New Britain Herald Newspaper, June 4, 1927, Page 11

NEW BRITAIN DAILY HERALD, SATURDAY, JUNE 4% 1927, his driving he never had an accl-|ing day and night almost without | tle Meadow road. Reports conflicted | tural prowle; as later laid to in five engagements during the | plies will be awarded as prizes and LOOKS LIKE SUICIDE BALLOONS ALWAYS ATTRACTED CHILD As Boy,. Lindbergh Exjoped Playing Wih Them BY MORRIS DE HAVEN TRACY (United Press Stalt Correspondent) (Copyright, 1927, by United Press) Chapter Four To the people of Little Falls, Min- nesota, the success of Charles A. Lindbergh in flying to Paris is but @ development of the days when he would send aloft a toy balloon or a parachute he had made himself and it would float farther than any other boy could make one float. Then, according to one boyhood friend, when Charles had proved the cfficiency of his effort in the manu- facture of parachutes, he would hoist his bicycle into & tree, make it fast, and climb on to it, sitting there perhaps for hours dreaming that ne was flying off across the skies— maybe even then dreaming he was flying to France. ‘“Charlie 1indbergh always was cxperimenting with anything that pertained to flying,”-one friend of his schooi days in Little Falls said: “He experimented with para- chutes and toy balloons and would make toy parachutes weighted with stones or iron bars, hurl them high into tI's air, sometimes from out of a tree top, and watch them sail away. His would sall sometimes for blocks and were the envy of all his friends. His success so intrigued the fancles of the boys of Little Falls that soon he had them all busy making parachutes, and trying to duplicate his successes. But no mat- ter how good the other boys could build them, Lindbergh could do bet- ter. “He used to spend much time by himself, puttering and tinkering with machinery and with his bicys But when the flying dreams seized him the hardeet he used to hoist his bicycle into a tall tree, secure it firmly to the branches, climb onto it and play that he was flying.” Congressman Lindburgh, Charles’ father, bought his son a bicycle when Charlie was about 10 years of age and he soon became a familiar sight riding at a break-neck pace through the village, cap on back- wards and out-distancing all the other boys who tried to follow him. But a bicycle became too slow for this 1ad whose soul even then seem- ed yearning to annihilate space, and when he was aged 15, he bought his first motorcycle. He rode it at top speed, while citizens often held their breath as he whirled by. Next came an automobile. His first car was an old Saxon touring car which he bought from Charles|: Farrow, still an automobile man in Little Falls. “1 recall vividly ching young Lindbergh to driv sald Farrow. “T took him out one morning and by.night he was an expert driver. Me took to it MKe a duck to water and learned it all in one day.” Charlie drove the automoblile as he had ridden his metorcycle and his bicycle, at a furious pace yet in all sales- dent. In fact, Lindbergh never has had an accident of any kind suffi- clently scrious to require the atten. tion of a physician. The only time a doctor has ever attended him was when he had the measles in early childhood. When Lindbergh was 15 years old he became irritated by the difficul- ties he had each day while bringing the cows in from pasture in crossing a creek, about 30 feet wide, which flowed through the Lindbergh farm. He had to pick his way carefully across on the stones—or else get wet. So he set about in typical| fashion to overcome the difficulty. He gathered together a quantity of fence wire and some timber and in a week he had erected without help from anyone, a miniature suspension bridge 30 feet long, across the stream. The bridge was anchored to trees and fence posts and instead | 8¢t young New Britainites of other of being a rudely built affalr, was| days quaking in their shoes. done according to approved engin-; eering practice throughout. At high school Charlle was a pe-| Years as an example of the worth culiar student. He finished his! in disbelieving in spectres is cast course in three years, being gradu-|about an old house which formerly ated in 1908, but at no time did he| 5tood &t the corner of Maple and take any part in any school activi-| Pearl streets and which has since ties, social or athletic. He was care.|boen raized. Some half-forgotten less of his dress and his favorite | StOrY concerning a suicide or a mur- costume at home was a pair of well 4¢r in the old house had placed a worn overalls. | curse on the residence and for yvears “He never paid any attention to !t Was uninhabited. Stories of un- the girls in school,” Miss Bertha Carthly shricks on stormy nights Rothwell, who was a classmato in| WeTe substantiated by persons high school, said, “and the girls| Whote reputations made the storles never paid any attention to him be- all the more believable. Finally as cause he never spruced up.” the old house was falling to ruin, Those who knew him at the Unj-| Shunned by all prospective real rest for days at a time.” BELIEF IN GHOSTS NOT EASIY SHAKEN But Usnally Spooks Are Traced to Natural Ganses This city, practieal and industrial {as it is, has not been spared its | quota of ghost stories and haunted | houses, although the rapid expan- | sion of civilization has levelled most of the scenes of the incidents which | One of the most amusing incidents | | which has come down through the | | the acoustics of the house which | echoed the tread of a person on the | street when uninterrupted by outside | nofses of the day. Several eye wit- nesses (or rather ecar witnesses), swore to the actuality of the foot- steps but it was also pointed out that the steps never occurred un- less some one was walking in the | street below. The opening of a door ! | to the attic solved the mystery, or | | at least discouraged the phantom | Another curious tale was connect- | walker. | led with a large mansion in Stanley! Countless other tales of spooks Quarter. Tho younger eclement of and ghosts have lived for a brief| |the city for years would not go near time and died. Nearly every old| |the place for fear of colored ghosts abandened farm house on the out-| | with phantom blood hounds. Just| Skirts of the city has at one tim | what was the causs of that belicf OF another been labelled “haunted | | was never known, but for a long by smail boys in the locality. And| |time no small New Britainite would | ¥°t, With all the houses which have | | go near the large place for fear of | borne that title, no one has ev(ri {the dead bones of Rastus and Sam. | volunteered to come forward &nd| {bo pulling on the phantom leashes' say that he has seen a ghost in the | lof by-gone blood hounds. house or that he has felt the clutch | A manufacturing plant on Arch | ©f iey fingers on his neck !a haunted building. Here again, FEEEAEE INATIONS WARS | bt it was generaly believed that ibumeonu had lost his life in the | blaze and had settled down to en- joy himself scaring passersby on |dark nights. Whether actually seen !or not has hcen a long mooted point but several accounts of! thrilling experiences were told and re-told before interest in the old foundation waned as some new “haunted house” came into prom- inence. |confined to the younger element, but | |several youngsters grew up in the| | belief that a night spent in the | building was something to be avok- ed. | A spot near Plainville reservoir; | Where still stands the remains of the ! ! old “gallows” was supposed to be an | New Britain Home of Many, (oot n e dnd ot mint, Mot Distinguished Fighters | | upright posts, although it 1s gener-} | | ally belteved that they were used for | \yhat part have NewsBritain boys | | butchering live stock. However, ! ' ghosts stories were hazy and mostly i versity of Wisconsin told much the CMate purchasers, one out of lown same story. | “He tore around wildly on a mo-, torcycle while at the university,” one classmate there said, “as a pro- test against the soclal life of the col- | lege.” “I never knew Charlie Lindbergh to wear a white shirt,” said a girl} who knew him at the university. | It is Interesting to note the change which came over Lindbergh in that/| regard for while he was at Curtiss fleld, New York, making ready to| fiy to Paris his immaculate costume | ‘was always noticeable and even aft-| er fiying from St. Louis he stepped | trom his plane without a spot of | grease on his clothing and with a| Stiff collar set off by a tie not a frac- ! tion of an inch askew. Friends of Lindbergh's father re-| member the boy as Congressman Lindbergh's constant companion and they say that seldom are father and son seen who could be more alike. | They recall that at the age of 10§ years Charlle started out with his| father on a canoe trip which occu-| pled an entire summer. They launch- | ed their canoe at the headwaters of the Mississippt river and followed | the stream southward to its mouth —just the two of them paddling along in the frail boat. “Charlie was just like s father,” sald Carl Bolander, real estate deal- er and close friend of the Lindbergh. “Congressman Lind- v~ was quiet, reticent and inclined to pliy & lone hand. He was a man of great determination and of great courage.” To people in Little Falls it was in- teresting to note that the night be- fore Lindbergh started for Paris He | slept but about three hours. elder | couple approached the real agent with a view towards living | in the place. The real estate man | joyously agreed to let the couple live in the house to dispel the stories which had kept tenants from living in the place for many vears | and the rent was made negligible. Encouraged by a calm night spent in the house and disregarding the | statements of the neighbors that it | banshee from his lair, tha couple purchased the house for a trifling sum from the owner, who, with a s'gh of relief, deeded the building over to the fearless couple and washed his hands of the whole atfair. The much dreaded windy rainy right arrived and, true to the tales of the neighbors, the shrieks arose, combined with a dull rattling which set the dauntless home owner's | teeth on edge despite his scoffing at all things supernatural. Day- | light came and the cries were still unsolvegd. Tempted to pack up and | leave the quelling of the restless spirit to some other more hardy soul. the owner of the house decid- ‘od to stick it out one more night. | It was during the next rainy windy { night that the problem was solved. Rising in the dead of the night { while the groaning and rattling was | | going on full blast, the resident «f | “baunted house™ walked about the | source of the blood chilling howls. | He discovered that what | was merely a tree limb rubbing on |the wind and of a type of wood which dampness made resinous. An |axe and some chopping .and the estate | | combine to i door closed when {home in un effort to discover the | was | thought to be a skull topped ghost | the side of the building, swayed by | |tread of some mystic visitor. young New Britain soon compiled a list of storfes that would do justice to Conan Doyle. The natural ap- the stark gray high poles present an effective scene for a good heart thumping ghost story. To ask the average man whether or not he helieves in ghosts will fn- | evitably bring the reply “Of course | took only a ralny night to bring the ' not!” Nine times out of ten, how- he will add “But I heard a | ever, funny thing that is supposed 1o be absolutely true.” Then he will un- ravel a ghost story which concerns supernatural feats ranging from shrieks and screams to tapping on the walls. One story which is traced to a reputable source and which {s told in good faith by an old New Britain resident concerns a person living in New Britain entering his home when he was supposed to be at work, going to his room on the sec- ond floor, and going out again with- out speaking the house who spoke®to him upon his arrival. Hardly had the a panting mes- senger from the factory which em- ployed the man arrived with a mes- sage that the “person” who had just left the house had been killed fif- teen minutes before. Four persons verified the story as having been in |the house when the apparition ap- peared. It is one of the few super- natural atories which has eye wit- nesses ready to swear to the truth of the tale. Another story is told of a New Britain residence which had an at- front : pearance of the heavy woods and ' M | alona | to the occupants qof | tic which on certain nights when all ! was quiet would creak under the The played in American's wars? What part are New Britain men | taking in national patriotic move-| ents now? These questions and a number of others were asked Monday as the Memorial Day parade passed by. | Spectators began to compare | notes and some interesting facts/ were found. The list given below is but a few of the facts disclosed. When it is understood that the Municipal Home | Service burcau has more than 3,000 ¢ bonus applications on file, many of | them containing remarkable records, for bravery under fire and for| spectacular achievement in the serv- ice, it will be realized that this is but a small fraction of a complete list. | New Britain has a veteran who | was a lieutenant in the Canadian forces during the world war. ] A number of men who are veter- | and German | ans of the Austrian armies A former sergeant in garian Huzzars. A former submarine sailor in the Gorman navy. | A veteran of the Russian army. | At least two who were with the | French army. | A minister who drove a U. S army ambulance under fire, A licutenant who was in man prison camp. An aviation lieutenant British Royal Flying corps. A veteran of the Australian army. | Many veterans of the TItalian army. A veteran of the Greek army. | Many Polish voterans. One or more physicians who were in the U. §. medical department during the war. Hun- | the a Ger- in the “Just like his father” they sald.!ghost was dispelled. “That's an inherited characteristic.| Soveral weird tales were at one When his father had important work | time cast about tha foundations of in hand he forgot about sleep, work:|a burned building on the west Shut- footsteps were clearly heard and for| Two or three women who are (a long time the residents of the members of the American Legion | honse were baffled in their efforts and saw active service. ;to find the source of the superna-| A lieutenant in the militia who world war. A private who was decorated for bravery by the British army at Mons. A Czechoslovakian who was in the French Foreign Legion. | A German who enlisted in the A. | E. F. and fought in Siberia. $ A second lieutenant in the Italian army. An Itallan soldier who was en- camped on a hilltop, directly over his mother’s home. From his camp he could see his mother doing her chores around the house. An insurance man, prominent in civic club and musical circles, who was decorated by the Itallan army for Red Cross service. A factory salesman who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for service with the Red Croas after he had been rejected for regular army service because of poor byesight. A lawyer who was with Roosevelt at the charge of San Juan Hill. A private who was in the Philip- pines with the 13th U. 8. Infantry when a herd of water buffaloes was released upon the American camp, killing a number of soldiers. A private who fought with an American outfit which was almost entirely wiped out at the siege of Pekin during the Boxer uprising. A militia captain, a veteran of two wars and owner of a distinguished service cross. A past department commander of | the United Spanish War Veterans. | A past department commander of | the American Legion. A district president of the of Veterana. | A national aide-de-camp of the | . A. R. A past department senior vice | commander of the G. A. R. | Eight surviving members of the | G. A. R. residing in the city. One G. A. R. veteran who was in the famous Andersonville prison. Two G. A. R. veterans who wera with Sherman while “Marching Through Georgia." One G. A. R. veteran who was cap- tured while on SHerman's march and thrown into Richmond prison. A department inspector of the G. A. R., a member of the local post, but lives in Plainville. TENNIS GLUB T0 OPEN IT§ SEASON First Tournament to Be Stagedi Saturday Afternoon June 11 The New Britain Tennis club will | stage it opening day tournament ! marking the start of the 1927 season | on its courts on Saturday afternoon, June 11, 1927, Roy Holtman is chairman of the tournament com- mittee and he and his assistants are working hard to make the affajr a success. | The committee had laid out a series of interesting tournaments and a nice array of- presents will be pre- sented during the coming season. The tournament on the opening day will consist of two sets with the exception of the finals and the win. | ner of the largest number of games Sons | there will be no entrance fce. The | Baltimore, Md., Jane 4 UP—Archi- first matches will start promptly at {bald R. Dennis, 49, prominent mer- 1 o'clock. 2 {chant and club man, died at a hos- The pairings for the first matches | pita)l here early today from a bullet have been drawn as follows: Van |wound in the temple: Death oc- Oppen, ~ Holtman, Lienhard and curred within an hour after he had Payor have drawn byes; Duncan vs. |been found in a room at the Balti- Murdock; Bassett vs. Kirkham, | more club by another member, at- Christensen vs. Vogel; Dresscl V& |irycteq by the sound of & shot. A A. Benson. Sralv i Other entries will be received be. | *V0I¥er 12y near Mr. Dennis. fore the matches are started and | - this may be made by communication | S°°d from two to six months old with any member of the tournament | Yields cleaner oil than fresh fiax committee. |oe Don't Expose Your Furs to the Dangers of | Makeshift Summer Care| A damp, dark closet, a crowded chest, or a thin gar- | ment cover is not ample protection for your Furs. THEY NEED COOL, DRY AIR AS ISFOUND IN OUR MODERN - Storage Vault OUR CHARGES ARE . OF YOUR OWN which constitutes complete against loss by FIRE — THEFT — MOTHS Your Fur is thoroughly cleaned and glazed BEFORE placing in storage. ‘A phone call in the Fall will bring your Furs back to you as fresh, as clean, as lustrous, and as soft as when you first wore them. r A large assortment of Genuine Oriental Antiques and Novelties. HUDSON FUR SHOP 13 FRANKLIN SQUARE We call for and deliver your Furs. 770 2 PHONES 4713 protection '57! will win the match. Tennis sup- Facts to Remember For Your Own Protection Years of satisfiactory service have convinced the careful housekeeper THAT A gas range is quicker, more economical, dependable and efficient than any other method of cooking. FURTHERMORE After years of experience, coupled with the most exhaustive tests, all the large manufacturers of cooking ranges in this country and elsewhere \ ARE CONVINCED That the kitchen of the future will be equipped with a modern gas range free from the trouble and expense attached to ranges built to use fuels unsuitable for cooking purposes. / Ne w Britain Gas Light Co.