ST. HENRY AKA Castle W. Shaffer & W. C. Shaefer |
Contributed by Carl St. Henry, 3-26-11 |
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Long before Hector Field was built in 1931, now
Hector International Airport, the first successful airplane flight in Fargo occurred at the Fairgrounds. On June 9, 1911,
Fargo banks closed at noon, stores closed for the afternoon, and the Fargo Forum went to press early. Over 12,000 Fargo townspeople gathered at the Fairgrounds where Robert "Lucky Bob" St. Henry took to the air from the grassy area inside the grand stand race course. St Henry made three flights at 3, 4, and 4:30pm in his Glenn Curtiss biplane named Sweetheart. Lucky Bob rose to a height of 1125 feet and flew over seven miles (as far east as the Red River on one flight). The next day, the Fargo Forum and Daily Republican headline read "ND Manbird Soars in Air Above Fair Ground." In the background are several of the livestock buildings on the north side of the fairgrounds. |
Story and Photo Courtesy of John Caron, webmaster of "Fargo, North Dakota, Its History & Images" I heartily recommend that you plan to spend some time on this interesting website. |
via email from Joseph St. Henry, 7-7-04 Joseph St. Henry 2084 Huntington Drive, Lake Orion, Michigan 48360, 248.393.2323. |
Contributed by Carl St. Henry, 3-26-11 |
(7-7-04), you will find about 8 links. Perhaps the most helpful are the following. |
Winter 1979, Volume 25, Number 1 |
(Source: The Leader-Post’s special issue commemorating the 60th anniversary of the creation of Saskatchewan. This special issue ran June 8, 1965.) This article on the MSN GROUPS website relates an incident in St. John's career which was a surprise to me. The lead paragraph reads as follows: "An American barnstormer, W.C. Shaefer, better-known as "Lucky Bob" St. Henry, is credited with making the first really successful flight over Saskatchewan." To read the whole story, which is very short but interesting, click on the title above. If time permits, I heartily recommend that you read the entire article. It mentions many other "firsts" and names many obscure pioneer aviators and flights. |
Editor's Note: If you have any more information on this Early Bird, please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper Back |