Captain Benjamin B. Lipsner, superintendent Division of Aerial Mail, brings John A. Jordan up to date on the departures of pilots Max Miller and Edward V. “Turk” Gardner from Belmont Park, Long Island, New York. In Chicago, Lipsner wires the Western Union telegram to Jordan via the postmaster at Bryan, Ohio. This is the first day of the New York to Chicago pathfinder flights, September 5, 1918.
Miller leaves close to scheduled time [7:08 a.m. rather than 6:00 a.m.] while Gardner is delayed due to a broken gas pump [leaves at 8:50 a.m.]. Lipsner advises Jordan to remain where he is until further notice and to “look up several good mechanics to be on hand.”
John A. Jordan, a special representative of the Post Office Department, was in Bryan to secure an agreement with Mrs. Alice Willett for a lease of 50 acres of her farm as a landing field for an airmail station. The purchase of land would occur later.
Reference:
Jones, A.D. Aerial Mail Service: A Chronology of the Early United States Government Air Mail March. Mineola, NY: American Air Mail Society, 1993.
Topic:
Benjamin B. Lipsner Airmail Collection Search this
