USA > Rhode Island > The "Old Stone Bank" history of Rhode Island, Vol. IV > Part 31
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Then, suddenly, came the startling news of a machine that really would fly under power. Some people doubted, others ignored, most everyone scoffed, but, not many years passed before such names as Graham White, Martin, Atwood, Beachey, Curtiss, Bleriot, Law, Stimson, and Arnold were as familiar in Rhode Island as they were elsewhere throughout the world. Visitors to other parts of the country would return with amazing tales of what they had seen in the air, machines traveling through space, landing, and taking off again, under their own power. And soon, there were reports of flying ma- chines that could take off from water. Youngsters suddenly discovered a new
hobby, model making; airplane publica- tions began to appear in the news offices, and the balloon, long a standby for county fairs, amusement parks, and 4th of July thrills, was pushed into the back- ground when the barnstormers with their flying circuses hastily assembled what was left from the previous flight, and with
Courtesy, Pawtucket Times
JACK MCGEE, FAMED RHODE ISLAND PILOT, IN THE POPULAR FLYING TOGS OF LONG AGO - A CAP TURNED BACKWARDS WHEN READY TO TAKE OFF.
the aid of a little wire, a few bolts, some patches, and with plenty of courage, man- aged to clear the high tension wire and the trees at the end of the field, circle the grandstand three times, above cheering crowds, and get back to earth, usually bumping and bounding in a cloud of dust, to a lucky stop, six feet or less from a fence.
In the beginning, flying airplanes was left to the daredevils, and not many of these can we name among Rhode Island- ers during the early years of modern avia- tion. But, there were pioneer aviators whose names belong in the local Hall of Fame. Appearing in this category, there was Art Jones and, too, Raymond Hob- son, who gave up chauffeuring for flying
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Courtesy, Pawtucket Times
JACK McGEE, PIONEER AVIATOR, IN HIS "PUSHER" BIPLANE.
more than thirty years ago; Joe Pierce, Bobby Simon, and, of course, best remem- bered by all who are old enough to remem- ber, Jack McGee of Pawtucket, unques- tionably one of the greatest of the great in the history of aviation in America. Thanks to the interest of the Pawtucket Times, and especially to a member of the feature writing staff of that publication, Mr. Frank Hultgren, the complete life story of Jack McGee has been preserved in print. No stone was left unturned, no clue neglected by Mr. Hultgren in his relentless search for every last item of interest associated with the life and contributions to aviation service by Jack McGee. Mr. Hultgren's account of Rhode Island's ace pioneer aviator was published by the Pawtucket Times in a series of articles, and this effort represents the most valuable con- tribution to local air history yet produced.
There is much to tell of Jack McGee, and most of that came to pass during his six-year flying career, from 1912 to 1918.
He was born in Central Falls, went West with his family when he was a young child, and later returned to live in Paw- tucket. He worked at many odd jobs as a youth, but found his greatest interest in mechanics. A machine shop experience led to a chauffeur's position with a wealthy pioneer aeronaut, who was directly re- sponsible for Jack's introduction to the art of flying. It happened at a flying meet at Squantum, Massachusetts, in 1911. Graham White and other immortals were in the air, and Jack McGee was on the ground, fast making up his mind that he too would become a flyer, and he was not long in realizing his ambition. After considerable difficulty in securing the necessary funds for lessons, he enrolled in the Atwood Aviation School at Clifton- dale, and on Sunday, August 28, 1912, made his first solo from the Saugus, Mas- sachusetts, aerodrome. He soared aloft in a Burgess-Wright biplane to an altitude of 1,000 feet, and after battling a driving
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rain, succeeded in making a fine landing. From then on until his last flight, rare was the day when Jack McGee was not at the controls of some type of flying machine, somewhere in America. Thou- sands of Rhode Islanders can still recall the exhibitions staged by McGee at shore resorts, including Newport, Rocky Point, and Crescent Park; at the old Narra- gansett Race Track, at Kingston Fair, and at the Woonsocket Trotting Park. No man in Rhode Island was more widely publicized in those days, and no exhibi- tion or summer resort free show has ever surpassed that of Jack McGee's, who specialized in the "dip-of-death," the "loop-the-loop," volplaning and banking. All that our gallant air fighters have been taught scientifically was learned three decades ago by a daring, expert Rhode Islander, well ahead of his time; and all he learned and passed on, he got from trial and error, up there. Jack McGee lost his
life in Cowesett Bay on June 13, 1918, when the flying boat he had just tested in the air for the once-famed Galladet Com- pany, capsized, and Jack was unable to extricate himself. He foretold that he would some day give his life in the interest of flying, and he prophesied all that has come true in the service to which he con- tributed so much of practical knowledge. Jack is gone, and all of his professional and amateur Rhode Island contempo- raries have given up aviation, with one outstanding exception, Captain Ezra Kent, one of the first, who forsook a record-breaking career as an automobile racer for flying. He taught Jack McGee the tricks of whirling round the mile track in a roaring Mercedes, and Jack taught Ezra the mysteries of getting into the air and staying up in what was then a slight improvement over what managed to hop from the earth for a distance of 852 feet in 1903.
THE PREPAREDNESS PARADE
P ARADING, undoubtedly, is as old as organized warfare, and that goes back at least as far as the Middle Egyp- tian period, 2000 B.C. And the first parades probably were mostly processions of returning warriors who sought public acclaim for their successes in the field and who enjoyed giving the stay-at-homes a public display of their hard-won spoils of war, including captives destined for death or enslavement. Parades provided impressive pageants for kings of old, as they have more recently for dictators when the national spirit appears to be cooling off, and enthusiasm needs to be stimulated or fears quieted. Few have failed to observe, in their own experiences, what martial music, glistening bayonets, the cadence of marching feet and high- stepping steeds will accomplish among peace-loving, nonaggressive people.
On the other hand, parades are not always organized for the purpose of stimulating war spirit. Peace, politics, fraternity, loyalty, sports, the circus, religion, hero-worship, and the like have
all prompted impressive scenes of march- ing people and watching people all over America for a long, long time, and the cities and towns of Rhode Island have been no exceptions. Doubtless, some of the present younger generation may have the mistaken idea that snappy-stepping military bodies are something compara- tively new; that baton-twirling is part of the curriculum of the Junior High School system, and that gold braid, and shiny rayon capes, or even top hats and floats are modern parade features. Drum major damsels, and drum major dames are something new, but, since the day, in 1776, when General George Washington came to Providence and the citizens of the town organized a procession in his honor, most everything in the way of color, fan- fare, noise and pageantry has been wit- nessed over and over again on local streets by all generations. Time and again, the city of Providence has been draped with bunting and festooned with flowers in preparation for an hour or two of street parading, and this and other
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E
.... ..
Courtesy, Yat K. Tow
CHINESE DIVISION, "ON TO VICTORY" PARADE, PROVIDENCE, MAY 2, 1943.
Rhode Island cities and towns have often disrupted the flow of traffic to acclaim visiting Presidents, departing warriors, returning heroes, and even the Grand Supreme Worshipful Mohab of the Loyal and Benevolent Order of Swordfish with his official suite and visiting delegates.
Visitations by military units, drum corps, bands and fraternal delegations to other places for parades and conventions are not an exclusive twentieth-century practice either, by any means. Following the close of the Civil War, many delega- tions, composed of local Grand Army of the Republic veterans, traveled elsewhere to meet and celebrate with their old comrades in arms and participate in gigantic parades. For the most part, journeys to other cities for patriotic meetings were taken by military units and bands, but the idea soon spread among fraternities and other organized groups, and up until the outbreak of World War II, Rhode Island has been
well represented wherever national ob- servances or national group meetings have been held.
Those who can remember back a bit may recall more or less vividly some great parades, in Providence, Pawtucket, Newport and especially in Bristol, nation- ally famous for its spectacular Fourth of July processions. There was the huge N.R.A. parade, the Lions' convention pa- rade in Providence, the many impressive Holy Name parades, the great Welcome Home parades in honor of the returning heroes of World War No. 1, the Shriners', St. Patrick's Day, Armistice Day and Memorial Day parades and many others, but, one. of the biggest parades of all within the memories of many was the Preparedness Parade, held in Providence on June 3, 1916. What prompted that never-to-be-forgotten display of mass en- thusiasm on the streets of this city twenty- seven years ago? What was it like?
To begin with, things were going on in
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the world then, destined to affect the lives of every man, woman and child in Rhode Island, in America. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Francis of Austria and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia, by Gavrillo Princep, a Serb stu- dent. There had been other assassinations of important people before that date, having little or no influence upon peaceful relationships among the nations of Eu- rope, but this act happened to come at the right time to cause international troubles; it flashed the spark that was to set the world afire. One month later Austria declared war on Serbia, and five days after that Germany invaded France and Russian troops invaded Germany. Two weeks later a British Expeditionary Force landed on the shores of France. The nations of Europe were at each other's throats, with America looking on, intensely interested in the latest news from the battle fronts, but not particu- larly concerned with what fighting in France, Belgium and elsewhere had to do with Virginians, Californians or Rhode Islanders. The months slipped by and early in 1915, Germany began to make its submarine blockade of Great Britain effective. Still Americans were able to sleep nights - what happened yesterday, could be read about in the morning papers. America was "keeping out of the war." This nation continued to do busi- ness with everybody, in fact, at least two German subs dropped in to call; one came into Newport harbor, and the author well remembers seeing the U-boat that suc- cessfully ran the British blockade and boldly came to the surface on the waters of Fisher's Island Sound and tied up to a dock in New London, Connecticut. On May 1, 1915, a German sub torpedoed the "Gulflight," an American-owned ship, flying the American flag. Americans said "They can't do that to us," and yet, seven days later, on May 7th, there was but one word on the lips of every Ameri- can, "Lusitania," for on that date the great liner went down off Kinsdale Head, Ireland, with 1,195 souls. Victim of a well-aimed German torpedo, the "Lusi- tania" went to the bottom with 124 Americans. Shocking as it was for citizens of the United States, this tragic marine
disaster did not lead directly to their involvement in the fighting. Some sin- cerely believed, and others were made to believe, that the lost Americans had no business being aboard the ill-fated British-owned ship.
But, little by little, the fire began to spread over the hills, down into the valleys, across the prairies, up and down the wide highways, back and forth through the byways - there were more sinkings, more demands upon Germany by the United States and the other way 'round, more threats, more excuses, denials and promises. Higher rose the roaring flames across the seas and on the seas. We began to get a bit worried about what might happen to us, sooner or later, although nothing much was done about getting ready to fight, just in case. Red-blooded Rhode Islanders were joining with others to go overseas to serve with the ambulance and flying units, departing for Toronto to volunteer for active duty with what was then called the American Legion, while Major General Leonard Wood, with his lone but strong voice, strode the length and breadth of this country beseeching his fellow citizens to prepare.
Then came May 31, 1916, the day of the Battle of Jutland, and while Rhode Islanders were scanning the three-column headlines hoping to satisfy themselves that the British Grand Fleet had come off best in one of the most gigantic sea battles of all times, they were reading elsewhere in the newspaper that Saturday, June 3, had been set apart for a mass appeal by Rhode Islanders in the cause of preparing America for war. A great parade had been planned and everyone in the state was invited to participate. Many a soldier who fought and died in a later World War was not even born on June 3, 1916, and many a youngster who may read this account has never even heard of Rhode Island's great Prepared- ness Parade.
It is known how many were in the parade because the Providence Journal clocked the marchers - 52,542 was the final count and the procession lasted six and one-half hours, from 12:30 at noon until a minute or two before seven
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o'clock that evening. Quoting from the press reports of the following date: "this mammoth enthusiastic human petition wound its way to the strains from sev- enty-five bands through the downtown section of Providence, halting every other activity, and making clearly and unmis- takably evident the fact that Rhode Island is for and with the Union, now as always in the past."
Bursts of applause, spontaneous and genuine, greeted various divisions of men and women along the line of march and for six and one-half hours tens of thou- sands of persons unable to take part in the parade lined the streets and filled the windows and perched upon roofs as spectators of Rhode Island's great demon- stration of patriotism. Nearly 10,000 loyal Rhode Island women of every sec- tion of the state and from every walk of life marched under the Red, White and Blue, stepping forth with a true, buoyant stride of robust patriotism, amid their male compatriots.
One of the great features of that memorable day back in '16 was the living flag formed by more than one thousand school children. Massed in special stands erected in front of Providence City Hall, these children sang patriotic songs as the marchers passed through Exchange Place, and they sang with such spirit and volume that the band provided for accompanying the singers was completely drowned out and finally gave up. The children in the stands were flanked by an honor guard of Civil War veterans, more than two hundred of them. Gone now are the heroes of the Civil War who marched, and gone too are a great many of those who, as marshals, led the twenty- three divisions and many sub-divisions of marching men and women grouped
according to their respective peace-time professions, pursuits or interests. For a quick cross-section of civic leadership a quarter-century ago, read the names of some who briskly stepped out to petition their country to get ready. The Chief Marshal was Major G. Edward Buxton, destined for World War service and fame; as his chief of staff was Colonel Charles E. Mulhearn. Governor R. Livingston Beeckman marched and re- viewed the procession and Mrs. Beeckman led the Women's Division. Mayor of Providence Joseph H. Gainer marched with the Governor, together with Colonel George H. Webb, director of the Parade. Glancing at the record of Divison Mar- shals, one finds - Architects, John H. Cady; Artists, Sydney R. Burleigh; Engineers, William Howard Paine; Clergymen, Right Reverend James De- Wolf Perry; Dentists, Dr. Ernest A. Charbonnel; Lawyers, Richard B. Com- stock; Cotton and Yarn Brokers, Colonel Henry Potter; Advertising, George W. Danielson; Real Estate, James H. Hurley ; Insurance, Colonel George L. Shepley; Education, Walter E. Ranger; Theatres, Jacob Conn; Jewelers & Silversmiths, Harry M. Mays; Bankers, C. Coburn Darling; Public Utilities, Charles T. Howard; Metal Workers, Wallace M. Pond; Retail Stores, Fred B. Thurber; Druggists, John J. Finnegan; Newspaper Workers, James C. Garrison; Rubber, Arthur H. Carr; Athletes, can the reader remember, or guess? - Tim O'Neil; Lum- ber, Willard I. Lansing, and so on - there were many more divisions and sub- divisions - many more marshals, some who stepped out again for their country in the line of march, in the greater and more spectacular "On to Victory " parade held in Providence on May 2, 1943.
LEBARON BRADFORD
T THERE is a remarkable parallel to be found in the lives of two New Eng- landers who were laid to rest on Saturday, January 7, 1933. Although one of these, a native of Plymouth, Vermont, expe-
rienced a brilliant public career, held the highest office in the land and became a power among nations, while the other, a life-long resident of Bristol, Rhode Island, seldom departed from the simple routine
LEBARON BRADFORD, ASSOCIATED WITH "THE OLD STONE BANK," 1868 TO 1933; ELECTED TREASURER IN 1900.
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of his home and business duties, and rarely, if ever, journeyed far from the quiet of his home surroundings, never- theless, Calvin Coolidge and LeBaron Bradford had a great deal in common. Both were born and bred in the tiny cor- ner of this great land where the first set- tlers bravely entered a wilderness deter- mined. to establish peaceful homelands, and both inherited directly the rugged qualities of these New England pioneers. They were reared in Christian homes, taught the simple code of clean living and clean thinking, and they were guided, in early life, along the certain paths of devotion to God and of righteousness to all men.
The Plymouth farm boy who was deter- mined to study law, and the Bristol lad who turned to banking as a youth had per- sonalities that won and kept for them the admiration and affection of all who knew them. But, neither Calvin Coolidge nor LeBaron Bradford resorted to outward display, loud or high-sounding conversa- tion, personality selling, and other dra- matic elements in order to gain and keep the respect of people - both enjoyed lives of delightful personal contacts be- cause they were sincere, unassuming, patient, kindly and faithful in all things. True to their type, rare in these days, they were endowed with keen wits; they were dry in humor, unshakable in con- victions, and they typified in every act of their lives the precious traditions of their forbears - the founders of a nation.
LeBaron Bradford was born in Bristol, Rhode Island on July 28, 1848, a descend- ant, in the seventh generation, of Wil- liam Bradford, second governor of Plym- outh Colony. William Bradford was born at Austerfield, in Yorkshire, England, in 1588. During the year 1608 he went to Holland and joined with the Pilgrims who later sailed to Plymouth. His wife was accidentally drowned while he was away from the "Mayflower " on an inspec- tion trip into Massachusetts Bay. Mrs. Bradford was the first female member of the famous expedition who died in the vicinity of Plymouth, and the first whose death was recorded in New England. Mr. Bradford was chosen Governor in 1621 and he was re-elected to that office
every year thereafter until 1657, with the exception of five years intervening. He was regarded as one of the most able leaders that directed and sustained the new settlement and, in the words of an early writer, "he was the very prop and glory of Plymouth Colony during the whole series of changes that passed over it." Governor Bradford married the second time and, by this second wife, he had three children, William, Mercy and Joseph. He died on May 9, 1657, la- mented by all the colonies of New Eng- land, for they regarded him as a common father to them all.
William Bradford, the Governor's son, was commander-in-chief of the Plymouth forces during the Indian wars. When the Narragansetts and their allies made the final stand in the heart of the Great Swamp at Kingston, he received a musket ball in his flesh, and this he carried the remainder of his life. Another William Bradford, the great grandfather of the late LeBaron Bradford, became Deputy Gov- ernor of Rhode Island in 1775, was Speaker of the House of Representatives in Rhode Island for many years, elected member of the Continental Congress in October, 1776, and was later elected United States Senator from Rhode Island.
Despite the fact that he was descended directly from these and other noble pa- triots of the name of Bradford, the last of his line of that illustrious family was content not to rest upon the achievements of those who had come before him. Not long ago, in conversation with LeBaron Bradford, a friend observed that "many of us, today, live on the reputations of past generations." With that familiar twinkle in his eye, and with a quick, side- glance over his spectacles, he agreed that the observation was correct, but expressed some doubts as to "how long past genera- tions could live on our reputations."
To a great many, his friends, his neigh- bors and his business associates, LeBaron Bradford was a charming connecting link between the present and a fast-dimming past. For he had lived nearly a century and could remember much that had hap- pened during his tranquil, observing, and contemplative span of years. He was a school boy during the days when the anti-
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slavery propaganda in the North inflamed his privilege, but not his choice, to a nation to war; he could remember the remain at home. departure of the Bristol boys for the battlefields of the South; he could recall the return home of the ragged, war-weary few who had survived Antietam, Peters- burg and the Wilderness; and he recalled seeing Burnside, who lived and died in Bristol after peace had been restored to a troubled nation. He was a boyhood chum of "Nat" Herreshoff, greatest designer of yachts of all times, and that was long before the wizard of yacht designing started his simple experiments on the waters of Bristol harbor. He was proud of this and many other old friendships which had continued with the passing of years.
His most unusual characteristic was his absolute devotion to his work. After graduating from high school in Bristol he went to work in the Bristol Savings Bank, located on State Street. In 1868 he secured a position with the Providence Institution for Savings, "The Old Stone Bank," in Providence and there he re- mained until his death on January 4, 1933. He was efficient, dependable and successful in this profession which he came to love, but more than that, his record of service in that historic Mutual Savings Bank probably cannot be matched by any other individual in the country. With the exception of two weeks about thirty-five years ago when he was ill, LeBaron Bradford did not miss a single day in appearing at his place of business several miles from his home in Bristol. Rain or shine, winter and summer, on bank holidays and all, this typical, faith- ful, trustworthy Yankee was at his desk, an inspiration to his younger associates, and a splendid example of fidelity. In 1900, Mr. Bradford was elected Treasurer of the bank where he had spent most of his life, and he held that position until his passing. He was attending to his duties at "The Old Stone Bank" on the day when he was stricken fatally ill, and that day was an official bank holiday when it was
A great savings institution grew around LeBaron Bradford with the coming and going of the years. He was a vital part of the bank's organization back in the days when business was carried on in a smaller stone structure at 86 South Main Street, on the same site of the present main office which was erected in 1898. He knew full well the labors and the long hours of bank bookkeeping before the days of machine recording and rapid calculating. He saw his bank, entrusted with the precious savings of thousands of citizens, grow and expand as the city grew and he shared the pride in that savings institution of those who year after year continued to offer to all persons, " a safe place of deposit, and have the satisfaction to know that it is constantly increasing." He lived to see his bank expand its activities and erect two more bank buildings elsewhere in the city, and he saw the number of depositors increase by many thousands.
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