HEATH STORIES 2 Supplement #2 HEATH STORIES #55 SOME MEMORIES OF HEATH COMPANY My friend Bjorn Heyning has been asking me to send him a brief "memory" of my experiences at the Heath Company. So, as I have progressed in life, and reached a degree of "Maturity", that at times leaves me lacking in this "memory thing", I will endeavor to refresh my mind with the very pleasant thoughts of this Heath Company and reminisce a bit. I do not recall at what time I joined the Heath Company, but I do remember what it was like. At that time we manufactured pontoons for light planes. I remember an old German woodcraftsman who worked on them. I remember hundreds of small C-clamps holding bits and pieces together till the glue, that we had carefully painted them with, had set. It was a long, hard job to do these things, and required a degree of pride, which this old German had lots of. Everything was, of course, done by hand. Today that kind of production would break the company. Then I remember the manufacture of a small transmitter and receiver for light planes. I was sort of straw-boss on the assembly line. We also made bubbles (not soap!) for military planes. I recall helping to build the large heated cabinet (or furnace, if you like) that heated the Plexiglass to the point that it was very flexible. It was then swiftly placed on a pre-shaped mold and several of us used vise-grips to pull on the sides and hold it till it cooled and hardened. Here I have rattled on about what I remember, without even mentioning the man with the vision to make this company work. Howard E. Anthony, and his very pretty, hard-working wife Helen. Many times I thought to myself: "It’s really her who keeps the company going. Oh, he has the ideas, but it is she who makes the company go." At any rate, I was very happy working for the Heath Company. Now comes Heathkit. One day Howard told me that he was gaing to Washington to talk the government into selling him some surplus (mostly electronic surplus). Howard, being a very persuasive individual, suddenly had warehouses full of electronic equipment. I believe the company had a very difficult time for a while. Howard and I worked late at night numerous times, putting up little paper bags full of different electronic parts. He sold them for a dollar. He said to me several times: "Hank, I‘m not sure I can pay you this week or not." But he always came through. Suddenly Heathkit started booming. Everyone worked hard. Howard was a good guy to work for. Oh, he was hard as nails sometimes, and he fired me, I don’t know how many times. But then I wasn’t the only one. I recal his firing of Ralph Lhotka many times. Afterwards he'd say: "Whata ya just standing around for? Let’s get to work!" I remember building the prototype of the first Hi- Fi amplifier. It had 1619's in the output, a 2.5-volt equivalent of a metal 6L6 tube. I saw this company and Howard E. Anthony grow. When I left the company to start a T.V. business, Howard gave me test equipment and wished me much success. I was very sad to hear that Howard had been killed in an airplane accident shortly after I moved to California. He loved airplanes and flying. Much more could be said about the Heath Company (Heathkit), but I don’t think Bjorn would put all I have to say in his book. There is so much, it would take page after page. Thank you for listening, Henry (Hank) Evans Dec 88 I wrote him back and asked for dates, but he claimed to have forgotten such details. He let me add what I seem to recall of his tenure at Heath: Hank Evans was my first assistant at Heath and helped check out the MA-4 Aircraft radios before we shipped them, so that was in ‘44, probably. Later he helped with the production of the HBR-4 and HBR-5 receivers, still during the war. He spent his spare time at home building small amplifiers, using baking pans for the chassis, for sheet metal was scarce. Howard bought scrap steel, often in strange shapes, after other parts had been stamped out of it, for our needs for sheet metal. He may also have been involved in our production of VTVM’s for Don St.Clair during the war. That was a forerunner of our own Heathkit version, the V-1, which we made in the fall of ‘47 as the second Heathkit, following the O-1 oscilloscope. It seems to me that Hank left and went into business for himself, with a radio and TV repair shop on Broadway and Empire. Then he may have rejoined the company again when we were in the surplus business, but he isn’t sure of joining Heath twice. It must have been after ‘47, if he did. And I think he did the original design of the first of the Heathkit amplifiers, the A-1 and A-2. Bjorn Heyning 3 Feb 89 [Follows are four pictures. Captions are: "Original Factory Store off the Lobby at the Hilltop plant" "EU-Series Lab Stations for Education" "Tony Stokes in Incoming QA" "Dave Stackley at Console of Stacker" (See Volume Two, Supplement #2, Index of Pictures, Heath Stories #55. --Bill Wilkinson)] HEATH STORIES #56 RECALLING SNOW I‘ll never forget the big snow in the 70's, when our cars were grounded in the Heath parking lot, and 85% of the employees were snowbound. Living in Three Oaks, I couldn‘’t get home, as the road crews had not cleared the roads. I stayed overnight with Dorothy La Plante (Kwast). The next day I went to the Heath parking lot, where Ellis Grear and Glenn Roper had dug me out. The car wouldn't start, and when they lifted the hood of the car, it was solidly packed with snow! I spent two nights with Dorothy before the roads were cleared to go home. When I got hame I had to find someone to clear my drive before I could get into my garage. In the twenty years I worked for Heath, that is the only time I couldn’t go to, or come home from work. Nina Brown Nov 88 [Follows are four pictures. Captions are: "IBM Keypunch Room - Order Data - Catalog Requests" "IBM KEYPUNCH ROOM - Presorted Catalog Mailing" "Mailing Department - Kay McDonald - Pauline Hanson - Veronical Aldridge" "Offset Printing Department" (See Volume Two, Supplement #2, Index of Pictures, Heath Stories #56. --Bill Wilkinson)] HEATH STORIES #57 REMEMBRANCES Once upon a time, many, many moons ago, Lady Luck smiled upon me and I became an employee of the Heath company. It happened this way: Previously I was a "million dollar baby" in a 5 & 10 cent store, working a 48 hour week and getting a bit tired of so many hours plus Saturday work. Thus the idea of a 40 hour week with higher wages appealed to me. So one day in early spring, I summoned up my courage, and during my noon hour [ rushed down to Heath company for the all-important application form. But I was told by the girl at the window that they weren't taking applications at this time. I felt so bad and turned away to leave, feeling dejected, when at that moment the girl at the window leaned over and said in a loud whispers "COME HACK TUESDAY". Well, that whisper made my day! I did go back on Tuesday and I was interviewed by Mr. Knapp and subsequently hired. I started work in the factory on the assembly line on March 5, 1951. A few months later I was asked to take over the filing department in the office, which at that time consisted of one person. As the Heath company grew and expanded, the filing department also grew, and more help and space were needed. I came to love my work for many reasons. I liked filing, and I felt that I had the best job in the office, as I had contact with people from nearly all departments as they visited my area each day. I was very fortunate to always have good bosses, a real plus. A special highlight was the day I was given notice of my very own parking space! I was also proud af my good attendance record. After 25 years, the hardest part of leaving was saying goodbye ta all my friends. So at long last I want to say another "THANK YOU" to Wahneta for that day so long ago, when she leaned over and whispered: "COME BACK TUESDAY" !! You changed and enriched my life. Vera Gardiner June 89 HEATH STORIES #58 RECOLLECTIONS OF HOWARD ANTHONY by RORERT FAXSON "Every person is unique, but some people are more unique than athers," wise men say. Howard Anthony was definitely unique. He was also enthusiastic, energetic, eccentric, excitable, volatile ~ altogether a doer with intelligence that would undoubtedly have placed him in the genius level. During his high school days, Howard was ane of a small group of friends who enjoyed each other and carried on together. Thay included Lawrence Brown, who was rather small in stature and served as the group’s comedian, Fayette Howell and others, but particularly my next oldest brother Gordon Faxson. He and Howard shared numerous adventures through the years. Many of my recollections of Howard are First Hand, which I will designate with (FH); others I heard told in good faith by Gordon or aur older brother Howard Paxson, who also spent much time with Anthony. These yarns I'll mark (HS) for Hearsay. You can question them if you wish, but I believe them. Unfortu- nately, those who could corroborate them seem to have left this “mortal cail". 1. THE FIRST ANTHONY RADIO FACTORY (HS) Radios, during the late 20’s and early 30's were undergoing rapid technical advances. Instead of power from unsightly big batteries they were improved to accept 110-volt power from any convenient wall outlet. While in high school, Howard determined to take advantage of this burgeoning market. He designed a chassis and circuit, enclosed it in a raund-top wood cabinet about a foot high, got together enough parts for a small order, and with a friend assembled a dozen or so sets on his kitchen table at home. We acquired one of the radios. The set sold for $9.95. After they had sold all their production, they discovered they had lost money on every set. A businessman’s first lesson. 2. TWO 1918 DODGE TOURING CARS (FH) After graduating from high school in 1930 my brother Gordon bought a decrepit black 1918 Dodge Touring car for $25. The Dodge was built tough as a tractor. It beat walking by a mile. On or about the same time Anthony drove up with an identical old black Dodge Touring car. The young guys were delighted to park their cars side by side in our front yard, a few feet from our porch, and admire their wonderful possessions, each bragging about the superior performance of his own car. One day Anthony drove up, parked his car beside Gordon's, (which they had dubbed "Ahab") and showed Gordon a huge dent someone had jammed into the driver’s door of his car. They both laughed at this insult - until Howard walked around to Gordon’s car and suddenly hauled aff and KICKED a huge dent into the door of Gordon's car. "Naw they’re alike again,” he yelled. Whereupon both broke up into a laughing, howling fit. [Page HS 58-2 Illustration: NOW THEY'RE ALIKE AGAIN! by Bob Paxon (See Volume Two, Supplement #2, Index of Pictures, Heath Stories #58. --Bill Wilkinson)] 3. A FIRST AUTO RADIO (FH) Sometime later, Howard drove into the yard in the old Dodge. Gone was the back seat and rear of the body. He had cut it off and built a wooden pickup body to replace it. Over the driver’s seat was a new wooden top, and behind it a large black trunk. "Get in," he urged us. Gordon and I got in the front seat beside him. Reaching over to a new group of instruments on the dashboard he flicked a switch. Out blared MUSIC from a Chicago radio sta- tion! Amazing! A radio in a CAR? "Will it play while you’re driving?" "Of course,” he grinned. He had installed a tuner and speaker up front and the chassis and big batteries in the trunk behind. It was incredible -— the first. radio we’d ever heard playing in an automobile. And Anthony had built it. 4, THE PICKLE PATCH (FH) After high school, Howard attended Hillsdale College for a year. While casting about to earn money during the summer, he must have heard that farmers the previous year had made good money raising cucumbers. So he and, I believe, a friend rented several acres from an uncle's farm near town and planted cucumbers. When the plants began to bear, he hired another kid and me to help harvest them. So he‘d come by with the old Dodge, now called the "Pickle Truck” and take us out to the "pickle patch". Stooping, or on hand and knees, we'd fill baskets with cucumbers all day. The vines are quite prickly and after a rain it was muddy work. It wasn’t a fun job. But there was a lot of constant joking to sharten the day. After loading the truck, we’d take the cukes down to the railroad depot and send them off. Howard apparently earned enough ta return to college in the fall, and I had some cash far school clothes. A good deal! Howard would try anything legitimate to make a buck. 5. REBIRTH OF THE HEATH COMPANY (FH) Others have told the story of how Anthony acquired the assets of the defunct Heath Airplane Company. About seven years had passed since the pickle patch, and Howard had established the Heath Company in a Benton Harbor building on Park street. Howard and Helen were now having a terrific struggle making ends meet. With classified ads in various aviation and home mechanics magazines, they offered literature describing the Heath Parasol - "Send one dime (10 cents) for literature." Each morning they went to the post office, shook out the dimes and had breakfast on the day’s receipts. They lived in one rented room. Helen was quite a lady. They also sold off the stock of Heath parts: Some remaining Henderson engines, replacement valves, kits and other parts to keep the company doors open. But as the old stock dwindled, something had to be done. With his typical ingenuity and inventiveness, Howard got a mold together and had a local rubber company start turning out replacement lightplane tailwheel tires. At the time, Goodyear was marketing tires at about $5.95. By this time I was working as a copywriter for my brother Howard in Paxson Advertising agency in Benton Harbor. [ was assigned the job of writing a one inch x one column ad for the tire - Howard Anthony’s first ad with a tiny picture in it - and the product was priced at an astonishing $2.00! It was a big success. Soon Howard added a complete tailwheel assembly ~- yoke, shaft, wheel and tire - designed to attach to the usual tailskid on Piper Cubs, Taylorcrafts, Aeroncas and other light planes. Another success! From then on, one new product followed another. Many new pilots were gaining their wings in Piper Cubs, but the instructors had problems shouting their orders to students over the roar of the engines. So ~ dodging the then costly electronic solution of a radio type intercam, Howard produced the Heath Airphone. A rubber speaking cup for the instructor connected by a long rubber tube to a pair of rubber earphones for the student did the job quite adequately. The product served a real need - and sold by the thousands. Howard's ads grew larger and his mail order business prospered. New products followed: Replacement windshields, tie-down kits, light plane skis, and finally a neat, small radio receiver, powered by a battery that fitted into a handy drawer in the cabinet. Again, this product far undersold others on the market. By 1941 Paxson Advertising was placing Heath ads in magazines, including Aero Digest, Aviation, Popular Aviation and Air Facts. Most profitable of all was Trade-a-Plane News, a large yellow sheet that brought in continuous orders with ads measuring 7x17 inches and showing up to 18 different products. Throughout the growth of the Heath Company, before and after this time, great credit is due to Howard’s wife Helen for the firm's success. Her steady hand on the finances and the office staff kept the bills paid and the discounts taken. She also exerted a firm influence on Howard when she judged some of his wilder ideas were too far out. She was an invaluable part of the team. 6. SPEED DEMON (FH) Before I got my own car, I rode to Dowagiac several times with Howard and Helen to visit our respective parents. Howard had a newish Ford V-8, and kept my hair standing on end as he wove the winding roads at 70 to 80 miles an hour. We weren’t flying, but we barely touched the road. Riding with him was a thrill to remember! 7. HOWARD'S PARASOL (HS) During his earlier years as Heath Company's owner, Howard had acquired a complete Parasol. How he learned to fly it I've never heard. Sometimes he flew the little ship to Dowagiac, landing in a pasture used by Jenny-flying barnstormers and others. Once I went out and met him there, and he took my picture climbing out of the tiny cockpit, although I never touched the throttle. Later I heard he had cracked it up and got out with a broken jaw. That’s damage control! We were amused to hear that a man who had bought a Parasol - in Colorado, I believe - failed to make his payments. So Howard drove out in his V-8 Ford to repossess the plane and started to trail it back behind his car. His well-known driving speed, however, was too much for the plane’s little gear. His speed . burned the tires right off the wheels. Somehow he retrieved the ship later. 8. WAR TIME (FH) By the time the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Heath Company was really swinging. I had fun working with Howard. He helped keep me busy changing and rewriting ads to include new products every few months; often they were last minute changes, typical of his frenetic activities. As an avid airplane model builder and aviation bug at age 14, I enjoyed having contact with the aviation business. This ended when I joined the army in January 1942. In the Service as a medic, I worked three years in charge of medical dispensaries, then volunteered for the Air-Sea Rescue Service. As a medic-observer aboard a PBY Catalina amphibian, I finally realized a dream of flying in the Air Force. A lowly aircrewman, but flying. At last a "flyboy!" I could look down at the rest of the mundane world flying over the Pacific ocean from Okinawa. 9. BERTHA’S HOUSE (HS) It may have been during the war (correct me, anyone) that Anthony moved Heath into a newish cream-colored brick building on Terri- torial street. Next door was an infamous house run by Madam Bertha Russell. Many prominent residents were said to be frequent clients of her girls, but during the war a visit to Bertha’s was highly popular with soldiers from Fort Custer and other military posts. As a neighbor, Howard may have objected to her operation as being bad for the neighborhood, at which Hetha is said to have replied testily: "You think you're helping the war effort? Well, my business is just as important to the war effort as yours is any day!" Later, the State Police were called in; it was time to arrest Bertha and put her out of business. Her house was vacated. So Howard offered his staff the opportunity of touring the place before it was torn down. En masse, a group of men from Heath toured the house. As they came out like a clutch of tourists, Howard stood in his office window and filmed them all with a movie camera. At the next Christmas party for employees and their WIVES, Howard put up a screen and showed his movie of their husbands trouping out of Bertha’s house. They say it was a hit film. Guess who got hit? 1O. WINNING ON WAR SURFLUS (HS) During the war, Howard and Helen continued building the Heath Company with government and private orders for original and replacement parts. When the war ended, orders for parts dropped precipitously. Howard scrambled. Hearing of a war surplus equip- ment sale, he bid and won a carload of unknown crated materiel. It was a chest of buried treasure. Among other things were two powerful radio transmitting stations, a large quantity of new typewriters, a bunch of Astrographs (navigation instruments far pilots), and foretelling the future, a large quantity of radio and radar tubes and parts. Futting his ingenuity to work, Howard assembled enough parts to introduce the first Heath electronic kits. The Heathkit business was born. May it continue to prosper! 11. THE WAYS OF BANKERS (HS) My brother Howard Paxson tells of an early time when Anthony was in serious need of a bank loan. When asked for collateral, he could affer nothing the bank would accept; they turned him down. So my brother, who knew the bankers well, returned to the bank to vouch far Anthony as a goad credit risk. Years later, looking for a possible profitable investment, Howard risked some funds in a wildcat oil drilling firm. It paid off with several gushers! Now "in the money", Anthony was invited - and became —- a Director of the same bank! 12. BACK TO HOME BASE (FH) Returning to Faxsoan Advertising after the war, I found that another man had taken over Heath advertising. But I continued to see Anthony from time to time. Six post-war years had passed; for the last five Gordon had worked as Assistant to the Dean of the art department and taught at Syracuse University. Anthony had felt a need for some expert industrial design work on the many mew kits he was selling, and offered Gordon the Heath account as a start, if he would return to Benton Harbor and open an independent industrial design studio. Gordon accepted the offer, returned to this area to serve Heath and soon acquired the V-M Corporation and others as clients for his design services. 13. POST-WAR ADVENTURES (FH and HS) About 1951, Anthony and my brother Gordon together ordered a carload of mahogany lumber to use in building a new home for each family. Gordon designed his own home and hired a contractor to build it. Howard admired the designs of famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright and hired him to create and supervise his new home on Miami Drive. One day I met Howard in the post office. He was just opening a set of house plans received from Wright. He was excited and said: “These are beautiful! You should get Mr.Wright to design a house for you. His fee is just 15%, like any architect." I said "Yes - but 1S% of WHAT?" During construction, his house kept increasing in cost from day to day. Then Wright took a trip to the Southwest. Soon a large package arrived C.0.D. ta Anthony. Wright had sent a huge Mexican vase he decided should be in the house. More C.0.D. packages came - and more. Wright had reserved the privilege of selecting every- thing that went into his designs - expense was no object. The Anthony's were in the grip of a genius. He also designed all the furniture for "Scherzo", the name he chose for the house ta match Anthony's quick, energetic personality. At the rear of the home was a laboratory room for Howard's exper- iments. Gordon was visiting one night when Howard asked, "Have you ever heard a ship’s radio talking at sea?" Gordon said he never had. As they visited, Howard threw parts together and shortly plugged in a radio chassis, tuned in, and there they were - listening to ships at sea! Nothing to it for Howard. 14. SAILING IN A GULF GALE (HS) Sometime later Howard had bought the BETSY, a 32 foot auxiliary ketch. With some friends he sailed it down the Mississippi river to New Orleans, but his crew returned to Michigan. A phone call brought Gordon, who had some sailing experiences, down to join Howard. Sailing through the Intracoastal Waterway was peaceful and pleasant. But soon after entering the open Gulf of Mexica, an unpredicted high gale storm hit the BETSY. It was touch-and-go for the two sailors for two horrible days and night- marish nights - a story better told in articles Gordon wrote far yachting magazines. When they arrived shakily in St.Petersburg, commercial fishermen were aghast. None of them had dared venture into the Gulf for days! 15. VACATION TO JAMAICA (HS) During these years, Howard, Gordon and Judge Tony Westin decided to fly commercial airlines to Jamaica for a vacation look-see at the Caribbean. It was a happy trip and while there, they all hopped over to Haiti. The terrible poverty there was brightened some by the large number of excellent artists, striving painfully to make a living painting. All the men bought some lovely paint-— ings, partly to encourage the desperately poor artists. Howard was especially generous in his purchases. 16. THE LAST FLIGHT (HS) On a flight to New York in Howard's Aero Commander, a Heath employee became sick, when they hit rough weather. As the Comman- der was not pressurized for flight over 10,000 feet, they couldn't rise above the turbulence. Howard decided to consider buying a larger, safer, better-equip- ped aircraft and try a test flight to Florida, after which he and Gordon would fly commercial to vacation again in Jamaica. On the morning of July 23, 1954, Gordon Paxson’s 42nd birthday, pilot Gordon Wyrick of the Gordan Air Service, Pontiac, MI, landed at Ross Field in a twin-engine DeHavilland Dove to demonstrate the aircraft to Anthony. With Howard’s corporate pilot, Lawrence Durham, at the controls, they took off with passengers Howard Anthony, Mr. and Mrs Laurel Brown and Gordon Paxson. Later a radio check by pilot Durham was made one hour and 12 minutes en route. The last entry in a diary kept by Mrs.Brown recorded that they were flying at 12,000 feet. Eyewitnesses an the ground next saw the aircraft coming out of a stormy, rainy overcast at about 3800 feet, out of control in a steep spiral ar flat spin. Witnesses then described a thunderous noise that came from the plane, and saw objects falling from it, prior to cantact with the ground. The aircraft struck the ground vertically in a mountainous sec- tion of Bledso county, Tennessee, expladed and scattered wreckage over a wide area. The right wing, both engines and other parts were found same distance from the remaining wreckage. All persons aboard were killed instantly. Before and after the accident, there was heavy thunderstorm activity in the area. I have heard that this mountainous district in Tennessee is known to have severe air turbulence during storms, which has caused numerous accidents to flyers. It is my opinion, not substantiated by the Aviation Safety Agent's report, that the DeHavilland Dove encountered a devas- tating windshear or downdraft over the mountains, which bottomed out so suddenly that it tore one wing (with engine) off the plane, rendering it totally uncontrollable. The accident was a tragic end to a vacation for six valuable citizens in the prime of life. With Helen’s gallant management after the tragedy the Heath Campany endured. Robert Paxson August 89 HEATH STORIES #59 (Note: the following line is in italics. --Bill Wilkinson) From the News-Palladium ef July 24, 1954 BIG CRAFT MAY HAVE EXPLODED Eyewitnesses Tell Mountain Peak Disaster Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) officials today were combing debris on the side of rugged Brayton mountain in West Tennessee trying to determine what caused yesterday’s plane crash which claimed the lives of five Benton Harbor area people and a Pontiac pilot. Killed in the crash were: Howard Anthony, Renton Harbor industrialist: Laurel Brown of Lawrence and his wife Florence; Gordon Paxson, Benton Harbor engineer-designer; Lawrence (Larry) Durham of Benton Harbor, Anthony ’s private pilot; and Gordon Wyrick, Pontiac, pilot and plane salesman. CAA investigators from Chattanooga, 25 miles from the crash scene were considering two possibilities: One was that the twin-engined craft exploded in midair. The other that an engine fell off and the plane slammed into the low peak and was shredded as it cartwheeled down the mountainside. A witness, Mrs. Arthur Simmons, who lives near the crash scene said she watched the plane pass about 300 feet over her house with a "roar like a bunch of jets flying over." She said she saw an engine fall from the plane and land 100 feet from her house. Her daughter, Wilma, said the aircraft "dipped down after the engine fell, twirled around and crashed." Chief Deputy Raymond Powers of Rhea county, Tenn., was firm in the belief that the plane exploded in midair, killing everyone aboard instantly. He was one of the first officials to reach the desolate scene, coming from Dayton, Tenn., 25 miles to the north- east. He said wreckage and mangled bodies were thrown over an area almost a mile across. He said it was his opinion the exten- sive damage could only have been caused by a midair explosion. He was joined in this view by Undertaker C.Faxton Sawyer of Dayton. Sawyer, a private pilot, and Chief Deputy Powers said the maximum elevation is only 1,000 feet on the Walden ridge mountains, of which Brayton peak is a part. They noted the plane had been flying at 12,000 feet less than five minutes prior to the estimated time of the crash. They felt certain parts of the plane had been widely scattered by a midair blast before they fell to earth. The last positive piece of information about the plane’s flight was gleaned from an informal log written in the neat feminine hand of Mrs.Laurel (Florence) Brown, 34, of Lawrence. The paper- bound booklet was found among the wreckage. It started out: "11:45 (am) Took off for Tampa, Fla. (from Ross field, Benton Harbor) in new Dove —- Howard and Gordon, Florence and Brownie, Larry and Gordon Wyrick." (The "new Dove" was a reference to the aircraft carrying the doomed sextette. Wyrick, the Pontiac pilot, was demonstrating the ship to Anthony for possible purchase.) The log continues: "12:30 (pm) Served lunch over Logansport, Ind., at 9,500 feet. “12242 Over Indianapolis. "13210 Crossed Ohio river. "14:00 Climbed to 13,000 to go above cold front cloud. "14:10 Came down to 12,000," ' Local Airmen said the engines are very high compression and that it was not hard to conceive a blast of shattering propor- tions if anything went wrong. Pilot Wyrick, who owns Gordon’s Flying Service at Fontiac, flew the $60,000 aircraft here alone Friday morning. By way of demonstration, he was going ta fly Anthony and his party to Miami, with one stop at Tampa. Anthony and Paxson were then scheduled to go on via commerial airline to Jamaica in the West Indies for a two-weeks stay. The Browns were to have returned here with the two pilots on Sunday. Condition of the bodies at the crash scene gave rise to specu- lation there may have been seven persons aboard. But that possi- bility was ruled out this forenoon. Records at the local airport show there were only six persons aboard when the plane left here. Since it made no stops before the crash, it would have been impossible for another passenger ta have been added. Wallets found at the scene were used to identify the victims. A seventh pocketbook burned beyond recognition was believed one of two carried by Paxson. [Note: the following line is in italics. --Bill Wilkinson] From the News-Palladium of July 26, 1954 VIOLENT WIND COULD HAVE FELLED PLANE Indicate Anthony Craft Didn't Explode Violent cross currents of a "vicious thunderhead" today were seen as the most probable cause for the airplane crash that carried five Benton Harbor area persons and a Pontiac pilot to their deaths on a Tennessee mountain peak Friday. In a telephone interview with the New-Palladium this morning, Harvey P. Gassaway of the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) said the twin-engined DeHavilland Dove "did not explode or burn until after it hit the ground." An aviation safety agent for the CAA, Gassaway was reached at Nashville, Tenn., 133 miles from the Brayton peak crash scene in West(?) Tennessee where he spent the entire weekend. Killed in the crash that he investigated were Howard Anthony, Gordon Paxson and Lawrence Durham of Benton Harbor, Mr. and Mrs. Laurel Brown of nearby Lawrence, and Gordon Wyrick of Pontiac. Inspector Gassaway emphasized that no official determinatian has yet been made regarding the cause of the tragedy. But he said the thunderhead explanation is a "strong possibili- ty" and said no other plausible theory of the cause has suggested itself so far. He explained what might have happened in the thunderhead this way: Thunderhead clouds produce some currents of air that blow up and down with sometimes "great velocity." There is a downwind side and an upwind side. If an airplane gets caught between the two fast-moving streams of air, it can be be buffeted or wrenched suddenly with enough force to cause structural damage. Gassaway said he "talked to a dozen witnesses" and that it was definite “parts of the airplane had fallen off" before the craft hit the ground. "We have had a number of bad crashes recently caused by especially violent thunderstorms, particularly in this mountain area," said the CAA inspector. "And there have been a number of near misses which have given us an idea of what happens. Even big planes - like four-engined airliners and big twin-engined C-46’s - have come in from this area with stories of clase cails." Gassaway said it was likely that a wing had fallen first. And it was positively established both motors fell off the craft before it slammed into the earth and spread scattered bits of wreckage for almost a mile across the mountain side. Bits of the plane are being examined by CAA metallurgists, Gassaway said, to see if the nature of the stresses that wrecked them can be learned. Two experts from the DeHavilland company, British manufacturer of the plane, have been called to help in the investigation. The thunderhead theory of the crash fits in with a log kept by the only woman victim, Mrs.Laurel Brown. It was found in the wreckage. At 2:10 pm it noted that the plane had climbed to 13,000 feet to get over a "cold front cloud." At 2:14 pm the log noted the plane had dropped back to 12,000 feet. That was the last entry. Minutes or moments later the tragedy occurred. Shortly after the crash, the wreck area was drenched with a torrential thundershower. H.Paul Florin, Benton Harbor undertaker, added considerable detail to the story of the crash, when he returned Sunday with bodies of the five of the six victims. Florin said many of the eye-witnesses or observers on the scene felt lightning may have hit the aircraft, even though the chance of a bolt connecting with a plane in flight are considered ex- tremely remote. The ship and its occupants were enroute to Miami, Fla., from Benton Harbor when it buckled and came apart over the Waldon Ridge mountains southwest of Dayton, Tenn. Pilot Wyrick of Pontiac was demonstrating the plane for possible sale to industrialist Anthony. "Many of those who saw the crash or the wreckage thought something must have hit the plane," said Florin, "because something made it tear apart.” The fuselage was a quarter of a mile from where a wing and two engines formed a wide triangle on the hilltop, Florin said. The main body of the ship apparently came straight down and shattered into bits as the Dove’s nose burrowed into the earth. A web safety belt, jolted from its mounting and badly ripped, was evidence that it was-fastened around someone, Florin believes, indicating trouble may have been apparent for several minutes. Florin substantiated the lightning theory further by pointing out the ship didn’t burn, but several pieces of clothing in a suitcase were seared, possibly by a bolt. The funeral director added that only a small piece of magnesium appeared to have caught fire. "Both engines were intact. They still had their propellors on them," Florin said. From C.Paxton Sawyer, Dayton, Tenn. mortician who was recently discharged from the air force, Florin learned that one motor on the twin-engine ship had apparently not been operating for about 10 or 15 minutes before the ship spun in. "It was cold. There was no hot oil spattered around,” Florin quoted Sawyer as saying. The other engine, which apparently ripped off first, was normal, Florin observed. A wing, probably the largest single piece of the aircraft remaining, was lying beside the second ~ motor. Florin said sameone hauled it to the summit from where it landed down the opposite side of the mountain. It was about 10 minutes after Mrs.Brown’s last entry in her log that Sawyer, who was directing a funeral, heard a plane in trouble, It was traveling south towards Chattanooga. Some minutes later, Florin said, Mrs.Arthur Simmons, who lives near the scene, heard a "roar like a bunch of jets, and saw an engine plummet down about 100 feet from her house. Florin, admitting that it’s only a theory, said during a brief 10 minutes after the last entry, the ship may have been rocked by lightning, possibly putting a motor out of action. . The mortician said airmen here have told him the ship can fly on one motor. Ambulance drivers from Dayton and Pikeville drove up a winding dirt road to reach the spot. They hacked their way through the heavy underbrush to where the scattered fuselage lay. Joe Hall, a reporter from the Chattanooga Daily Times, described the scene as: “The crash scene itself was a litter of fragments of human bodies and personal belongings. Two suitcases partially burned were recovered by Deputy Sheriff Pursley. "A five of hearts playing card was ground face up into the dirt in the midst of the debris. Other cards were scattered about the plane. "A half of a woman’s belt hung from one of the tall trees surrounding the area. "S man’s wrist watch, strapless and with crystal gone, was stopped at 12:45. "Tatters of clothing, some burned, some remarkably unscorched, were sandwiched in between several half-destroyed magazines. Deputy Pursley said he estimated that ‘we recovered about 100 pounds of flesh and the largest single item was a lady’s hand.’ "A man’s two-tone summer shoes lay side by side in the midst of the wreckage. Some 50 yards to the east was a half-burned pair of men's pants. "All who witnessed or heard the crash said that it was not raining at the time, but that the mountain was overhung with clouds and a thick mist." [Inserted here is a photo of the DeHavilland Dove. See the link labeled "hsp92.jpg (21K)" under "Volume II, Supplement #2, Index of Pictures". --Bill Wilkinson] [Below the photo is the following paragraph printed in italics. --Bill Wilkinson] Copied from microfilm files at the Benton Harbor Library with the help of Barbara NcKie, to go mith the picture from Bob Paxson of the DeHavilland Dove at Ross field, Benton Harbor, on the morning of the crash. Transcribed by B.Heyning October 89 HEATH STORIES #60 [The first page of this section is a picture (hsp93.jpg under Volume Two, Supplement #2, Index of Pictures) of a young woman in the cockpit of the Parasol airplane. See below for details. The page following the the photo of the Parasol shows three photos of Ed Heath; two in his Parasol and one of his pilots license. For details, see the links to the images hsp94a.jpg through through hsp94c.jpg under Volume Two, Supplement #2, Index of Pictures, Heath Stories #60. --Bill Wilkinson] The Pilot’s license of Edward B. Heath was dug out of the company files by Bud Bury in the Photo Lab, together with the pictures of the pilot. Bud believes they stem from the visit on 14 April 1977 by his daughter, Dickie Heath, by then Mrs.Leonard Zacharias. The pilot in the Heath Farasol on the front of this page is most likely Dickie Heath, for she was often mentioned by Ed Heath as proof that the Parasol was easy to fly. This picture came from the files of Library/Archives Director Dennis Parks at the EAR (Experimental Aircraft Association) in Oshkosh, WI through Mary Jones, Editor of the EAA Experimenter. Bjorn Heyning Nov. 89 [Following the above text are four full-page photos (hsp95.jpg, hsp96_2004.jpg, hsp97a.jpg, and hsp98.jpg) that describe the Parasol. A transcription of that description (along with links to the photos) are located under Volume Two, Supplement #2, Index of Pictures, Heath Stories #60. --Bill Wilkinson] HEATH STORIES #61 A STORY ABOUT NAMES by Robert K.Swander In my many years of directing Purchasing Activities, not only at Heath, but also at Adams Electronics and Allen Testproducts, there was lots of communication required. Some via telephone, but much more by mail. This writing involves only the postal type. A sure source of amusement for me was the misspelling of my name. Really, my last name is simple, with no tricks, and is spelled just like it sounds - SWAN DER. Amazing how many variations were created. Early in my working years I started listing the different mis- spellings. I got bored when the number exceeded 60. Besides such simple variations as Sander, Saunder and Swanson I had a few that tickled my Boss, Howard Anthony. There was Swindler, Spender, Sevander and Splanden! It’s a good thing my great grandfather dropped the CH from the original German SCHWANDER! In the old days before 1953 Howard loved to pick up the mail from the Post Office and dump it from a large bag onto a table in his office. He got a kick out of seeing how the orders were coming in. Also he was amazed at the money enclosed instead of checks. One day when my department mail was delivered to me, I discovered an envelope addressed to Robert W (not K) SQUANDER, on which Howard had written a note: "from the bills lately, I'd say well named” (Ha). The reproduction below is and exact copy of the original, anly in reduced size. Needless to say, the envelope is now 36 years old, and one of my prized possessions ~- the only original writing of Howard’s I have. Bob Swander November 89 [The image embedded here is the envelope mentioned above. See Volume Two, Supplement #2, Index of Pictures, Heath Stories #61. --Bill Wilkinson] HEATH STORIES #62 [Note: the above title doesn't appear in Bjorn's document, however, the page numbering begins with HS 62-1 for this section. --Bill Wilkinson] RALPH LHOTKA for CITY COMMISSIONER [The following five paragraphs are in italics. I assume that Bjorn wrote them. --Bill Wilkinson] These pictures were taken by N-P photographer Dick Derrick to show Heath Campany support for Ralph Lhotka and appeared in the News Palladium, probably in 1952. Somehow copies got in the hands of Marv Hainer, who passed them on to Chet Mischke. Then he gave them to Gene Fiebich. A year or two ago he showed them to me and I urged him to get the people identified, so it could go into the Stories book. Gene consulted Vera Gardiner, who queried Lois Rudduck, and also Emily Zirk. Then he gave the pictures to me, and I consulted a number of oldtimers, including Joe Mitowski, Louis Lechner, who steered me to George and Elizabeth Guldan, who in turn got me to see Allen and Janet Pudell. They mentioned Chuck and Wahneta Miller and I saw them also. Chuck had a set of the pictures too. I called Dorothy Jones, but she felt she could not add to the identification. The remaining 13 question marks are left for the readers to answer. With the pictures Gene gave me a cassette on which he told in essence the following: Looking at these pictures brings back many memories of a happy period of the Heath company operation. These people represent the heart and soul of the early company, whose objective was to do a good job at Heath, using their own initiative and skills. There was practically no grumbling about pay, fringe benefits or anything of this nature. All of them had the primary interest of getting their job done to the best of their ability. It is difficult to draw lines of identification between the four groups of pictures, because all of them made tremendous contributions in their own right. However if I were to select one group as being the core of the operation, it would be the group on photo number 1. This group identifies or exemplifies the spirit and the initiative and creativity of the Heath company. A good example of this is the last four people to the right in the first row. They aren't content to just hold one poster for Ralph Lhotka. Even Larry Durham, and I think Marv Hainer, hold three posters. You can draw your own conclusion from the man directly in back of Marv Hainer, who has no posters. Anyhow they are a fine group, and looking at them brings back individual memories of each. And it is great that both Howard and Helen are in this group. And Ralph, standing to Howard's right, is the reason for this whole activity. When Ralph decided to run for City Council, and the exact year escapes me, but I think it was 1952, Howard threw his full weight of endorsement behind him, because he had been having some disagreements with the city government. One of them, for example, was on the matter of parking. One day, coming to work, we found parking meters being installed on Territorial, in front of the building. This disturbed Howard no end and a quick visit to City Hall resulted in the removal of the parking meters. If you recall, parking was at a premium in that Particular part of Territorial, because of the rapidly growing employment level of Heath. Incidentally, a little known fact during that period was that Ralph asked me to function as a campaign manager, and several times I edited or rewrote some of the talks or speeches that he used in his campaign. My activity wasn‘t too evident, but it was fun working with him. Gene Fiebich January 90