Ralph and Ella in the Mesa Union High School Yearbook - 1951

Recently while on Ancestry.com, I stumbled upon on the yearbook for Mesa Union High School from 1951. This would have been when Ella was a senior and Ralph was a junior. These pictures are such gems! By the number of photos of her, we can see that Ella was quite involved in school clubs and activities, and Ralph was certainly looking dapper in his class photo.

Ralph and Ella knew of each other in high school (they first met at a back-to-school seminary dance in September 1949), but they didn't start to date until after Ella had graduated. (Read more about their courtship as well as their wedding day.)

Although Ralph and Ella are the same age, Ella was ahead in her schooling by American standards when she transferred schools from Aberdeen to Mesa, so she ended up graduating a year ahead of Ralph -- she in 1951 and he in 1952.

Check out these photos!

Ella is pictured in the second row, first column. The related blurb to the right reads:
"ELLA FINDLAY--F.HA. (4), Le Circle Francais (4), Safety Council (4). Entered from
Central Senior Secondary School, Aberdeen, Scotland.

Ralph is pictured in the fourth row, second column.

Ella was a member of the Safety Council. Here she is pictured in the bottom photo,
back row, second from the left.

Here's a candid group photo with Ella in the back/center.

In the top photo, Ella is shown with other members of Le Cercle Francais (the French Club).
Ella is in the middle row, second from the left.

Ralph: Living on the Farm in Mesa

In 1946, when Ralph was 12 years old, Lester and Juanita moved their young family from Lomita, California, back to Mesa, Arizona. Ralph’s three younger half brothers were about ages four and under, with the youngest, Eddie, being about six months old. Lester had bought a farm of 19 acres outside of “town” (Mesa’s population was about 10,000 at the time).(1) 

Half their family’s farm was down in a valley and half on a rocky hill. Lester farmed the valley part, growing mostly hay to feed their family’s farm animals, but they had a vegetable garden as well (including tomatoes and cantaloupe). They also had several hives of bees up on the hill, providing honey for their family and also for sale.

Approximately where Ralph's family's farm was located in Mesa, Arizona, near that red oval. It was between North Alma
School Road and North Country Club Drive, with the housealong the canal and the hill to the south.

There was a small home on the property. It was approximately 500-700 square feet, and only 4 rooms: kitchen, living, two bedrooms with one off of the living room and one off the kitchen, with no hallways. Lester and Juanita and the two youngest brothers (in cribs) slept in one bedroom (off of the living room), with Ralph and the brother just younger than him in the room off of the kitchen.

Ralph's sketch of the farm  house in Mesa

The only glass windows were in the living room and kitchen. The bedrooms had only screened openings covered by a framed canvas that could be opened from the inside.

There was an upright piano in the living room, which they had moved with them from California, but Ralph can't recall anyone ever playing it. 

And in this home there was no indoor plumbing or electricity at the time, but they had some creative solutions to address that.

Running Water in the Kitchen
There was a canal that ran (and still does) north of their property, with a well a half mile down the road that dumped into the canal from a 24-inch pipe. The well was above ground and Ralph would haul water from the well in the canal, 4-5 buckets full each day, in the back of a 1939 Ford Coupe, similar to the one below.

Image Source

To have water more easily accessible in the kitchen, Lester installed a big tank above the house, and they’d pour the buckets of water from the well into that tank so that Juanita would have water in the kitchen. The water was seemingly from a faucet, but it came from the tank on top of their home. For hot water, they’d fill a kettle or pot and heat it on the wood burning stove. 

The kitchen sink and drainboard were under the window, with the wood stove to the left and a table and chairs in the corner by the partition between the living room and kitchen.

Baths and Showers

Image Source: eBay
(Google search: wash tubs for baths vintage)

They initially didn’t have a shower at their little home either; rather, they would take a sponge bath in a basin, usually once a week on Saturday evening. Depending on the season, the basin might be behind the home or moved inside. Grandpa Earl Inglish (Juanita’s father) also offered another option: He worked as an engineer at the Mesa Arizona Temple, and there happened to be a shower in the furnace building, so he would invite the family to come up to bathe.

Then Lester got the idea to build a shower at home. He crafted a wooden frame shower stall, wrapped it with canvas, included a door, and the floor was a wooden pallet so water would run through. This was built on the edge of the yard so the water would runoff down into the brush.

He then took an old wash tub (that held about 5 to 7 gallons) that had a drain on the bottom and set it on top of the shower roof, which was also made from a pallet. 

On the bottom of the tub, they installed a hose fitting with a sprinkler head. They would heat up water in a bucket on the stove, then climb up a ladder and pour it in the tub above the shower. Problem solved! (“Just like uptown,“ Ella said. Lol!)

After some time, the shower was moved into the corner of the bedroom off the kitchen (Ralph's room), with the tub and sprinkler just outside the frame. (See Ralph's sketch, above.)

Washing Clothes

A Maytag washing machine from the 1930s,
similar to what Ralph's family owned
Image Source

On wash day, Ralph's job was to heat up water in a great big steel barrel, then put the water in the tubs and the washing machine. The washing machine was manufactured by Maytag - it was gas powered with a round tub with the agitator, and a wringer that would swing 360 degrees to wring clothes from the washer into rinse tubs, then wring them to dry.

The “dryer” was a 20-foot long clothes line on the east side of the front year. There was grass planted beneath it in clase the clothes dropped to the ground they wouldn’t get dirty.

A Maytag washing machine from the 1930s, similar to what Ralph’s family owned.

The Privy
At this time, the majority of farm houses like theirs had an outdoor privy (outhouse), most of which were built by the Works Projects Administration (WPA).(2) 

Sears, Roebuck, and Co. catalog from 1948
Image Source

They were all built the same, with a slanted roof, the toilet seat on the diagonal, and a vent tube up from the bottom that went to the outside for the vapers to go outside. Like many households at the time, they often used the Sears, Roebuck, and Co. catalog as toilet paper - its paper was thin, like newspaper, not thick and glossy like catalogs today.

Ralph's rendition of a WPA outhouse
and two "nationalities" using it

How would they clean out the outhouse? Well, they didn’t. And there was no service to come around to clean it out either. So after a few years, when waste would get within a couple feet of the surface, they would remove the wooden outhouse from the cement slab base (attached by screws), dig another hole, move the outhouse and cement slab base, and fill in the previous hole with dirt.

Ralph also remembers: While their outhouse had only one hole, some had two to three holes. Their outhouse was painted white on the outside with the inside being bare wood. And the fellow who owned their home before them would chew tobacco while doing his business and spit it on the inside walls of the outhouse. Gross. 

Ralph's hilarious description of the outhouses of his youth

Food Preparation and Preservation
During their first 2-3 years in the home, their family had a wood stove in the kitchen. Ralph was responsible for keeping the wood stocked, which he would chop or collect on their property, and he would also start the fire in the morning.

Image Source

The stove was large, about the size of a loveseat, with the firebox on one end - that’s where you’d put the wood in. And there were great big lids on the stove top with a little metal handle/crank to lift them up and put additional wood in. The hottest part of the stove top was near the firebox; you couldn’t turn the burner down like on today’s stoves but instead you’d move the pots further away from the fire. 

There was also the oven portion of the stove, which was separate space from the firebox, and the heat would radiate around the oven. The oven itself had a thermometer on the front and it kept a pretty even temperature.

Ralph recalls that his mother was really good cooking on a wood stove, making soup, bread, etc., and even rabbit.(3) 

At this time, they also didn’t have a refrigerator, but the iceman delivered 50 pounds of ice twice a week. The ice box was located in the corner of Ralph's bedroom (where the shower would eventually be moved to.)

To keep pans of milk and butter cold, Lester devised another creative solution: He built a wooden-frame cabinet, stapled burlap around it, and they’d pour water on the top and as it ran down the sides, the water would evaporate and it would reduce the temperature significantly, perhaps by 15-20 degrees. 

At some point, Ralph had decided that his mother needed two things and that he could help get those for her: 1) an electric stove, and 2) a refrigerator. So when he was old enough, about age 14 or 15, he went to work at Wright’s Super Market in downtown Mesa making 50 cents an hour. And he subsequently made a deal with his uncle Ray Inglish who owned an appliance store in neighboring Gilbert, AZ -- Inglish Electric. He did it. He bought his mother a stove and a refrigerator, with Uncle Ray signing for him, and Ralph paid him back: $7 a month for the range and an additional $6 a month for the refrigerator. 

Ironically, they got these appliances even before they had electricity wired in their home. They knew that the electricity would soon be available on the outskirts of town, so the appliances sat out behind their home until the electricity was routed to their property.

Churning Butter

Image Source

Using milk from their own cow, Ralph would help his family make butter. Originally they would do so by shaking a 2 quart bottle filled with milk, and they would shake and shake and shake until the butter formed, and the residual liquid left over was the slightly sour buttermilk.

Their family eventually got a butter paddle churn. It was maybe a 2 gallon size glass jar that had little wood paddles inside that were connected to a crank that extended out the top. It was designed so that the milk had to bump around the four corners of the jar. As you turn the crank, the paddles moved the liquid to hit the sides - similar to shaking the bottle but much less labor intensive. 

When using this device you had to be careful of two things: The gears were exposed, so don’t get your fingers caught! Also, don’t turn the crank too quickly, as they would whip the milk rather churn it into butter. 

Antique Butter Churn
Image Source: eBay

Believe it or not, about 15-20 years ago when Ralph and Ella were visiting family in Oklahoma, Ralph was browsing in an antique shop in the city of Jenks and he saw a butter churn just like the one he used as a kid. He thinks that Lester and Juanita paid $4.39 for theirs, having saved up for a couple months. The price at the antique shop? $1600. (Not a typo.)

Pest Control
Each morning it was Ralph's duty to check the scorpion traps. Arizona is known for many scorpions, and Ralph feels they had more than their fair share, both in and around the house! 

Their scorpion "traps" consisted of a 2  x 12  x 24 board placed on the ground, over a slightly dug out area. This would create a cool, damp area, just what the scorpions like. They had four or five such traps places around and under the house. 

Every morning Ralph would find between one and six critters in various sizes, and they didn't move quickly, and were thus easy to smash. 

This arrangement seemed to keep the scorpions out of their house, but not out of Ralph's shoes if left outside. He was stung on the foot on more than one occasion!

Irrigating the Farm
When Lester bought the farm, he unfortunately didn’t have water rights - in other words, the right to make use of water from the canal to irrigate his land. The previous owner had defaulted on his payments, which meant that a subsequent owner would need to pay the debt to reclaim the rights, but in this case it was way too expensive to do so. 

Instead, Lester occasionally made an arrangement with neighbors on the hill to allow their water to overflow and come down the canyon to their property.  He also bought a gas powered pump and pumped water out of the canal. Illegal? Probably so, but nobody complained and he didn’t get caught! He also did drill a well but was never financially able to put a pump in it. 

Arrangements with Neighbors
Across the canal from Ralph’s family’s property was a dairy farm run by a mom and dad and son who was two years ahead of Ralph in high school This farm milked 20-plus cows daily, and Lester had made an agreement with them to purchase milk for 25 cents a bottle. 

To have the milk “delivered,” Lester built a wooden box that held two half-gallon bottles that was attached to a rope and pulley that crossed the canal at the location of the milking barn. When Ralph’s family would send bottles over, the neighboring farm would fill them with fresh, warm milk that they would drink and use on their cereal, and Juanita would also make cottage cheese and butter, the latter for use at home and for sale. 

..........

Ralph describing how he churned butter as a kid on the farm in Mesa.
Filmed 28 October 2018.

..........

We live in such luxury now! What will future generations say about our day and age? Ralph points out that these living arrangements were certainly a step back from what they had in California, but as a young kid, he didn't really realize it at the time.

..........

Would love to add: Photos of the farm and the home. Ralph said he has some!

..........

Sources and Notes:
From a conversation with Ralph recorded on 13 April 2018, and additional texts sent on 3-5 Sept 2018. Also a video from 28 October 2018.

1. In 1946, I guesstimate that the population of Mesa was about 10,000 persons - I couldn’t find data for 1946 specifically. Per the US Census, the population of Mesa, AZ, in 1940 was 7,224. In 1950, it was 16,790. Quite the population boom in that 10 years! By the time Ralph and Ella married in March 1953, Ralph remembers there were still only 4 stop lights in Mesa.
2. For more information about the Works Projects Administration, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_Progress_Administration.
3. Another family story that needs to be written down: The time that Juanita cooked up her grandkids’ pet bunny for dinner. What? Rabbits were for eating, not for pets!

Tasty Traditions: Shepherd's Pie

Image Source

As the seasons are soon to change, summer to fall, my mind starts thinking about comfort foods - those dishes that warm both the body and the spirit. Shepherd's pie is one of those dishes, and also one that has its roots in the United Kingdom. (1) 

The following recipe is a favorite of BM, Ralph and Ella's eldest son. Ralph and Ella have also created their own variation, baking it in smaller dishes that they freeze and reheat at a later time. 

Shepherds Pie

Ingredients

1-2  lb ground beef 

2 packages brown gravy

1 can peas or green beans (I use green beans)

1 can corn

a cup diced onions

1 cup sliced carrots (I steam the carrots first so that are cooked and not crunchy)

8 medium potatoes

1-2 cups grated cheese

Directions

1. Steam potatoes, mash and season to taste.
2. Brown ground beef and onions - season as desired. 
3. Add brown gravy, green beans, corn and carrots. Simmer until heated throughout.
4. Pour in to 13x9 pan (Use a non-stick spray on the pan first).
5. Spread mashed potatoes on top of the meat/vegetable mixture.
6. Top with shredded cheese.
7. Back at 350 degrees for 20 min. Or store in the refrigerator until ready to bake.

Variations

• Add chopped garlic and mushrooms to the mixture.
• Add Stove Top Dressing on top of the cheese - adds some crunch. 

Sources:

1. Historical information on shepherd's pie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepherd%27s_pie; http://irishnobleman.com/what-is-shepherds-pie-and-where-did-it-come-from/

Photos of Extended Mitchell Family, and Working Together to Solve the Family History Mysteries

Not long ago, my mother loaned me a photo album that Grandma Ella had put together about 20 years ago. Ella compiled photographs of herself and Ralph growing up, as well as photos of their parents, grandparents, and beyond, making identical albums for each of their four living children. This album is such a treasure!

I happily scanned the pages of the album and started posting photos to FamilySearch, tagging the individuals who had been labeled in the pictures.

For some photos, such as a set of three extended family photos, only three of 12-22 individuals were identified: John Virgil Mitchell (1908-1954; Ralph's father), John Payne Mitchell (1849-1928), and Mary Adaline Stockwell Mitchell (1869-1959) (John Virgil Mitchell's parents/Ralph's paternal grandparents). And there was no additional information about where and when the photos were taken.

The Mitchell extended family, with previously only 3 family members identified

Not long after I posted these to FamilySearch,  I received a message from cousin JC, whom I had connected with before on FamilySearch. She is also a descendant of Mary Adaline Stockwell Mitchell, through her first husband Joseph Louis Mitchell, while Ralph is a descendant of her second husband, John Payne Mitchell. Ralph and JC are 1/2 first cousins once removed. We'll just say "cousins," as that's less complicated.

But here's the neat part: JC had never seen the 3 particular photos I had posted, but she recognized her mother, grandparents, and aunts and uncles in the photos, as her family had a similar photo taken by the same photographer that same day in the same location. JC has in her possession the similar photos with notes on them, which she inherited when her mother passed away 5 years ago.

With JC's help, here's what we now know:

These photos are of Mary Adaline Stockwell Mitchell's family, specifically three of her daughters from her first husband Joseph Louis Mitchell - Edna Lee Mitchell Brawdy/Abbott, Sylvia Renae Mitchell Newton, and Celia Ann Mitchell Graeber with their spouses and children, and John Virgil Mitchell (a son from her 2nd husband John P. Mitchell. No relationship to her 1st husband.)

These were taken on the farm of Walter James Newton and Sylvia Renae Mitchell Newton in Springer, Colfax, New Mexico in the summer of 1924.

It feels so satisfying to know for sure the faces in these photos. As I went through and labeled the names, I found myself saying, "Oh, hello! It's so nice to put a name to a face!" And I chuckled at the children pictured: Little girls holding their dollies, others shielding their faces from the sun, and hair that is more ruffled than coiffed. It seems that it was a battle then, just as it is today, to have that "perfect" family photo taken. But in this case I'd like to apply the definition of "perfect" to be "whole" or "complete," in which case, these photos are now perfect.

Thank you, cousin JC!

Ralph Pilots Helicopter to Save Boy Scout Troop

This is a continuation of stories about Ralph’s flying experiences. Read previous, related posts below:

• The Sky's the Limit
• Trailing Clouds of Glory - Highlights from Ralph's Flying Experiences
• Dream's Take Flight - More Highlights from Ralph's Flying Experiences

..........

In the late 1960s, Ralph and Ella were now living in Long Beach, California, and Ralph was working as a salesman for Hughes Helicopters, working out of the Culver City office.

During this time, Ralph attended an International Association of the Chiefs of Police (IACP) convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was there representing Hughes Helicopters, specifically showcasing several police helicopters.

One day during the conference, they got a phone call from a local TV station, KLAS, and they were told that 16 boy scouts were stranded on a mountain east of Las Vegas. Would it be possible for a couple of helicopters to go out and rescue them? Off Ralph went in one helicopter, with a sheriff’s deputy in another, and a cameraman from the TV station along as well to record what came next.

What had happened was the boys started their trek on the east side of the mountain, and they were supposed to hike over the mountain and finish on the west side, but they ran into treacherous terrain along the way. Additionally, one boy had a broken leg, and it seems like another one had an injury. They were trying to slide down the rock face, and that’s when they got scared and stopped.

As Ralph flew in, he saw there was no level place to land the helicopter. The only way he could pick people up or let them off was to hook a skid on the rock ledge. Seeing a helicopter fly up one side of a mountain and hook one skid on a ledge, it could look dangerous and reckless. If it was your first time seeing it, you might think, “Oh my gosh! look at what that guy is doing!" But Ralph had done it hundreds of times on other occasions so he was very practiced. He admits that he was taking a chance but that it was marginal and not unsafe. (He also admits that he was perhaps a little cocky and a smart-aleck pilot at the time!)

Example of a Helicopter Balancing on a Skid
(Image Source)

Ralph dropped the cameraman off on the mountain, and he helped the boys in. The sheriff's deputy was in a helicopter behind him and did the same thing. They would pick up two boys at a time, drop him off further down the mountain (less than a mile away), and return and repeat until all the boys were out of harm’s way. The whole task took less than a half hour.

How did Ralph feel about being a hero that day? “It’s just one of the things you do when you're working."

This whole story has a funny ending: The TV station sent a copy of the video coverage to Hughes. Several department heads and vice presidents watched this coverage, and they see the helicopter fly in (because they had dropped the cameraman off previously). Here was the sheriff's deputy in uniform, and here was Ralph in a white shirt and tie (as he was in the middle of a meeting when they got the call). Then a VP watching this jumped up and said, “Who the [heck] is that?” Ralph was obviously not one of the sheriff's deputies, and what was a company employee doing flying like that?

Ralph’s boss responded, reassuring the Hughes leaders that this wasn’t a publicity stunt, but it was an honest to goodness rescue and they handled it the best way possible.

Ralph concludes: "It was an interesting career, a lot of fun. Wish i could do it again!"

……….

Source: From a phone conversation with Ralph on April 9, 2018

Ella Becomes a US Citizen

“Scottish by birth, American by adoption, and humbly grateful for both.” This is what Grandma Ella often says. She is undoubtedly proud of her native heritage, but it’s also arguable that she’s one of the most patriotic “adopted” Americans around!

On 3 May 1957, Ella petitioned to become a naturalized citizen of the United States, and on 14 June 1957 she officially became one. 

In honor of America’s Independence Day on July 4th, I wanted to share some of the requirements to become a US citizen. It’s a big deal to change your citizenship! But I love Ella’s philosophy - to celebrate both nationalities and to be “humbly grateful for both.”

Ella's US Naturalization Record

What does it take to become an American citizen? The requirements might have been slightly different in 1957, but today it includes the following:(1)

For an adult immigrant to become  a U.S. citizen, he or she must go through the process of naturalization. GENERAL requirements for naturalization call for the immigrant to:

• Be at least 18 years old at the time of filing the Application for Naturalization, Form N-400 
• Be lawfully admitted permanent resident of the United States 
• At the time of the filing the application, have been a permanent resident in the United States for at least for five years OR for at least three years if you meet all eligibility requirements to file as a spouse of a United States citizen
• Have demonstrated continuous permanent residence 
• Have demonstrated physical presence 
• Have lived within the State or United States Citizenship and Immigration Services District for at least three months prior to filing 
• Have demonstrated good moral character 
• Demonstrate an attachment to the principles and ideals of the U.S. Constitution 
• Demonstrate an ability to read, write, speak and understand basic English 
• Demonstrate a basic knowledge of  U.S. history, government, and civic principles 
• Take an oath of allegiance to the United States 
• Receive a Certificate of Naturalization

You are not a U.S. citizen until you take the Oath of Allegiance at a naturalization ceremony.(2)

I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.

.......... 

Notes & Sources:

1. Source: https://www.usa.gov/become-us-citizen
2. Source: https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/naturalization-test/naturalization-oath-allegiance-united-states-america

Dreams Take Flight - More Highlights from Ralph’s Flying Experiences

An Aeronca 7AC Champ

This is a continuation of stories about Ralph’s flying experiences. Read previous, related posts here, and here.

..........

Fast forward about 10 years. Now as a young father living in Wilmington, California, with his sweetheart Ella and twin babies, Ralph was working two or three jobs to support the family. At the time, one of those jobs was was working for a fellow in their church congregation selling dog licenses door to door.

While working one day in Hermosa Beach, California, he knocked on the door of a United Airlines pilot and they got talking about flying. Ralph thought, “Wow! That would be fun.”

So I agonized over it for a day or two and talked to [Ella] and said, I think I’d really like to learn how to fly, and she said, “Well, why don’t you do it? That will be your college.” I didn’t finish college, so whatever money we spent on my flight training, that would be my college education. Ok!

First Entry in the Logbook

Ralph began his basic flight training at age 23.

This is pilot logbook number one. So my first lesson was on February 8, 1957. Familiarization ride. And there’s all my training. [Pointing to the stack of 10 logbooks in front of us.]

Coincidentally, he trained at the Torrance Airport, formerly called the Lomita Air Field, that same spot where he would watch the planes come and go as a boy during WWII.(1)

Over the next 5 months, when Ralph wasn’t working to support his family he was working toward the basic requirements of earning his private pilot license for a single engine airplane. The first part of his training was at the Torrance Airport with an instructor named Vern Young, flying in an Aeronca Champ. He later switched to train with the nearby Compton Flying Club, where he could fly for less: Airplanes rented for $4/hr versus the $7/hr at Torrance.

The requirements to earn a private pilot license in 1957 were not that different from what Ralph teaches to his students today, six decades later. That instruction included a minimum number of hours of flight training with an instructor, cross country flying (day and night), take offs and landings (T/O’s), solo flying, and passing a written exam.

There are only minor differences between then and now, such as he recalls that he needed 35 hours of flight time, rather than the required minimum of 40 today, and the cross-country requirement was less as well. Additionally, there was previously not the emphasis on instrument training (in fact, most of the airplanes didn’t even have radios at the time and only major airports had control towers).

Image Source

Going Solo

When it was time for Ralph to fly solo for the first time, he went back to an instructor at the Torrance Airport. They started out with an hour of dual flying in the Aeronca Champ (Ralph as pilot with the instructor in the back), and the instructor said, “Do a good job today and I’ll get out and let you fly.”

Ralph was quite familiar with flying out of Torrance airport, which characteristically had a crosswind. The advantage to that is the Ralph was comfortable flying with the crosswind - it didn’t bother him at all. But he learned he still had to be alert. Ralph related:

I was so used to cross winds at Torrance - I mean, it was always 15 degrees, you could count on it, the runway was runway 29, 290 degrees, I think, anyway it was almost east and west, and the wind would come around Palos Verde Hills and it was always a crosswind. It was anywhere from 10 to 15 knots, 15 degrees, off. 

So I’m going around and [the instructor] said, “Let’s do a couple touch and go’s.” So I’m coming around, this was a day there was no wind. Dead calm. I’m coming in, trying to slide the airplane down like this in the crosswind, and I’m having a hard time keeping it lined up. And he said, “What are you doing??” And I said, “I’m compensating for the crosswind.” He said, “Look at the windsock!” The thing is hanging like this [Ralph showed his arm hanging straight down]. “There’s no crosswind! Fly the airplane.” I straightened up and looked and sure enough! I made a couple of good landings and he said, “Have fun! Good luck!”

And that was on [checking his log book]...I had my first solo right there. 15 minutes, on April 15, 1957. Takeoff and landing, solo, check, ok.

The lesson that he learned that day? To fly according to the conditions you’re in. Don’t fly according to habit.

Following his first solo flight, Ralph’s shirttail was then cut off, signed by the instructor, and hung up in the flight school. This is a tradition that is still carried on today. Why? Wikipedia has this explanation:

In American aviation lore, the traditional removal of a new pilot's shirt tail is a sign of the instructor's new confidence in his student after successful completion of the first solo flight. In the days of tandem trainers, the student sat in the front seat, with the instructor behind. As there were often no radios in these early days of aviation, the instructor would tug on the student pilot's shirttail to get his attention, and then yell in his ear. A successful first solo flight is an indication that the student can fly without the instructor ("instructor-less" flight). Hence, there is no longer a need for the shirt tail, and it is cut off by the (often) proud instructor, and sometimes displayed as a trophy.(2)

However, it's likely that any pilot will tell you a different take on the folklore that Wikipedia hasn’t documented yet: It’s because flying solo “scares the *&%$ out of you.”

License in Hand and First Passenger

Five months after his first flying lesson, this is the entry in his log book:

July 18, 1957, go for checkride, private pilot, flight exam and return with private license.

And now for his first passenger:

Then my first ride right after that when I got my license, that’s where I took [Ella] up in the Luscombe, and that was [chuckling]...[her] first time flying and my very first passenger after I got my license. Same day.

A 1946 Luscombe Silvaire

So she got in the airplane with me, and it was this old...1946 model Luscombe. And the windshield was plastic, and it had been sunbaked in the summer, so this was summer, July 18, and I’m coming around on final approach and I turn westbound into Compton Airport, and as soon as I turned westbound, the sun hit that sunbaked windshield and it turned opaque. Just all white.

And I said, “Oh gee, I can’t see the runway.” I’m trying to look through this silvered windshield and around the side and everything, and I made BOOM, a hard landing. It didn’t bounce but it just hit hard. And I thought, “Oh, she’ll never ride with me again.” Do you know what she said? “I’ve seen you do better. Let’s go around and do it again.”

And so they did. “And it was so smooth!”

……….

From interviews with Ralph and Ella recorded at their home, on 9 February 2014 and 10 July 2016, with additional details shared over the phone on 29 April 2018.

Notes & Sources:

1. As a young boy living in Lomita, California, in the early 1940s (during WWII), one of Ralph’s favorite activities was lying on the grass in his front yard and watch the Lockheed P-38 airplanes fly overhead as they would take their final approach to the nearby Lomita Air Field. Read more about it in this blog post: http://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2018/04/trailing-clouds-of-glory-highlights.html.
2. Read more about requirements for solo flights here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_solo_flight

See Also:

• Trailing Clouds of Glory - Highlights from Ralph’s Flying Experiences: http://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2018/04/trailing-clouds-of-glory-highlights.html
• The Sky's the Limit!: http://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2014/05/they-skys-limit.html

No Longer Unmarked - The Beatties’ Final Resting Place

In Loving Memory
(Photo taken by the mason)

Almost a year after finding the unmarked grave of Ella’s maternal grandparents, John McDonald Beattie (1860-1936) and Ursilla (pronounced “Yer-SILL-a”) Katherine Bruce Beattie (1862-1937), in Aberdeen, Scotland, we received word from the mason last week that we finally have a gravestone in place. Hooray!

This grave had been unmarked for over 80 years, and through this blog, we became acquainted with our dear cousins in New Zealand (in 2015), who introduced us to other dear cousins in Aberdeen (in 2017), who happened to have the original receipts that proved our family’s ownership of the plot.

While visiting Aberdeen last May, we found the plot through the help of a couple gravediggers who were referencing tattered maps that were stored in a drawer in a small, unmanned cemetery office (there were no digital maps or maps posted in the cemetery itself). We had to get additional approvals from Aberdeen City to move ahead. I received quotes from multiple masons, vetted them based on recommendations from local cousins, the local genealogical society, and the bereavement/burials division of Aberdeen City.

Until We Meet Again
(Photo taken by the mason)

John McDonald Beattie with wife
Ursilla Katherine Bruce Beattie

There would be stretches of time in the past year where I wasn't sure how exactly this process would play out, so I would focus instead on taking a little step each day: Consult family members for their feedback on the research; talk to a mason local to me to get their perspective on this project; consult a professional genealogist about inscriptions that are meaningful and helpful; reach out to genealogical societies for advice; converse with friends about the status of the project and get their take as well.

As we would forge ahead on this project, I would sometimes get overwhelmed, wanting to make sure that everything was perfect and done correctly, feeling at a disadvantage trying to manage this from the other side of the world, feeling regret that the grave has been unmarked for 80+ years. But I took comfort in something that a local Bay Area mason told me: There has never been a better time to tackle a project like this. When we look at how easily we can communicate over email, Skype, send digital photos back and forth, research and fact-check with historical documents online in searchable databases, connect virtually with cousins - so much of this wasn't as easy even 5 years ago. Now was the right time.

This stone is intended to be a Rosetta stone of sorts, not just including the names and birth and death dates of John and Ursilla, but also the names of their parents, their marriage date, and their only child’s name. We want future generations to come back to this spot, and to realize exactly how their ancestors fit into the family tree.

And this stone will act as a testament that John and Ursilla’s lives mattered and that their memory lives on - despite their poverty (an orphaned iron worker and a domestic servant/dressmaker), their handicaps (they were both deaf since childhood), and their initially small posterity (they had only 1 child, who then had just 2 children. But the generations have really grown since then.)

A huge THANK YOU to all the family members who collaborated on this project - through sharing ideas as well as financial contributions. It's been quite the journey over the past year, working together to see this to completion.

One of my favorite parts of the stone is the final line, "Until We Meet Again." Indeed, if we believe in an after life, then until we meet the Beatties again, and until we meet with each other again in this life. It represents such hope and love.

.…..….

See also:

1. John McDonald and Ursilla Katherine Bruce Beattie - Final Resting Spot: https://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2017/05/john-mcdonald-and-ursilla-katherine.html
2. John McDonald Beattie (1860-1936) - According to His Daughter, Kate: http://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2018/04/john-mcdonald-beattie-according-to-his.html
3. Meet Ursilla Katherine Bruce Beattie (1862-1937): https://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/2017/02/meet-ursilla-katherine-bruce-beattie.html
4. Williamina/Wilhilmina/Wilhelmina - A Rose by Any Other Name...: https://greatflyingscots.blogspot.com/search/label/Wilhilmina%20Inkster%20%281835-1896%29