orteig prize was
designed to promote aviation. It is inspiring to think
that the legacy of the New York to Paris race has survived the turn of the century. Those of us who have not
lost yet the ability to be amazed by events like
SpaceShipOne flight can expect exciting events to
occur as the race to win the Ansari X Prize goes on in
the near future.
Let’s not forget that the Spirit of Lindbergh, Orteig, the
Spirit of Saint Louis Organization, and all the teams
that tried to win the New York to Paris race back in the
early 20th century flies with each astronuaut that tries
for the Ansari X Prize. For us Lindbergh collectors perhaps this is a new opportunity to open a new category in our Lindbergh collections and include in it what
ever memorabilia is being generated by the Ansari X
Prize race.
I am very happy that new alternatives of discussion,
passion and collecting are being offered to those interested in the history and preservation of memorabilia of
worthy individuals or events. I am sure we will have
exciting things to talk about while we meet in
Southern California in May 2005.
¡Saludos desde Mexico amigos!
Juan
[email protected]
Nominating Committee
Doug Studer, Chairman
14154 Aulick Road
Butler, KY 41006
(859) 448-0711
Past Presidents Committee
Cris Sauer, Lyn Sheldon,
Doug Studer, Gene Weisenberg,
Rosie Zuern
Society Web Site: http://fly.to/cal-n-x-211/
Mailbag
Notes and News from Members
Hi again, Doug,
The latest Newsletter was just GREAT! The color
photos were really wonderful – it’s obvious that
I missed a good one!
I’m delighted to hear that John Underwood and
Mr. Sikorsky attended. They are both really
heavy hitters – we are lucky to have them!
Happy Landings,
Gary
Thanks Gary, hope that you got some of the
“spirit” of the symposium through the pictures!
Hello Doug,
Barb and I send best wishes to you and Shirley
with hopes that you are having a great summer.
We sure did Enjoy Cancún!
Dave Sawitoski
Best Wishes back to you, Barb and Dave!
Collectibles
New Ornament Available!
Just a note to let you know that today I made an
addition to my “Spirit” collection, and thought
that you might like to do the same.
Hallmark has issued a miniature ornament of the
Spirit in their July 9, 2004 collection. I thought
this might make a nice add to your extensive collection if you have not already done so. The
price is $6.95 and you might want to let the
other club members know in the next newsletter.
Dave Sawitoski
Thanks Dave,
consider the
membership in
the know!
Including: yours
truly.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIV No. 3
Lindy Flyer Information Request
I have been given your name in reference to
your collection of Lindbergh items. I have a
Lindy Flyer wagon. It has original tires, minor
rust and Lindy Flyer is still written on the sides.
Color is faded, but over all it is in very good
shape. I have contacted Western Flyer and they
could not give me any information. Do you have
any idea what something like this would be
worth? Can you give me history?
I truly appreciate your help and information in
this matter. I can be emailed at [email protected] or
mail me at the following address. Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Patty
Patricia L. Bird
1401 S. 16th St. Apt. G3
Herrin, IL 62948
How about it members, any news for Patty?
Contact her directly please.
Fisk Files
And Then There Was Booster
From “Tales Up” by Walt & Ann Bohrer
Yes, and then there was “Booster,” a wingwalking, stuntloving fox terrier “partner” of Charles A.
Lindbergh back in the general’s barnstorming
days.
This was during those preParis hop years when
Lindbergh was stunt man and mechanic for
“Shorty” Lynch, one of his first instructors at
Lincoln, Nebraska.
Booster joined the Lindbergh/Lynch barnstorming team somewhere in Kansas. Lynch gave
Booster his first hop. In order to keep the dog in
the cockpit of their ship “Standard,” a rope was
fastened around the pooch’s neck and tied to the
seat. All went well and Booster seemed
“airminded” enough until Lynch started his glide
for a landing. When about 50 feet above the
ground, Booster stuck his nose out and spied a
rabbit. That did it! Out he bailed for the full three
feet of rope! Lindbergh nearly had a strangled
PAGE 3
dog when the ship finally taxied to a stop.
Artificial respiration brought him around and
thus ended his first lesson.
On more than one night hotel desk clerks
scowled with suspicion at a somewhat bashful
young man who apparently was smuggling
something up to his room under his leather coat.
Once inside the room, Booster would slide out
from under his master’s jacket and stretch happily on the foot of Lindy’s bed.
After a few weeks’ airtime, ol’ Booster became so
“planebroke” that a stout harness was rigged up
for him. It had a few inches of leather leash on
the belly band and a snap on the end was
secured to a ring on top of the Standard’s turtledeck. And thus, atop that turtledeck outside
and behind the rear cockpit rode Booster for
many an air mile.
Booster’s lessons progressed apace with his
learning. At length he was given his first loop
while riding the turtledeck. He lived through it
and learned how to brace his legs just right
against the fuselage, taking the slack out of the
leash and riding through the loops without the
slightest whimper. And he progressed until he
“soloed” on a tailspin. From then on life was
easy. Booster finally graduated to wingwalking,
slowly edging out to the last strut and back to the
cockpit.
Booster became “prop wise” early in his career.
When Lynch or Lindbergh would go up without
him, he’d wait until the ship stopped taxiing.
Then he’d warily skirt the nose of the ship,
watching the propeller out of the corner of one
eye, dash around to the tail, hop up on the horizontal stabilizer and trot on up the fuselage to
the turtledeck. There he would vainly pose for
photos with a very smug look on his face.
The “partnership” finally broke up in Bird City,
Kansas, when Lindbergh told a group of boys
that he’d trade Booster for another dog. In five
minutes 50 boys had returned with at least one
dog apiece, either their own or someone elses.
Who can tell but what Booster, in later years,
trotted up to a picture of Lindy while taking a
stroll with a girl friend and said, “Lindbergh?
Sure I know him, I used to barnstorm with the
guy!”
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIV No. 3
Features
The Lindbergh Cat
By Richard Sanders Allen
For over 75 years, now, I’ve been interested in a
small, young kitten, supposedly named “Patsy”.
This animal was photographed with Charles A.
Lindbergh in mid May, 1927, while the soon to
be famous aviator was awaiting favorable weather for his unprecedented flight to Paris.
Lindbergh was housing his airplane, “Spirit of St.
Louis”, in Hangar # 16 of Curtiss Field on Long
Island, surrounded by a swarm of engine
mechanics and airfield employees who inspected, adjusted, cleaned and polished every portion
of the gleaming, silvery monoplane. And did it
over and over again.
An even greater swarm of people stood in the
rain outside the open hanger, milling about, and
making occasional forays into Hangar #16 in
attempts to talk to the slim, smiling aviator with
the audacious plan of flying across the Atlantic.
Among these were the members of the press,
reporters and photographers who sensed a
“human interest” story in this melee of endeavor
and determined to make the most of it. They
converged on Lindbergh and the engine men,
demanding interviews, and what today are
called “photo ops.”
A couple of the press photographers had a gimmick. Scrounging the back of the hangar, they
found a small stray kitten the Curtiss men had
been feeding, and accepted as a mascot.
Hurriedly dubbing him/her “Patsy”, they set the
feline down on the “Spirit’s” tail, and photographed Lindbergh good naturedly petting the
animal atop his fedora. It was great for “human
interest”, and the pictures were distributed all
over the world. There was probably an accompanying press release, to the effect that
Lindbergh had, or was going to take the kitten
with him to Paris. This he had no intention of
doing. The “cat episode” was simply another
piece of staged publicity by the rampant news
purveyors of that era.
PAGE 4
Despite international distribution of the photographs with no assertion that Lindbergh flew the
cat across the Atlantic, in the hectic days that followed the famous flight, the assumption grew and
flowered that “Patsy” flew in the “Spirit of St.
Louis”, with Charles Lindbergh, clear to Paris.
Papers, poems, buttons and postage stamps
appeared which coupled the colonel with the cat.
(This writer, age 10 in 1927, was given a small
tomcat which he prompty named: “Patsey”). This
went on for years and years. I can recall a close relative, and a couple of my fellow aviation historians
waxing quite vehemently in insisting that: “C.A.L.
took a cat with him to Paris” They’d seen a picture,
a stamp, and a matchbook cover to PROVE it! (Or
their sainted aunt had assured them it was so.)
More years tumbled by, and gray hair turned
white. But I always had a nagging wonderment
about that cat. Finally, last fall, I happened to come
across a little item in the book: RAISE HEAVEN
AND EARTH; The Story of Martin Marietta by
William B. Harwood, (1993)
It seems that “Patsy”, the kitten, had another friend
in Curtiss hangar #16 that rainy May day in 1927.
He was a boy of twelve who washed planes and
did other odd chores around the time Lindbergh
was preparing for his flight.
When it came time, Lindbergh turned to the waiting group and said: “Here Billy. you take the kitten.
I can't take it with me.” That Billy was William B.
Bergen, who grew up to work for Glenn Martin,
and one day became president of the company.
(Martin Aircraft.)
NOTE. There are at least four pictures of Lindbergh
and “the cat”, and I have only poor photostatic
copies. The “press service” credit line on some of
them is indistinct, but reads: “New York, N. Y.”.
I’d appreciate anything further anyone might have
or come across on this subject. It is insignificant
aviation history, and childish, but FUN!
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIV No. 3
2004 Symposium Presentations
Aviation Commemorated
Through Art
By David and Rosemary Zuern
We all collect artwork of Charles A. Lindbergh
and/or his plane, “The Spirit of St. Louis” when
we find it. Have you ever wondered about the
artists who produced the art for many of the
prints we find on old calendars and magazine
covers?
An excerpt from a 1941 Life Magazine article on
the subject of calendar art stated:
“Like the mail-order catalog and the can opener,
the gaudily-illustrated calendar is a staple and
traditional household article in millions of US
homes. Almost always, it is a gift from one of the
advertisers who last year bought more than
$10,000,000 worth, bringing special joy to the
hearts of Brown & Bigelow of St. Paul,
Minnesota. Since 1896, Brown & Bigelow have
been making every conceivable type of calendar, in sizes ranging from a postcard to an indoor
billboard. Put up on office, parlor, bedroom or
kitchen walls, in plumber’s shops, bars and
grills, they shed an interesting light on the public’s taste in this, its greatest source of decorative
art.”
We should keep in mind that the calendar art
was probably the only decorative art in many
homes because during these hard times of the
20’s, 30’s and 40’s they could not afford frivolous purchases. Americans developed the habit
of framing favorite prints after they were finished
PAGE 5
with the calendar.
In addition to calendars, prints are also found on
magazine covers, ads, candy tins, and in illustrated books and stories. The artists were excellent and produced wonderful work; but, they
never received the kind of recognition that was
given to those who produced the so-called “fine
art”. However, today much of their work is
sought after by collectors such as us. We look for
prints, calendars, postcards, magazine ads,
china plates, tins, and even jigsaw puzzles.
Many of these artists were prolific in their painting and illustrating in order to provide a livelihood for themselves and families. Some even
used pseudonyms in order to better sell their
work to calendar companies such as Brown &
Bigelow and Gerbach-Barklow Companies.
Magazines such as Life and Cosmopolitan also
purchased their work.
The following is a profile of some of the artists
whose work you know through your hobby of
collecting Charles Lindbergh memorabilia.
his pictures.
There are a lot of Fox collectors, as well as clubs
dedicated to his work. These collectors are
always “hunting Fox”. The pseudonyms confirmed by these collectors include the following
names: G. Blanchard Carr; J. Colvin; DeForest;
Dupre; Elmer Lewis; Musson; George W. Turner;
C. N. Wainwright; and George White. You can
readily see it is great fun and a challenge hunting the Fox.
He worked until his health gave out; and, he
died at the age of 75 in 1935. Several books
have been written about him and they display
the known works that he produced.
Robert Atkinson Fox, 1860-1935
Robert Atkinson Fox was born in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada, and his parents were William
Henry Fox and Sarah Atkinson.
Fox was one of the most prolific artists of his
time and produced hundreds of pieces of art
used for calendars.
Be studied in Ontario, and furthered his education through travel in Europe. Fox started his
career painting portraits. He moved to New
York, on to Philadelphia, married in 1903 and
settled in New Jersey. Fox did work as an illustrator for calendar publishers, as well as for
printing and picture framing companies. Upon
becoming successful, he moved his family to
Chicago.
Fox was adept at painting anything requested of
him. He produced colorful gardens, animals
(cows in particular), children, Indian maidens,
sailing ships, historic scenes and transportation;
hence, the prints we know of Lindbergh.
The calendar companies he worked for wanted
to appear as though they had a large staff of
artists working for them. Fox was in demand,
and he was asked to produce so many paintings
that he would occasionally use a pseudonym on
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIV No. 3
PAGE 6
F. R. Harper, 1876-1948
F. R. Harper was born in Rock Island, Illinois.
Like many other calendar artists, he arrived in
Chicago at the turn of the century to study at the
Art Institute of Chicago in 1908. He studied with
Chase and Henry.
Little has been found of Harper’s early years yet
he enjoyed a successful career as a fine artist.
His works were exhibited in the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York. His income was primarily derived through his commercial illustrations for advertising and paintings for calendars.
He is known to have worked for Northwestern
University, Lawrence College in Appleton,
Wisconsin, The Chicago Bar Association and as
a teacher at the Evanston Academy of Fine Arts.
Some of Harper’s works include beautiful
women, historical and patriotic scenes, and
wonderful Indian maiden paintings.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIV No. 3
Charles H. Hubbell, 1899-1971
Charles Hubbell was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in
1899. As a boy of 10, he became interested in
aviation when a friend gave him an aeronautical
magazine. Be became an avid model airplane
builder. Before completing high school, he had
designed and built many models and a mansized glider. He graduated from the Cleveland
School of Art in 1923. Trading his early watercolors for flight time, he soloed in 1925. Charles
held CAA Pilot License Number 9792. He
worked as a commercial artist, and painted airplane pictures as a hobby.
In 1929, Hubbell entered his work in an aviation
art contest sponsored by the Cleveland Press to
promote the 1st National Air Race in Cleveland.
Cliff Henderson, the Director of the National Air
Races, liked Hubbell’s work and used his art on
air race posters and programs. In 1938,
Henderson arranged a meeting for Hubbell with
Fred Crawford, Chairman of Thompson
Products. Thompson Products sponsored the
Thompson Trophy Race. Henderson suggested to
Crawford that he use Hubbell to do a calendar of
the Thompson Trophy winners. The deal was
sealed with a handshake and it resulted in the
1939 Thompson Products Calendar, consisting
of the first nine Thompson Trophy winners and
three airliners; this began a 30-year association.
The Hubbell Thompson calendars, number over
PAGE 7
375 paintings, and have become the most
authentic and complete history of aviation ever
to be assembled. Hubbell’s total body of work
included over 600 aviation paintings. A stickler
for detail, he went to great lengths to assure
accuracy. He would travel over 65,000 miles in
a single year to capture the clouds and terrain
that set the scenes for his works.
Charles Hubbell undoubtedly is the world’s bestknown aviation artist-historian. His art has hung
in the White House, the Smithsonian, the Air
Force Academy, and the Air Force Museum. He
was featured in a one-man show at the
Smithsonian in 1960, and his work was featured
at the EAA Air Venture Museum, in Oshkosh,
Wisconsin, in a special exhibit in 1987. High
quality lithographs of his art hang in libraries,
museums, and in the homes of aviation buffs the
world over.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIV No. 3
Zula Kenyon, 1873-1947
Zula Kenyon was born in the small town of
Deansville, Wisconsin where her father was a
minister. She is known as one of the earliest
woman artists in the field of calendar art.
Although women were generally not encouraged to pursue careers in those days, she was
permitted to attend the Art Institute of Chicago;
and she lived in Chicago from 1900-1918. She
produced over 250 calendars for the GerbachBarklow Company in Joliet, Illinois. Much of her
work was done before the 1920’s. She created in
many mediums but favored pastels. Her pastels,
for richness of color, beauty of conception, and
perfection of drawing were without equal anywhere in the world. She invented and prepared
her own materials grinding colors, and fashioning the boards she used.
While in Chicago she also maintained a studio
in Waterloo, Wisconsin where she met and
became good friends with Adelaide Hiebel
whom was about 15 years her junior. It was
when Zula became ill and was advised to move
to a warmer climate that Adelaide Hiebel went
to work for Gerbach-Barklow. Zula moved to
San Diego where she lived with her sister, also
an artist.
Zula Kenyon’s work included landscapes,
women, animals, historical subjects, and a series
of paintings of a “bluebird” shown with a child.
She was one of the most popular artists of her
time. Her paintings were sincere, warm, and
captivating.
Kenyon died in La Mesa, California in 1947.
PAGE 8
Adelaide Hiebel, 1886-1968
Adelaide Hiebel was born in New Hope,
Wisconsin. When she was young, the family
moved to Waterloo, Wisconsin. Her father, a
prosperous tailor, owned a number of shops in
the Waterloo area. Due to her father’s trade, she
became an expert seamstress. Her use of the
knowledge of fabric carried through in her painting where some of her works carefully and realistically depict the texture of the cloth portrayed.
Adelaide was gifted, and she liked to sketch and
use clay for modeling figures. She studied in oils
and sculpture at the Art Institute in Chicago. Her
favorite medium was pastels. In 1919 Adelaide
Hiebel was an art instructor. When her mentor
and friend, Zula Kenyon retired from the
Gerlach-Barklow Calendar Company in Joliet,
Illinois, Adelaide was asked to come to work for
them. She signed a contract and painted calendar prints for them until 1954. Zula and
Adelaide’s styles were similar, so she was an
excellent replacement for their popular artist.
During Adelaide’s employment, GerlachBarklow copyrighted 250 of her pictures, which
included women, infant portraits and small children. One painting was of a small boy with an
airplane and a caption, “I wanna be a Lindy”.
She also painted kittens, puppies and women
with horses, landscapes, and beautiful Indian
maidens. Some of her paintings were almost
photographic in detail. She was one of the better-known woman illustrators of her time.
Like Zula Kenyon, her contemporary and her
friend, she produced a large series of child-bluebird paintings. Her paintings varied from a child
watching a bluebird in a nest, flying to the nest,
on a birdbath, and on a tree branch. Some featured a child waving a greeting or good-bye to
the bluebird. As many as 7 different child bluebird prints have been attributed to Zula Kenyon,
while 19 different such paintings of the bluebird
have been identified as the work of Adelaide
Hiebel. Other artists whose work included bluebird paintings were Annie Benson Muller, Mabel
Rollins Harris, and Hy Hintermeister.
Adelaide's brother had the Hiebel Photography
Studio in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIV No. 3
PAGE 9
J. Knowles Hare, 1884-1947
J. Knowles Hare was born in Montclair, New
Jersey. He was noted for etchings, and he was a
leading creator of calendars and magazine covers. His etching entitled “Sympathy” is reputed
to have had a wider sale than any other executed by an American artist.
Be had been doing illustration work since an
early age. As a youth, he accompanied Captain
Bob Bartlett on one of his trips to the Arctic for
the sake of the adventure. Thereafter, he settled
down to doing covers for Cosmopolitan, The
Ladies’ Home Journal, The Saturday Evening
Post, and for The Country Gentleman. His wife,
Gladys Granger was his model for many of his
magazine covers. His work also appeared on
many postcards, calendars, and various forms of
advertising. In addition, he painted many pictures under the name of John Hare. Many of
those pictures were of Cape Cod.
Later, he specialized in etchings. One of them
was titled “PALS” and it is of Shirley Temple with
her doll and dog. His “Sympathy” was a picture
of a small boy crying over an injured puppy. He
did many others on similar subjects.
Hare also did a number of portraits in dry point.
His portrait etchings were hung on exhibition for
a number of years in the restaurant of the Hotel
Des Artists. They included studies of Howard
Chandler Christy, S. J. Woolf, Wallace Morgan
and other artists.
He also had worked on calendars for Brown &
Bigelow, at least a dozen were well known in the
calendar field. He was a member of the Society
of Illustrators.
In 1947, at the age of 63 he died in his studio
where he lived alone. It was located at the Hotel
Des Artists on West Sixty-seventh Street in New
York City.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIV No. 3
PAGE 10
James Montgomery Flagg, 1877-1960
James Montgomery Flagg was an American
painter, author, and magazine and book illustrator.
The pen was Flagg’s illustrative tool of choice.
He sold his first illustration to St. Nicholas
Magazine when he was 12 years old. By age 15,
Flagg was on the staff of both Life and Judge, the
two most recognized magazines of humor at the
time. Idle pastimes were of no interest to Flagg
and drawing was his passion. While he did
attend the Art Students League from 1894-1898,
his real learning took place as he reviewed and
studied material that came across editors’ desks
at Judge, Life, and St. Nicholas Magazine.
Though Flagg had a portrait accepted at the Paris
Salon, he promptly returned to illustration. He
illustrated books, wrote collections of limericks,
and continued to do pen and ink drawings for
the humor magazines. His output of book illustrations was staggering in numbers. At least 35
titles are known for the years 1908-1925.
Flagg was a character. He was self-assured, outspoken, cavorted with the likes of John
Barrymore, Ham Fisher, and Rube Goldberg, and
he was an active member of the infamous Dutch
Treat Club. His memberships extended, also, to
the Lotus Club, the Players Club, and the Artists
and Writers Club. Flagg also wrote for and
appeared in silent films, and during WWI, he did
promotional films for both the US Marine Corps
and the American Red Cross. But his best
remembered work during WWI was his painting
of Uncle Sam pointing at the viewer and stating:
“I Want You For U. S. Army”. Further, he created
another 45 patriotic posters during that time.
After the war, nearly every major magazine
sought his illustrations; they were to appear in
Photoplay, Women’s Home Companion,
Redbook, The Saturday Evening Post, Liberty,
Colliers, Ladies’ Home Journal, The American
Weekly, McClures, Cosmopolitan, Hearst’s
International, and scores of others. He also illustrated in a few books -- the most notable being
his autobiography: Roses and Buckshot in 1946.
His illustrations for the Jeeves novels and the
Jeeves short stories that appeared in The
Saturday Evening Post marked Flagg as the preCAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIV No. 3
PAGE 11
mier, best-known illustrator of his time.
Outspoken and frank, he dismissed formal training and when bored he would paint himself. He
believed that painting was in his blood. Flagg
died in 1960, and in 1980 was elected to the
Society of Illustrator’s Hall of Fame.
Einar Kverne, 1905-?
Einar Kverne, at the age of eighteen, came to
America and specialized in oil and watercolor.
Late he turned to Fine Arts studies for reproduction purposes.
On May 21, 1927, the world was electrified by
the single word “WE”. It was flashed from continent to continent on the arrival of “The Lone
Eagle” in Paris after his solo trans Atlantic flight
from New York, which began on May 20.
Overnight, the word “WE” became the symbol
of the pioneer spirit of American youth to millions of people throughout the world. In his
painting of “WE” Einar Kverne has portrayed the
spirit of that memorable flight. He has depicted
the majesty of sea and sky with true Viking feeling. We sense the uncertainty of those elements
above and through which the Lone Eagle traveled on his flight to Paris.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIV No. 3
PAGE 12
Carl Bohnen, 1871-1951
Edward Shenton, 1895-1977
Carl Bohnen was the second born of a family of
seven children. While little is known of his very
early childhood in Minnesota, we do know that
his family members were all talented and they
developed artistic, musical, and economic skills
at early ages; all were extremely industrious.
Carl learned to perform on snare drums, and in
1892, he enrolled at St. Johns University in
Collegeville, Minnesota where he eventually
earned a degree for bookkeeping and penmanship. A runt in a family of tall men, Carl went on
to study art at The Royal Academy in Munich
during WWI; and, in 1928, he went to Paris
where he painted for 5 years. He also studied
and painted in Italy and England, and his entire
stay in Europe covered twelve years. In 1920, he
did an oil painting of an old man -- signed Carl
Bohnen, that sold for $400, a rather princely
sum for a relatively unknown artist. In 1924, he
did a drawing of Edward, Prince of Wales, and
his subsequent paintings numbered two which
hung in the University of Chicago, as well as
five, full-size portraits of different Governors
which hang with several others in the Minnesota
state capitol.
While little is known of Carl Bohnen’s personal
life, when he died in Chicago in 1951, two children were listed in a brief obituary, a daughter,
Miss Charlotte Bohnen, and a son, Arthur.
Edward Shenton was born in Pottstown,
Pennsylvania. He studied at the Pennsylvania
Museum School of Industrial Art and the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. George
Harding, Thornton Oakley and Henry McCarter
were among his teachers. In 1922, he won the
Lee Prize and in 1923-24 The Cresson Traveling
Scholarship, which afforded him the opportunity
to study in Paris. He specialized in black-andwhite illustration. His realistic drawings are also
stylized and decorative.
His work did appear in the Saturday Evening
Post, The Reader’s Digest and Colliers, however
his line work was most suited for book illustration, and publishers he worked with included
Doubleday, Harcourt Brace, Scribner, W. W.
Norton and Random House. One of his illustrations was for The Bear by William Faulkner, published by The Saturday Evening Post in 1942.
Edward Shenton also had an active career in
writing and editing. He served as an editor for
The Pennsylvania Publishing Company, and a
part-time editor for Macrae Smith. He wrote
short stories, which appeared in Colliers, The
Saturday Evening Post, Scribner’s and
Cosmopolitan; and, he wrote and illustrated several books. He also illustrated a number of books
about Pennsylvania country life written by his
wife Barbara Webster. A wall in the Chester
County Court House in West Chester,
Pennsylvania and two large panels in the Chapel
of the War Memorial Cemetery at Saint-James in
Brittany, France depict his mural projects. In
addition to his busy workload, he taught classes
at the Moor College
of Art in Philadelphia
and the Pennsylvania
Academy of the Fine
Arts.
Here we see an example of Shenton art. It
depicts the Spirit of St.
Louis in a realistic yet
stylized. colorful. and
decorative medium.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIV No. 3
PAGE 13
Jessie Willcox Smith, 1863-1935
Jessie Willcox Smith was born in Philadelphia in
1863. After having taught kindergarten when she
was about 20, she discovered a propensity for
drawing. She developed her talent under
Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of
the Fine Arts. Upon graduating in 1888, she
embarked on a long career, with her earliest
work appearing in St. Nicholas, a magazine for
children. In 1889, she took a job in the production department of The Ladies’ Home Journal.
After laboring for five years at the job, she left to
attend Drexel Institute of Arts and Sciences,
where she studied under Howard Pyle who was
but ten years older than Jessie. It was at the
Institute that she befriended Elizabeth Shippen
Green and Violet Oakley. The three women
would go on to collaborate on illustrations and
remained friends for life. Eventually, the three
women rented a studio and later Ieased and
shared an old inn outside of Philadelphia. Jessie
illustrated in Scribner’s Magazine and - along
with Green, she produced two calendars. It was
her former teacher, Pyle, whose name and training gained Smith entry to other publications
such as, Century, Collier’s Weekly, Leslie’s,
Harper's, McClure’s, Scribner’s, and The Ladies’
Home Journal. Soon, the focus of Jessie Willcox
Smith’s illustrations gelled as children became
her central subject. Book and magazine commissions increased, and in 1908 she was hired
to produce a series of plates to illustrate seven
successive issues of The Ladies’ Home Journal
titled: The Seven Ages of Childhood. She never
married, yet the illustration of children became
the center of her life and her work.
For over 15 years, she painted covers for Good
Housekeeping Magazine. Also, she did posters,
portraits, advertisements, and other illustrations.
Best loved, however, were her books which
included A Child’s Book of Stories, The WaterBabies, At the Back of the North Wind, Boys and
Girls of Bookland, Dickens’ Children, The
Everyday Fairy Book, A Child's Book of Modern
Stories and an illustrated edition of Heidi.
One of America's premier illustrators, Jessie
Willcox Smith, died of infirmities in 1935, at 72.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIV No. 3
PAGE 14
J. Henry (Bracker)
Other Artists Not Biographied
J. Henry Bracker was an illustrator and we are
still researching information about him.
However, this illustration of Charles Lindbergh,
signed “J. Henry”, is seen often, so we have
included this without a biography.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIV No. 3
PAGE 15
Sources:
Who Was Who In American Art
Biographical Index of American Artists
New York Times Newspaper, February 28,1947,
Pg. 24
Book: Vintage Illustration by Rick & Charlotte
Martin
Bohnen Family History
New York Times, January 2,1952, pg. 25
Adelaide Hiebel:
http://www.adelaidehiebel.com/
Webster's Biographical Dictionary - 1953
James Montgomery Flagg:
http://www.bpib.com/illustr2/flagg.htm
Jessie Willcox Smith:
http://www.bpib.com/illustrat/jwsmith.htm
J. Knowles Hare Favorite Artists:
http://cIassicals.com/music/Favorite Artists,
hall/cas/764.html
America's Great Illustrators (Flagg War Poster
photo)
Zuern Collection Photos
Igor Sikorsky
By Igor Sikorsky Jr.
What follows are reprints of the various items
that Igor handed out with respect to his father.
THE MEANING OF LIFE
A subject of such immense magnitude and complexity can obviously not be covered in a few
short sentences. Furthermore, a certain part of it
will forever remain a mystery beyond the understanding of living beings of our grade.
Nevertheless, I believe that the following two
thoughts will cover a very important part of the
subject, particularly as viewed from our earthly
standpoint.
The present life undoubtedly represents a necessary stage - a beginning - of the existence of a living being of a higher order. There must be some
analogy with the birth of a human being whose
life begins in the form of an embryo which is,
roughly, one thousand million times smaller that
the full-grown human being. Similarly, there are
good reasons to believe that, viewed from the
higher order of existence and realities, the
human personality in this life is but an embryo of
the living being of a higher nature into which it
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIV No. 3
flowers after the earthly process of life is completed. This part may be regarded as a spiritual
biological process; in other words, a process of
biology of the higher order that may bear analogy to the biology of the lower order.
The other phase which covers the meaning of
life is the fact that the process also involved
experimental and training features. First of all, it
is a demonstration, and training school for the
living being. The school demonstrates by contrast the absolute and not relative difference
between such factors as truth or lies, life or
death, and, in general, good or evil.
Furthermore, it enables a living being to understand the value, as well as the definite limitation
of intellect. It demonstrates that intellect alone is
powerless to arrange and direct things unless it
performs under the guidance of wisdom.
Wisdom, in turn, may be described as the higher grade of intellect which operates under direct
guidance of the spirit of God. The above questions are undoubtedly the most difficult ones
which man has to face in this life and they perhaps would be thoroughly incomprehensible if it
wouldn’t be for the fact that our everyday life
and particularly the major tragedies of life and
history clearly demonstrate to us that human
intellect, no matter how developed, is powerless
to arrange things in a reasonable order and that
such arrangement is possible only if the Higher
Authority is passionately and desperately called
upon for help and for guidance. In this respect I
firmly believe that, contrary to the frequently
accepted notion, the guidance of God and eventually the need to direct Divine rule becomes
more important and desperately needed and the
intellect becomes greater and stronger.
Thoughts of Igor I. Sikorsky, recorded in the latter years of a creative and giving lifetime.
PAGE 16
Lindbergh Symposium to
Highlight Balance Between
Technology and the Environment
Kelly Powell
FORT MYERS, Fla. (Oct. 20, 2004) A Lindbergh
Symposium highlighting the importance of
maintaining a balance between technology and
the environment will be held Saturday,
November 13, 2004, at Florida Gulf Coast
University in Fort Myers, Fla. The symposium,
titled “From the Atom to the Star Exploring the
Creative Spirit: The Outward and Inward
Journey,” will feature several well-known speakers associated with Charles A. and Anne Morrow
Lindbergh and will focus on the Lindberghs’
shared vision of a balance between technological advancement and environmental preservation and significant achievements in aviation history.
Speaker confirmations include:
Keynote speaker Paul MacCready, PhD, inventor, innovator, founder and chairman of
AeroVironment Inc. and considered to be the
father of human-powered flight.
Jesse H. Ausubel, director of the Program for the
Human Environment and senior research associate at The Rockefeller University in New York
City.
Dr. Richard Hallion, the eminent aviation historian and author of “Taking Flight; Inventing the
Aerial Age.” Dr. Hallion is the author of many
admired books on aviation including the history
of the Guggenheim Fund for which he conferred
with Charles Lindbergh just before Lindbergh’s
death.
Eric Hopkins, noted aerial landscape painter,
student pilot, gallery owner and lifelong resident
of North Haven Island, Maine. Longtime friend
of Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s family, Anne
Morrow Lindbergh admired Hopkins’ work and
perspective, visited his studio and gallery, and
included one of his paintings in her collection.
Cliff Robertson,writer, poet, award-winning film
and television actor and flight aficionado.
Welcome and opening remarks: Margaret
Eiluned Morgan, niece of Charles A. and Anne
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIV No. 3
PAGE 17
Morrow Lindbergh and president of The Earth
Shine Institute and Lindbergh Symposium.
Closing Remarks: Reeve Lindbergh, daughter of
Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, awardwinning author, and member of the board of
directors for The Charles A. and Anne Morrow
Lindbergh Foundation.
In addition to the speakers, the symposium will
include a presentation featuring four birds from
the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. The birds will
include a southern bald eagle, a harris hawk, a
black vulture, and an eurasian owl.
The symposium will run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m., with a reception and book signing with the
speakers from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The admission fee is $50, which includes all
speaker sessions, lunch, refreshments and the
reception/book-signing.
Books authored by symposium speakers, as well
as the Lindberghs, will be available for purchase
at the reception/book-signing, and several
speakers are invited to participate in the signing.
More information and a registration form are
available on the Web at
www.earthshineinstitute.com.
Registration forms can also be requested by email at [email protected] or
by phone at (239) 334-2154 ext. 2119.
The Lindbergh Symposium is presented by The
Earth Shine Institute, a supporting organization
of The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Foundation.
Additional event sponsors and supporters
include The Charles A. and Anne Morrow
Lindbergh Foundation, Wiltshire Whitley
Richardson & English, Florida Gulf Coast
University, Northern Trust Bank and the
Southwest Florida Community Foundation.
The Earth Shine Institute was founded in 2002,
the 75th anniversary year of Charles Lindbergh’s
historic solo New York-to-Paris flight. The
Institute is a 501(c)(3) organization based in
Florida that serves as a supporting organization
of The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Foundation and presents educational and cultural programs in Southwest Florida that further the
shared vision of Charles A. and Anne Morrow
Lindbergh.
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIV No. 3
The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Foundation is an international non-profit organization based in Anoka, Minnesota, whose mission is to honor the lifelong partnership between
Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh in aviation,
writing and their shared commitment to the
advancement of scientific knowledge they
helped pioneer, while maintaining a long-term
respect for the environment they cherished.
More information on the Foundation and the
Lindberghs is available on the Foundation
Website at www.lindberghfoundation.org.
Society
News
2005 Symposium News
Back to San Diego!
It looks like we are set for the 2005 Symposium
in beautiful San Diego, California!
Bill Allen has agreed to once again host our
Society event working with other Southern
California members.
Save the dates: May 19th through the 22nd.
The event will include:
- Society Show and Tell
- Our Annual Dinner planned for the San Diego
Aerospace Museum
- A day at the legendary “Allen Hangar”
- Board and Business meetings
Anyone who has been to a Symposium in San
Diego, knows that it is not to be missed. The
museum is top notch and full of Lindbergh
memorabilia. Bill and Claudia are incredible
hosts, and you will not find a more amazing
place than their hangar.
More information will be forthcoming as we nail
down further details.
Thank You Bill and Claudia
See you all in
Southern California!
PAGE 18
Lindbergh Medallion
Marketplace
LINDBERGH BOOK FOR SALE
For those who wish to order Jean O. Saunders’
book, “Life With The Lindberghs -- A Personal
History,” copies are now available by the author
in pre-published form. The book covers the years
1957 to 1975 when Jean was personal secretary
to both Charles and Anne Lindbergh, and
includes her own story of living in Darien,
Connecticut, as well as comparisons and parallels of all that the Lindberghs were historically
writing and doing during those years. The book
contains 175 pages, is cone-bound and priced at
$25.00 per copy postpaid. Books will be signed
by the author and contain a personal inscription,
if desired. For ordering or more information:
Call, write, or e-mail:
Jean O. Saunders,
2630 Bell Circle,
Anchorage, AK 99507
(907) 344-4881 [email protected]
Slimshots
Eddie Tore
This is the commemorative medallion issued by
the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce. It is
2.5 " x 3.5". If interested please make an offer to:
Ciaran Mercier
1811 Novato Blvd. #39
Novato, CA 94947
[email protected]
WW1 AERO
SKYWAYS
1900
to
1919
1900
to
1919
BUILD ONE! A REAL ONE
FOR THE 2005
SYMPOSIUM!
CAL/N-X-211 VOLUME MMIV No. 3
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