Plunge into Barron Lake ends with pilot in Silverbrook

Niles Daily Star Series

Every once in a while we discover more mystery than material while researching the life and death of those buried in Silverbrook Cemetery. This week's story presents one of those challenges.

Most of us can remember seeing one of the classic cartoons where an agitated Goofy is seen flying around in a circa WWI airplane, flying through what appears to be our mid-west farmland. He swoops and swirls and ends up crashing through a red barn with hay flying everywhere.

The "glorious year of flying," in 1913 began the ritual of aerial acrobatics through races, competitions and demonstrations. Daredevil pilots proved the maneuverability of the new flying machines, which less than a decade earlier had taken to the air as Orville Wright flew 1,760 feet in approximately 40 seconds after a day of flight trials over Huffman Prairie, Ohio. The daredevils flew upside down, doing loops and other stunts to delight of onlookers.

Click here for the full article on the Niles Daily Star website

Published March 14th, 2009