I knew the photograph of the bi-plane was not built by the Wright brothers. I knew it was taken before Edward arrived at the Marblehead Lighthouse. What I knew did not really help me with what I did not know. Edward had kept the photograph even though the image had been captured by another, possibly by one of the Keepers. The fact that Edward had kept it probably meant something. But what was the significance of this plane and what role did the lighthouse play?
The envelope containing the "old film", which turned out to be photographic negatives would be helpful in answering part of the question. I had located a film conservator who was able to identify the type of camera used to take the pictures and develop the negatives. He agreed to make contact sheets since individual photographs cost more then my non-existent budget allowed. Since they were not
labeled or dated, he put the images together in no particular order. This would later be a source of confusion. I was also trying to to research the Revenue Cutter Service. There were several large photographs of the Morrill and Edward. His uniforms had changed and I was trying to identify his rank. Both areas of research would again play the serendipity card.
The envelope containing the "old film", which turned out to be photographic negatives would be helpful in answering part of the question. I had located a film conservator who was able to identify the type of camera used to take the pictures and develop the negatives. He agreed to make contact sheets since individual photographs cost more then my non-existent budget allowed. Since they were not
labeled or dated, he put the images together in no particular order. This would later be a source of confusion. I was also trying to to research the Revenue Cutter Service. There were several large photographs of the Morrill and Edward. His uniforms had changed and I was trying to identify his rank. Both areas of research would again play the serendipity card.THE EARLY AVIATION PIONEERS
Names of those early aviation pioneers entered my vocabulary daily. Orville and Wilbur Wright, Tom Benoit, Charles Morok, Stinson; there were literally hundreds of them here and in other countries. Because there were no regulations governing aviation yet, people built airplanes in yards, garages, and took them to the air, or at least attempted to fly them.
Ohio was the birth place of U.S. aviation and the home of the Wright brothers. Cedar Point, Ohio, an amusement park was located on Lake Erie and could be seen from the Marblehead Lighthouse. It was here that early pilots tested their skills by doing barnstorming shows thrilling crowds with their daring flights.
Ohio was also the place Orville and Wilbur returned after their historic flight at Kitty Hawk, South Carolina. People are often surprised to learn that when the Wright brothers first flew their plane the Kitty Hawk Life Saving Station keepers were involved. They provided rescue assistance in the event of a crash during the many attempts to fly. They also took many of the photographs for documentation. The Wright brothers wanted to document every aspect of their practice flights as well as that first historic event. The dilemma was to keep it very secretive while capturing images to prove what they had accomplished. The Kitty Hawk Life Saving Crew could be trusted on both counts.
I knew the plane in my photograph was not one of their planes. I had looked at all 3,000 plus images of the Wright brother's planes. "I have a photograph" became my mantra. I began sending emails to historians, aviation experts, museum curators and anyone who I thought might be able to identify this plane. My husband and I spent an entire day at the Stinson Museum muddling through books and pictures with the help of the curators. No one could identify the plane or the flier. That is, until late one Friday evening.
Ohio was the birth place of U.S. aviation and the home of the Wright brothers. Cedar Point, Ohio, an amusement park was located on Lake Erie and could be seen from the Marblehead Lighthouse. It was here that early pilots tested their skills by doing barnstorming shows thrilling crowds with their daring flights.
Ohio was also the place Orville and Wilbur returned after their historic flight at Kitty Hawk, South Carolina. People are often surprised to learn that when the Wright brothers first flew their plane the Kitty Hawk Life Saving Station keepers were involved. They provided rescue assistance in the event of a crash during the many attempts to fly. They also took many of the photographs for documentation. The Wright brothers wanted to document every aspect of their practice flights as well as that first historic event. The dilemma was to keep it very secretive while capturing images to prove what they had accomplished. The Kitty Hawk Life Saving Crew could be trusted on both counts.
I knew the plane in my photograph was not one of their planes. I had looked at all 3,000 plus images of the Wright brother's planes. "I have a photograph" became my mantra. I began sending emails to historians, aviation experts, museum curators and anyone who I thought might be able to identify this plane. My husband and I spent an entire day at the Stinson Museum muddling through books and pictures with the help of the curators. No one could identify the plane or the flier. That is, until late one Friday evening.
THE NEEDLE IN THE HAY STACK
My research to identify this plane took me deeper and deeper into the history of aviation. And, I was still trying to identify Edward's Revenue Cutter Service uniforms. This led me to the U.S.Coast Guard Museum's web site. I sent an email to the curator of the Coast Guard Museum requesting help identifying the uniforms. Little did I know this one email would change my entire focus and serve to be the catalyst for this project. It would also take me to Washington D.C., the National Archives and eventually to the Marblehead Lighthouse and the Lakeside Heritage Society. It would be instrumental in helping me to change a small piece of aviation history, maybe.
A PLANE, A PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND THE COAST GUARD
It was late into the evening. My research landed me in the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Library. The Hayes Center, the first Presidential Library was located in Ohio, not far from the Marblehead Lighthouse. It also contained a rich source of aviation history. Buried deep in the site were photographs by Ernest Niebergall. He documented life around Ohio at the turn of the century and also worked for the newspaper. Somewhere in the 600 plus images there was suppose to be a match for "airplane" and "Marblehead". Image number 300 started getting interesting. Niebergall documented the historic flight of Glenn Curtiss one of the aviation giants, from Euclid, Cleveland to Sandusky, Ohio and back. It was the first time an airplane flew any distance over the open water. The photographs in this series had a plane similar to the one in my photograph, but the back wheels were different. The one in my photograph had a double set of wheels. The photographs from Niebergall's collection were mostly of the crowds gathered around Glenn Curtiss and his airplane on the beach. My husband Michael, sensing my frustration offered to give me a break. Just as the stuck cap on a food jar opens immediately for the next person after you give up trying, he called me back. I had been gone from the computer for less then two minutes. BINGO! A match!! Ernest Niebergall had
a photograph of the same plane minus the lighthouse in the background! It was labeled, "Glenn Curtiss, Areoplanning at 300 ft." And, the back wheels were a double set!
a photograph of the same plane minus the lighthouse in the background! It was labeled, "Glenn Curtiss, Areoplanning at 300 ft." And, the back wheels were a double set!I spread the entire contents of the box over the family room floor. I studied the photographs in Edward's Marblehead Lighthouse collection for any clues. The contact sheet offered a small connection even though the images were recorded at a much later time. There was a picture of the lighthouse taken from the water, almost the exact same angle as the one with the bi-plane. Slightly visible
was an oar from a boat, most likely one of the keeper's rescue boats. My guess was one of the Lighthouse Keepers took the photograph in my collection, documenting Curtiss' flight while Niebergall was taking his for the newspaper and his personal collection. The Keeper would want to have the lighthouse in the background. Ernest would not have had that same interest. I also wondered if this was history unknown or forgotten. Could it be that the Marblehead Lighthouse Keepers were an important part of aviation history much as the Kitty Hawk Keepers were with the Wright brother's?
Response emails from historians indicated I might be on to something although there was no evidence to indicate lighthouses had played any important role in the history of aviation. There was no evidence to back up my theory that Marblehead was involved with Glenn Curtiss. It was all just speculation and two photographs.
My inquiry to the Coast Guard museum curator about uniform identification set things in motion for the Revenue Cutters and airplanes. As an aside I mentioned the bi-plane. I knew that five minutes after airplanes first left the ground interest in using the new technology spread like wild fire. The potential for their use carried through every aspect of the United States government from the military to the postal service. Indeed, much of the advancement of aviation technology came as a result of what those first airplanes could not do rather then their accomplishments. Scant few records survive of the various government agencies and their early experiments with airplanes. Since the agencies involved were not sanctioned to do so and did not have an official budget, they were not obligated to keep any documentation.
A good example is a rare mention of the governor of Nebraska. He thought airplanes were a great idea and felt they could be useful in the Nebraska National Guard. There was one problem he faced, money. No money? No problem. He came up with this bright idea. He put out the call for interested pilots. Assembling his "air force" without a budget called for extreme measures. Each pilot was expected to "build" his own plane. In order to pay their salaries and provide the state with a budget he came up with another bright idea. Each summer the National Guard pilots would go to county fairs all over the country barnstorming for money! It was a short lived plan.
The U.S. Post Office also saw the potential airplanes offered delivering the mail. Long before Charles Lindbergh flew the Spirit of St. Louis across the ocean he delivered mail sacks by plane. Those early airplanes did not have instrument panels. It did not matter because they did not fly very high. Ground level landmarks could be used for navigation. However, there was a problem if the fog rolled in or when darkness obliterated the landmarks. Using the coastline to follow mail routes was great during daylight hours. Night time was a different matter. Lighthouses were used as navigational devices. Experiments were made using "movable" flashing semi-lighthouse structures up and down coastal shores to help guide those early mail pilots. It did not work very well. The loss of those brave mail carrier pilots was tremendous. ( At least 90 percent of the first airplane mail carriers died) The development of airplane navigational panels was the direct result of those early deaths. It was essential for night time aviation and the life of pilots.
Perhaps there might be a record of the Marblehead Lighthouse and Glenn Curtiss in the archives of the Coast Guard. I also did not want to reinvent the wheel if this was already well known and had been extensively documented. My question would be answered. Many more would be asked. Some of them without answers.
was an oar from a boat, most likely one of the keeper's rescue boats. My guess was one of the Lighthouse Keepers took the photograph in my collection, documenting Curtiss' flight while Niebergall was taking his for the newspaper and his personal collection. The Keeper would want to have the lighthouse in the background. Ernest would not have had that same interest. I also wondered if this was history unknown or forgotten. Could it be that the Marblehead Lighthouse Keepers were an important part of aviation history much as the Kitty Hawk Keepers were with the Wright brother's?
Response emails from historians indicated I might be on to something although there was no evidence to indicate lighthouses had played any important role in the history of aviation. There was no evidence to back up my theory that Marblehead was involved with Glenn Curtiss. It was all just speculation and two photographs.
My inquiry to the Coast Guard museum curator about uniform identification set things in motion for the Revenue Cutters and airplanes. As an aside I mentioned the bi-plane. I knew that five minutes after airplanes first left the ground interest in using the new technology spread like wild fire. The potential for their use carried through every aspect of the United States government from the military to the postal service. Indeed, much of the advancement of aviation technology came as a result of what those first airplanes could not do rather then their accomplishments. Scant few records survive of the various government agencies and their early experiments with airplanes. Since the agencies involved were not sanctioned to do so and did not have an official budget, they were not obligated to keep any documentation.
A good example is a rare mention of the governor of Nebraska. He thought airplanes were a great idea and felt they could be useful in the Nebraska National Guard. There was one problem he faced, money. No money? No problem. He came up with this bright idea. He put out the call for interested pilots. Assembling his "air force" without a budget called for extreme measures. Each pilot was expected to "build" his own plane. In order to pay their salaries and provide the state with a budget he came up with another bright idea. Each summer the National Guard pilots would go to county fairs all over the country barnstorming for money! It was a short lived plan.
The U.S. Post Office also saw the potential airplanes offered delivering the mail. Long before Charles Lindbergh flew the Spirit of St. Louis across the ocean he delivered mail sacks by plane. Those early airplanes did not have instrument panels. It did not matter because they did not fly very high. Ground level landmarks could be used for navigation. However, there was a problem if the fog rolled in or when darkness obliterated the landmarks. Using the coastline to follow mail routes was great during daylight hours. Night time was a different matter. Lighthouses were used as navigational devices. Experiments were made using "movable" flashing semi-lighthouse structures up and down coastal shores to help guide those early mail pilots. It did not work very well. The loss of those brave mail carrier pilots was tremendous. ( At least 90 percent of the first airplane mail carriers died) The development of airplane navigational panels was the direct result of those early deaths. It was essential for night time aviation and the life of pilots.
Perhaps there might be a record of the Marblehead Lighthouse and Glenn Curtiss in the archives of the Coast Guard. I also did not want to reinvent the wheel if this was already well known and had been extensively documented. My question would be answered. Many more would be asked. Some of them without answers.
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