John Merrill

Sept. 26: The “original” Johnny Appleseed is born

Jonathan Chapman was an eccentric American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apples to large parts of Ohio. During his lifetime (1774 – 1845) he became an American legend because of his journeys across Ohio and other areas as a missionary for the Swedenborgian Church.

Sometimes on his journeys he distributed pamphlets about the church and used the apple seed as a metaphor for the church. Other times he just read passages from his Bible.

Jonathan was frugal — he never let anything go to waste (an original green earth devotee). If left to his own means, he would never hunt or kill for food (an original vegetarian). He did trust in God to provide him with what he needed be it food or clothing (an original religious fanatic). However, unlike today’s youth, Jonathan Chapman had no desire to leave a lasting memory of himself. The only physical memory he wanted to leave were his beloved apple trees, which surprisingly, some are still growing in places yet today.

What we know about Jonathan Chapman today, or the name most of us know him by Johnny Appleseed, is known today because of what others remember of him and what they wrote and said about him.

On this day in, September 26, 1774, the boy who would become Johnny Appleseed was born.

Sept 24: Blue Star Service Flag Officially Recognized by Congress

By John Merrill

On this day in 1917, Ohio congressman Ivory Emerson introduced the a flag to the United States Congress that can be displayed by a household when one of its members is currently serving in the armed services. Congressman Emerson lived in Cleveland and served 3 terms as a representative from 1915 through 1921.

Captain Robert Queissner of the Ohio National Guard had two sons, Charles and Robert serving in the United States Army on the front lines in Europe during the Great War. It was his idea for families of service members back home to show their pride in their family member’s service during active hostilities where American military forces are involved.

The flag quickly was adopted by military families during the war, and again when the United States became involved in World War II. During that war specific guidelines were developed that helped standardized its use.

The Blue Star Service Flag was to be in the same size ratio as the American flag. It has a wide red border with either a blue star or a gold star during any period of war or hostilities in which the Armed Forces of the United States are engaged. A Service Flag can display from 1 to 5 stars depending on the number of active service members currently serving. A special designation of the gold star is used if the family member dies while in service, regardless of cause, in a time of hostilities.

In 2010 Congress passed a resolution adopting the Silver Star Service Banner in which includes the red border and a field of blue with a silver star designating a family member that has been discharged from service because of wounds received during combat.

Sept. 23: Corps of Discovery Returns

By John Merrill

On this day Lewis and Clark return to civilization after spending more than 2 years going from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean on orders from President Jefferson. It was the first recorded expedition to the west coast of America and back. But I can hear you saying what does that have to do with Ohio? Really?

While Lewis and Clark were not born in Ohio, they both were part of making Ohio a safer place for settlers to live. To that end, they were part of General Anthony Wayne’s expedition into Ohio that resulted in a treaty being signed at Camp Greeneville among many of the warring Native Americans here.

Native Americans in Ohio came here because they were forced to come here by other Native Americans. In other words, they were forced to move west into Ohio. So in general, they were a bit skittish. Great Britain understood this and gave them supplies, gave them food, and gave them arms. In return, all they had to do was wage war against those ugly Americans. And that’s what they did for about 20 years.

That’s when Wayne and an expedition of highly trained military men including Meriwether Lewis and William Clark where they fought a little battle at a place that became known as Fallen Timbers. The entire battle was over rather quickly as battles go.

The Native Americans retreated north a few miles to a British fort where they sought protection from the Americans hot on their heels. But the British were under strict orders not to engage the Americans and the Indians were left out to fend for themselves, so they fled further north abandoning their nearby villages. The ugly Americans destroyed those villages, destroyed their crops and went home. The Native Americans would have a long and hungry winter before deciding to accept the treaty General Wayne was offering. At that signing were most of the Native American dignitaries. Lewis and Clark were there too.

That treaty became known as the Treaty of Greeneville. A document that was once talked of highly in Ohio’s schools as being the document that opened Ohio to settlement. The document that allowed Ohio to become a state.

Almost nine years later, Lewis and Clark would be returning safely to St. Louis with wild tales of what they saw and who they met. That information would be quickly forwarded to President Jefferson who would be amazed. Today a number of those items that Lewis and Clark brought back with them were given to Thomas Jefferson who kept most of them at Monticello in Virginia. Most of those items disappeared after Jefferson’s death. Items the two explorers kept for themselves at now located at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia.

The World Discovers Rural Ohio
Also on this day in 1994, a little movie written by S. King premiered across the country and became a hit with 7 Academy Award nominations. Many scenes in the movie The Shawshank Redemption, were filmed behind bars at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, as well as various locations in and around Mansfield. The famous oak tree shown in the movie towards the end was on Pleasant Valley Road in Lucas, Ohio. The Wyandot County Courthouse was used by the film crew to recreate Andy’s trial and conviction. And the bank that Andy visits to withdraw a sizable sum of money at the end of the film was the Maine National Bank in the film, but locals in Ashland Ohio know it simply as the Huntington Bank.

By the way, the Ohio State Reformatory site was also used in the film Air Force One where it stood in as the Russian prison, Rickenbacker International Airport was used as the Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, the Presidential Palace in Kazakhstan were shot at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, as well as the opening scene of Moscow government buildings which were actually University Circle and the Cuyahoga County Courthouse in Cleveland.

Sept 19: President Garfield Dies from Gunshot Wounds

By John Merrill

garfield-train-depot — Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Terminal

On this day in 1881, Ohio born James A. Garfield died as the results of two gunshot wounds he received back on July 2, 1881 as the President was making his way through the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Terminal in Washington D.C. Here, Charles J. Guiteau, a crazy person who had been stalking the President because the President had not given him a government job.

As President Garfield entered the station on that Saturday morning, Guiteau stepped forward. He raised the weapon and fired the first shot which grazed the President’s right arm. Garfield cried out “My God, what is this?” and began to turn toward where the shot had come. Guiteau fired again striking the president in his back near the first lumbar vertebra but missing the spinal cord. Garfield collapsed on the dirty depot floor. For a moment the room was still and then it erupted in screams. beginning a never ending series of events that would ultimately cost the president his life.

From that moment on, the President’s life would be in the hands of a host of doctors, some of whom were almost by any standards incompetent, even by 1881 standards. This fact would later be brought out in Guiteau’s trial that it wasn’t him that killed the President, it was his doctors.

From the time of the shooting till the time of his death, some 12 different doctors poked and prodded Garfield’s into his wounds. Although in much of Europe the idea of bacteria and the infections that can come from bacteria was accepted medical knowledge, in the United States, the medical professional rejected this notion and ignored those precautions recommended to prevent bacterial infections.

garfield-doctors — LEFT TO RIGHT: Dr. Woodward, Dr. Hamilton, Dr. Reyburn, Dr. Barnes, Dr. Agnew, Dr. Bliss discuss Garfield’s condition.

In early September, Garfield was moved from the sweltering heat of Washington D.C. to Long Branch, NJ in hopes that the cooler temperatures might be beneficial. The improved environment found at the Jersey Shores may have benefited Garfield’s mental conditions, they did not improve his overall health. In fact, the bacterial infection in the President’s wound was slowly destroying him and at 10:35 P.M. Dr. D.W. Bliss confirmed the President had died. The 49 year old president died from a bacterial infection that spread to his blood. He had gone from over 200 pounds to just 135 at the time of his death.

Garfield Tomb at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland

It had been 16 years since the assassination of President Lincoln but in those years presidential security had not changed.That issue would not be addressed until after the assassination of another Ohio president, William McKinley who died just 4 days short being exactly 20 years from today, the day James A. Garfield died.

Sept. 18: The Wright Brothers Begin Their Journey Into History

By John Merrill

Most everyone knows that on December 17, 1903 the Wright brothers flew a heavier than air machine for the first time at Kitty Hawk. Most people however, don’t realize all the details that immediately led up to that event. The road to Kitty Hawk began on this day, September 18, 1903 at the Dayton railroad station.

It took a good bit of time to pack their new flying machine, making sure all of the wood struts, ribs, guy wires, enough muslin material to cover all the machines surfaces, and of course the new engine. Everything the brothers would need to completely assemble the flying machine among the sand dunes of Kill Devil Hills on the outer banks of North Carolina. Once they arrived here there would be no machine shop where they could quickly repair a broken rod or re-thread a bolt, even getting a piece of lumber requiring an extended trip by boat across the bay.

Up to that point, their flying machine had never been assembled– it was too large for their machine and bike shop. They did assemble the center section, but even that took up so much room in the shop, that it became almost impossible for them to work on the machine and wait on bicycle customers.

Orville and Wilbur Wright packed their new “whopper flying machine” as they called it, into crates they estimated to weigh around 675 pounds (all assembled the flying machine would weigh 750 pounds). It was a lot of weight to be lifted into the air by their little 4-cylinder cast aluminum engine of their own design. The engine block had been cast for them, but everything else they machined and fitted themselves, an amazing accomplishment in itself since neither brother had any experience even working on a gasoline engine.

Once they successfully completed and tested their new engine, work shifted to the final phase before heading to Kitty Hawk: make the propellers. The brothers spent much time working out the intricate details of building a propeller that could actually move their flying machine forward. Like many of the things the brothers were doing, building a proper propeller had not yet been successfully accomplished and everything they could read about the subject, went against the information they had obtained from their tests.

In the end they decided they needed two 8.5 foot propellers made from laminated spruce. Five years later almost to the day a similar wood propeller would shatter during a test flight at Fort Myer and cause the plane to crash into the ground head first killing passenger Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge and seriously injuring Orville.

But on this day in 1903, the brothers were confident but careful. They had conducted all the tests they could imagine and they believed they were ready. It was the beginning of a trip that began many years before and they were now on the verge of reaching that first major stop along that journey that would consume the rest of their lives.

Over the past 3 years Wilbur and his younger brother Orville had made the long train ride to Elizabeth City 3 times. Usually, Wilbur accompanied the crates, but this year the crates were traveling without him. They would be waiting in a warehouse in Elizabeth City when both brothers arrived less than a week later.

Once in Elizabeth City, the brothers checked on their crates. From Elizabeth City they sailed down the Pasquotank River then across the Albernarle Sound to Kitty Hawk. It was a little less than 40 miles, but could be a harrowing trip depending on the weather.

On Wilbur’s first trip to Kitty Hawk in 1900, the 40 mile trip took 2 days when a storm slashed the sails on the rickety sailing sloop Wilbur had hired to get him and his crates over to Kitty Hawk. Wilbur spent most of that first night bailing water from the ship just to help keep it from sinking. This year the weather was better and the trip over to Kitty Hawk less harrowing.

wright--kite-10-27-09 — Wright glider descending from Big Hill. One of four photographs of gliding activities taken on October 27, 1903, when Wilbur and Orville each made two glides.

When the brothers arrived in Kitty Hawk in September 1903, they found storms from the previous year had caused some damage to their shed–it had been moved several feet from where it had been the previous year, but the glider they left inside was in good shape and quickly prepared for some more flying. When the weather took a turn for the better, a perfect day for gliding, they dragged the glider up to the big sand hill. Here they took 30 – 40 glides with one of those lasting 43 seconds and traveling 450 feet.

After these glides, the brothers were refreshed and ready for what lay before them: assembling their new flying machine. It would take about almost a month before the frames were properly assembled. On November 2 they began the delicate work of placing the engine on their machine. While work continued on mounting the engine they found the shafts for the chain sprockets needed to be changed. Those shafts had to be sent back to Dayton for repairs where Charlie Taylor, their machinist, could make repairs.

As the October came and went, the brothers worked diligently. Good friend, engineer and aviation pioneer, 71 year old Oscar Chanute made his way out to the Kill Devil Hills. He wanted to see what the brothers had accomplished since they last talked. Oscar studied what they had put together so far, but wasn’t convinced it would be good enough to get them aloft. Somewhat disappointed, Oscar left after visiting for two days. The brothers continued on assembling their flying machine.

wright-1903-flyer-at-shed-nov-24 — 1903 machine and large camp building where it was housed at Kill Devil Hills– photograph created Nov. 24, 1903.

Toward the end of November the new drive shafts arrived from Dayton. During some initial testing the new shafts cracked. Orville decided to go back to Dayton and make the new shafts himself. He left on November 30. Orville would not be back until Friday, December 11. Glad to see Orville again, the brothers began making the final adjustments through Saturday. On Sunday as was their normal routine, the brothers did no work. On Monday, December 14, everything was ready for their first test flight.

After a coin flip it was decided that Wilbur would make the first flight. With everything set, the engine was started. Gliding down the rail the machine lifted when Wilbur pulled back on the rudder causing the plane to rise too quickly and it lost momentum and began to stall. Wilbur then over corrected bringing it back down and crashing into the sand.

Wilbur in prone position in damaged machine on ground after unsuccessful trial of December 14, 1903; Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina — Wilbur posing on damaged machine after unsuccessful trial of December 14, 1903; Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. The damaged can be seen immediately in front of Wilbur. Shadow at bottom is that of Orville taking photograph. He took 2 different exposures.

What could have been a catastrophic event was met with cheers. It had worked! The motor, the rail, the propellers, everything worked– it was just the pilot that needed some adjustment. Damage to the machine was minor but it would take a little time to fix. On Wednesday afternoon all was set and it was decided the following day they would try once more, but this time Orville would try his hand at the controls. Confident they had everything under control, the following day, Thursday, December 17, 1903 would certainly be a day worth remembering.

September 17: The Crash

By John Merrill

orville-posing-fort-meyers1908 — Orville Wright (in white shirt) posing with US Army Signal Corpsmen looking over his flying machine in September 1908

For Katherine Wright, a school teacher at Dayton’s Steele High School and the younger sister of the Wright brothers, it was a normal day. By now she was used to her older brothers being away from the house they all shared with their father. More recently the local papers had been trying to get her to comment on Wilbur’s accomplishments in France. Her brothers had become rock stars in Dayton, but it was still unnerving for her to receive a telegram about one of them.

It had been almost 5 years since the Wright brothers had proven to themselves powered flight was possible. Since then they had been steadfastly improving their flying machine and now they were out to show a doubting world that they could fly.

Wilbur Wright had one of their flying machines in France where he had been conducting almost daily flights before spectators that were arriving by the 1000s to observe how his flying machine could take-off, fly circles and figure 8s then safely land. He had become the iconic fearless American adventurer and entrepreneur.

Back in the United States, his younger brother Orville was doing what he could to prove to the United States military, that what he and his brother had built could be useful for the army. That meant Orville had to go through a series of tests devised by the military before they would award a contract to buy the brothers’ flying machine.

To this point the government had actually gone out of their way not to believe the two brothers without any government help, had built a flying machine unlike any other. However, the Wright brothers finally got permission to demonstrate one of their flying machines for the US Army Signal Corps at Fort Myer.

The first test flight on September 3 ended with a modest crash landing. Orville was bruised slightly, and the plane received some damage, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed in short order. The following day the plane was again ready to fly and so was Orville. This time everything went as planned. It was the beginning of a series of flights that suddenly grabbed the attention of the American public when accounts of the secret test flights became known. Suddenly it was no longer a few dozen spectators watching Orville, but a few thousand that waited often days to see what the young inventor would do with his flying machine. On September 10, Orville kept his machine in the air for over an hour. The next day members of congress ventured across the Potomac River to see for themselves what all the talk was about. On this day Orville exceeded his previous record from the day before. The following day another record was set. Orville Wright became a household name around the world.

The test flights continued and the crowds grew even larger.

On this day, Thursday, September 17 the conditions were almost perfect. Orville had already taken up several passengers in the preceding days. Today he would do the same.

orville-selfridge-1908 — Orville Wright preparing to take his seat alongside Lieutenant Selfridge already seated for their test flight at Fort Myer. The propeller on the right is the one that splinters causing the fatal crash.

Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge who had also been designing both lighter than air dirigibles and heavier than air craft wanted to go aloft with Orville to see for himself how this flying machine handled (Selfridge’s craft he had designed had crashed earlier that spring).

The flying machine lifted off the ground at 5:14 P.M., but the Wright’s machinists noticed the plane did not rise as quickly from the ground as it had on previous two-manned flights. They would later find that the lieutenant weighed 175 pounds, much more than any of the other co-pilots that flew in the previous flights. This additional weight was perhaps enough to cause more strain on the engine and the spruce propellers. There was also a 6 mph headwind.

Once airborne, the flight appeared to be going as expected. Orville and Thomas Selfridge successfully completed three wide circles to the cheers from the large crowd below them. On the fourth, one of the mechanics noticed something fall from the plane. Just before that, Orville turned to look back. There had been a slight thump but he couldn’t see anything amiss. Not wanting to take any unnecessary risks, Orville slowed the engine and began a descent to land.

Just as he began the descent, there were two loud thumps and the machine quickly began vibrating. Orville turned the engine off and tried to make a glide landing, something he was familiar with. However, Orville not fully realizing all that had just happened wasn’t aware that the left propeller had literally exploded and sheered off part of the strut making the machine unable to be controlled. This was the first time those particular propellers were used.

No matter how hard Orville pulled the levers, the machine did not respond. It suddenly turned to the right and then dove directly toward the ground. Both Orville and Thomas were thrown forward from their seats with parts of the flying machine crashing around them.

orville-crash1908 — The crashed flying machine at Fort Myer. Orville and Lieutenant Selfridge have already been removed from the crash site and taken to the fort’s infirmary.

Mounted soldiers tried to keep the crowd back and away from the wreckage that was leaking gasoline from the punctured fuel tank. Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge was unconscious and Orville was semi-conscious. A doctor at the field said both men were in critical condition as they were removed by stretcher and taken to the Fort Myer infirmary at the other end of the field. Without ever regaining consciousness, Lieutenant Selfridge died that evening.

When Orville regained consciousness in the hospital, he dictated a telegram that was to be sent both to his brother Wilbur in Le Mans France, and his sister Katherine. He wanted to assure them that he was alive. Orville Wright remained in serious condition for the next week. When Katherine received the telegram she immediately contacted the Steele High School principal that she would need to take an extended leave of absence. Katherine arrived two days at Fort Myer and would remain with him until he was well enough to make the train ride back to Dayton in November.

On this day in 1908, Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge became the first person to die in a crash of a powered airplane. After this accident, the Army insisted all test pilots where helmets which would most likely have saved Selfridge’s life in this particular accident. When Wilbur Wright was notified of Orville’s accident, he stopped flying for a few days and then decided to continue his test flights in France, but instead of having a passenger, he flew with a sack of sand as his co-pilot.

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