The Depew Independent January 23, 1920 Riding The Air Monday afternoon G.T. Good of the Curtis-Southwestern Airplane Company, of Tulsa, flew down just south of town and was immediately open for business. Charlie Gore and Jack Boydston showed a willingness to take a ride "in his airship" and in due time came back to earth feeling none the worse for the experience. The writer being out of town Monday was not able to make the flight until Tuesday morning after Ted McFarland and Frank Kaser had each taken their turn in viewing Depew and the surrounding country from the dizzy heights above. We feel that maybe some of our readers would like to know how one feels up in the air 3,000 feet so we will try and tell you some of those experiences. When the engine started we were soon under speed endeavoring to leave mother earth and it being our first ride in an airplane, were afraid at first that we might tip the critter over, so when the right wing went into the air higher than the left one we did not even try to keep from throwing all our avoirdupois, influence and everything we possessed in the direction of the right wing. For the first mile or so south we were but a few hundred feet above the earth and when we passed over the new oil rig two miles south of town we could distinguish the teams and drivers of our farmer friends coming to town. By the time the Bigpond school house was reached we were up in the air probably two thousand feet and were wondering how the pilot was going to turn the bird around so that we could make it back to town. By this time we imagined we were an old-timer at flying and released all our right, title and interest in and to the dingerramous that the "new hands" grip so tight when they first begin to fly. We just sit steady in the boat and let ’er rock and in a few more seconds we headed north straight for Depew. An amatuer has no way of measuring the distance to the earth, whether or not he is going fast or slow, but we could imagine the critter was getting higher as the houses were getting so small that they were almost invisible and we could feel that the front part of the plane was the highest so we knew we "were getting

up in this world." By the time we got above Main street we begun to drop some slips of scrap paper out, so that our better half and some of our doubting friends would know that it was US. We have found out since that we were something over 3,000 feet high at that moment and the paper has not come down yet. After passing over Depew we started toward Shamrock, following near the "Jerk water" line and went within a short distance of the outskirts of the (excuse the expression) of the burg that made Depew famous. We felt like stopping and taking a taste of horse shoe but the pilot being yet behind us and knowing that he could not see good should we indulge, we dropped the thought and begun to take in the sights as they flew by. We discovered the farm of John D. Cooper and in a few seconds the W.B. Bennett farm hove in sight. We always thought this was a pretty good sized farm, but from our viewpoint Tuesday it looked like a 3 cent revenue stamp. We turned to take a look to the east of us and there were several clouds that obstructed our view of Bristow so again looked to the west and as far as we could figure out were lost and while trying to locate something that looked familiar we saw what appeared to be the ruins of several anscient Roman amphi-theaters in minature form and for several seconds we thought we were in a foreign country, when it came to us that on those spots in recent years had stood the 8 steel oil tanks of the Hill Oil and Gas company and that we were right at Depew. Just after going safely over town the plane turned her nose at an angle of about 45 degrees and we went down several hundred feet, possibly 15 hundred when she straightened out and flew a little ways above the tree tops to the place from where we had started, and lighted as easily as a bird. Now, some folks say that a fellow’s knees knock and that he gets the "buck ague" and all such things when he goes up in the air, but for once we were not even excited and enjoyed the 25 minutes that we were in the air and should the opportunity afford will try it again. The pilot has had several years experience and will probably be back here from Tulsa in the near future and will take you for a spin for the sum of $10.00. The Independent will notify the readers so they will know when he is coming again. (Jan. 23 continued on page 2.)

*********************************** The Depew Independent January 23, 1920 (continued from page 1) Buys Main Street Lot K. & Y. Elias this week purchased Lot 17, Block 20, the lot next the corner west of the Independent office. They were lucky in securing this lot and they tell the Independent that they will erect a two story stone building on the lot in the very near future. ----- Internal Revenue Officer Coming One of the Internal Revenue officers will be at the post office on Saturday January 31st, until 3:30 p.m. He will give you the advice you need in straightening out your income tax. See him if you are in doubt as to whether or not you are taxable and how much. ---------- Albert Bigpond and Cecil Ford took a spin in the airplane and when he got ready to go to Bristow Ivan Ford secured passage to Bristow. When the plane was in the air with Jack Boydston Monday they turned a flip flop and Jack said he wanted no more of that in his, as he says he got his eyes full of gasoline which some of the boys doubt whether or not it was gasoline. Marion Pate is anxiously awaiting the return of the airplane as he wants to take a ride. ----- Called After Banking Hours An attempt was made Thursday night to break into the vault of the First State Bank. The discovery was not made until noon today. Several large rocks had been removed and the robbers had miscalculated the location of the walls, as they had dug into a partition wall and inside of the vault was not disturbed. ---------- Within the next few months Depew is going to grow faster than it ever has before. With the opening of spring there will be so many buildings started that it will be a hard matter to get up and down the street. ---------- Miss Ruth Vines has been seriously ill at Edmond where she has been going to school. An operation was performed the first of the week for appendicitis and at last report she was getting along as well as could be expected. Her mother is with her. The many Depew friends, and she

***************************************** numbers them by her acquaintences, will be pleased to hear of her ultimate recovery. A bunch of the "Live Wires" of the Sunday School, the class of which she was so long a member, have sent her some flowers. Will McFarland came in Wednesday from Beggs, where he has been working. He left the next day for Ranger, Texas. H.H. Hayhurst is down from Tryon, visiting with his son, Orley Hayhurst and family. Ivan Yates was in town Tuesday. He was pushing a big red nose around in front of him and when asked by the writer the cause (which in pre-prohibition days might have been embarassing) he replied that it was none of our business and we guess he was right about that, but we found from other sources that it was a boil. Charles McLain was made acquainted with the mysteries of the Modern Woodmen Monday night. The Modern Woodmen meet every Monday night. Aden Utter and Chas. Schwemley came in yesterday morning on the Governor. They are hooked up with some members of the Miami Construction Company and will be in position to take contracts for buildings of any and all kinds. We received a letter from John R. Farmer, an old time resident of this part of the country, a few days ago telling us to send him the "old reliable". He lives in the Northeastern part of the state at Hulbert. Erick Hawkins and C.C. Whitmore of near Milfay are both erecting nice new homes. The Prairie test two miles south of town is down several hundred feet and the work is progressing nicely. We understand that the first car load of material for the water works has arrived and is being unloaded. Work will start now in a few days. Charlie Kinch left Sunday for Stillwater, where he will attend the A & M College. Our Blacksmiths are all as busy as bees getting the plows and other farming implements ready for the spring work. Depew’s three garages are three busy places. We often wonder how many garages a town the size of ours would have to have for a fellow to find "the bunch" loafing. The caterpillar engine owned by the county is pulling the grader over the O.T. on the line running west from town. The recent rains and snow have put the trail in bad shape and the work is very muchly needed.