Our Daily Show! 100 Years Ago: A Flying Circus!
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The Joe Lawrence Flying Circus performed on Sunday, November 16, 1924, at Hugh F. Poag’s field in South Roxana. There were stunts, fancy flying, a parachute leap from the plane a mile high, wing walking, skating in the air, and a break-away, in which a man or woman jumps from a wing end to a rope ladder swinging beneath the plane. All stunts were announced and explained by megaphone and were performed without safety measures. Admission to the field was 25 cents. Passenger airplane trips cost $3, with half fare for children under 12 years old.\
The following week, to advertise their upcoming shows on November 23 and 27, the Joe Lawrence Flying Circus planned to do something no one had ever done before. On Thursday, November 20, at 12:30 p.m., pilot William F. Spencer and stunt man Roy Johnson attempted to fly under the Alton Bridge, with Spencer piloting and Johnson on top of the plane. Hundreds of people gathered on the Alton riverfront to watch. The plane took off from Riverfront Park and flew up the river a short distance before turning around and flying down the Mississippi River towards the bridge. The pilot flew the plane just over the river’s surface because they had to be within two feet of the water to make it under the bridge. However, the wheels began to strike water, so the pilot raised the plane. He tried to lower it to the proper height again, but water got in the gearing. The machine took a nose dive. Johnson, who was riding on top, was immediately thrown off the plane into the water. Pilot Spencer stood in the cockpit calling for help, and Deputy Coroner C.N. Streeper, accompanying the flyers in a motor boat, quickly pulled Spencer out. Johnson was buried beneath the plane in the water, and it took some time before he could be rescued. Both men were uninjured, but Roy Johnson ended up very sick the following day and was not able to perform in the next show. He had apparently never been in water over his shoulders before and could not swim. The only thing that kept him above water until the rescuers arrived was his mad paddling and kicking. “Those who saw him said his arms were moving faster than they ever thought a man’s arms could move.” The plane suffered a broken propeller and water damage, but the announcer assured the crowd that another plane would be brought in and take its place for the next airshow.
Sources
“Action! Thrills! The Joe Lawrence Flying Circus.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), November 15, 1924.
“Air Circus Held.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), November 28, 1924.
Correll, John T. 2021. “Romance of the Air.” Air & Space Forces Magazine.https://www.airandspaceforces.com/article/romance-of-the-air/
“Flying Circus Scheduled for Sunday, Here.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), November 14, 1924.
“Flying Circus to be Held Here Sunday, Nov. 16.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), November 8, 1924.
“Flying Stunts at Roxana, Thursday.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), November 26, 1924.
“Jersey" Ringel standing on top wing of aeroplane.” United States of America, 1921. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified] Photograph. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-34539https://www.loc.gov/item/2012646314/
“Miss Lillian Boyer, aerial acrobat.” United States of America, 1922. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified] Photograph. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-71278https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3b18662?loclr=blogloc
“Plane Stunt Man Ill.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), November 21, 1924.
“Stunt Flyers Fall in River at Alton Bridge.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), November 20, 1924.
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