Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 23, 1986 Page: 2 of 30
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Hondo Area Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Hondo Public Library.
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Page 2, The Hondo Anvil Herald, Thursday. October 23, 1986
Vin
in
u i n
1911
e i z
1986
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
to expect him definitely."
But at mid-afternoon on Oct. 24,
residents here finally spotted on the
eastern horizon what they had been
scanning the skies for during the
past two days.
"The first airship in the history
of aviation passed over Hondo at
3:01 o'clock Tuesday afternoon
when Cal P. Rodgers flew over the
town in his'Wright Bi-Plane on his
~ across-the-continent flight," re-
ported the Anvil Herald in its
i Oct. 28 edition.
w 'The airship was visible to the
naked eye for about fifteen minutes
from the time it was discovered
1 approaching from the east until it
disappeared in the west. It was high
’ in the air; so high, in fact, that
* nearly every one regardless of what
i part of town he was in though the
l ship passed directly over his head.
When passing over the town the
: 4yhir of the motor could be
distinctly heard and the name Vin
Fiz was plainly visible."
j Anticipation of Rodgers'
l appearance apparently aroused quite
; a bit of interest in the local
population. His being late even
heightened the excitement.
"People had been watching for
the airship for two days, and some
were beginning to conclude that it
would not come," The Anvil
Herald noted. "The delay was
caused from the late start Rodgers
got out of San Antonio. He left
that city at 12:43 o'clock Tuesday
aftemoort (Oct. 24). At Lacoste he
was compelled to alight on account
and spent some time adjusting
things." James Lloyd in his letter
this year said the "trouble" was due
to a bad magneto.
"From Lacoste," the Anvil
Herald reported, "he flew directly
to Sabinal where he gave an
exhibition flight and then went on
to Uvalde where he repeated the
performance, and reached Spofford
at 6:05 o'clock where he stopped for
the night and to make repairs. Here
he was indefinitely delayed by an
accident while trying to resume his
journey Wednesday morning."
The flyover at Hondo made a big
impression on local folks. People
as far north of the railroad tracks as
New Fountain saw' and heard the
airplane as it sailed noisily on.
Rodgers continued his way west,
and became an flying legend in the
process. A photo published in The
American Heritage History of
Flight shows him, a ruddy-
complexioned man, being buttoned
by an assistant into his thick flying
jacket.
"With a cigar - that became his
Counties discuss co-op
for garbage disposal
By Doug Johnson
Officials from Medina and
Bandera counties may work together
| in the future to help control what
’ both agree is a growing trash
problem.
f While meeting in regular session
Monday morning this week,
Medina County Commissioners
heard from Bandera County
I Commissioner Dan Alanis, who
c said, "We would like to discuss
-with you the possibility of a
; cooperative effort."
r Alanis explained that his cobnty
is having problems with finding a
suitable site for a sanitary landfill,
leaving local government there with
the very real problem of lots of
trash and no place to put it.
As for a location that could be
used by both Bandera and Medina
counties, Alanis suggested that "we
would like to find a site along our
common border." Bandera County's
location quandary has been further
complicated by its own geography,
much of which includes the
environmentally fragile recharge
zone of the Edwards Aquifer.
According to Medina County
Judge Jerome Decker, there are no
plans for any new landfills here, but
he agreed with Alanis' assessment
of the situation.
Deputy pay
In what they hope will be last
ume they address the issue, Com-
missioners voted into effect a new
pay policy that should give County
Sheriffs deputies a better break on
their holiday, overtime and vacation
pay.
Under the plan requested by
County Sheriff Alvin Santeleben,
deputies should now ** receive
holiday, vacation and overtime
consideration equal to that of other
County employees.
In other business during their
meeting Monday, Commissioners:
- Approved hiring in the
Sheriffs Department of Bonnie
Koontz as a full-time jailer-
dispatcher.
trademark -• clamped in his mouth
and a scar from a previous accident
showing on his forehea^," reads the
caption, "Cal Rodgers presented the
picture of the daring aviator..."
The trip took an incredible loll
on him. The 15th and worst major
crash of the Vin Fiz occurred Nov.
12, while Rodgers was attempting
the last leg of the flight, from
Pasadena, California to to Long
Beach. A broken control wire put
the plane into a terminal nosedive.
Rodgers suffered a concussion,
broke both leg$ and his collarbone,
cracked several ribs and was
scorched a bit by the resulting
gasoline fire. He finished the trip
looking like he had been to war.
The plane fared no better, but it
at least had replaceable parts. Of the
original Vin Fiz that took off from
New York, less than two percent
was still intact - the oil drip pan,
one strut and the vertical tail
section. That was the result of 20
crashes. But by some miracle (or
omen, as Rodgers put it), the bottle
of Vin Fiz grape drink that had been
wired to one of the stanchions
survived the whole way unscathed.
Close, but no cigar
Rodgers made it to California,
but his time of 49 days was 19 days
too long to be able to claim
Hearn's $50,000 prize. His actual
time spent in the. air was just 82
hours and 4 minutes, but 69 stops
(refuelings, rest breaks, crashes and
plenty of run-ins with bad weather)
just couldn't help but slow things
down.
Fame was fleeting for Rodgers'
trail-blazing accomplishment. One
last crash was to prove his undoing.
On April 13, 1912, less than four
months later, he was flying stunts
for an appreciative crowd at Long
Beach when his biplane ran into a
flock of seagulls at an altitude of
200 feet. Rodgers banked the craft
at a 45-degree angle and w as unable
to recover. Man and machine
plunged headlong into the knee-deep
surf of the Pacific Ocean. Rodgers
died instantly.
And the bottle of Vin Fiz that he
had carried with him as a good luck
charm was shattered.
Perhaps that was an omen as
well. Vin Fiz as a soft drink "fizzed
out" only a few years later.
The new effort
For James R. Lloyd, retracing
Rodgers' journey has already been
an exercise in surprise. His single-
engine Pterodactyl Light Flyer is
considered to be much safer than the
original Vin Fiz, which itself
remains on permanent display in
Washington D.C. at the
Smithsonian Institution's National
Air and Space Museum.
But the 1986 flight (sponsored
once again by the Armour Food
Co.) has, ironically, run into
weather delays, not the least of
which was this week in southwest
Texas. His original schedule called
for arriving at Long Beach in
California on Friday, Oct. 24.
Here's hoping Lloyd makes it
with a body more intact than that of
Cal Rodgers.
And he wquld do well to heed his
predecessor's own words, when
during his stop in Waco he was
informed of the death of a friend
from a plane crash of an altitude of
"only" 50 feet:
"Ah, that's what gets them all if
they stay at it long enough," he
said. "That's why I’d like to get out
it - before it gets me. Just 50 feet!
Well, 20 feet will do it
sometimes."
Two-car accident injures six
Six persons were injured in a two-
car accident Wednesday, Oct. 15, on
Hwy. 173 at Vandenburg Road
north of Hondo.
Five of the injured were taken to
Medina Memorial Hospital for
treatment and the sixth, nine-month-
old Sheri Lyn Shinn, was taken to
Methodist Hospital in San Antonio
where she remained in intensive
care until Sunday.
Listed witfi serious injuries were
Ethel Louise Low and the driver,
Peggy Shinn. Passengers, April
Lynn Low, Preston Beggs, and
Milton Low, were also injured.
The driver and passenger in the
ether vehicle, Alfred Villarreal ar.d
Alfred Villarreal Jr., both of San
Antonio, were not injured
The accident occurred as the
Shinn auto was making a left turn
onto Vandenburg Road, according
to the report filed by investigating
★ October rain
-CONTINUED ! ROM PAGl I
was 9.56 inches, way back in 1942.
Weather information that the late
Medina County Judge H.E. Haass
provided like clockwork to the
Anvil Herald back then reported
6.59 inches for Hondo in October
1942.
Based on rainfall records compiled
from the newspapers files (some
months and some years are
incomplete) show that 9.07 inches
in 1976 was the previous rain-high
recorded in Hondo for October. Last
year, with 7.76 inches for the
month, v»a.,n’t too shabby, cither.
Since 1904, October in or around
Hondo has exceeded 5.00 inches of
rain at least 14 umes:
1976:
1959:
1960:
1985:
1907:
1984:
1958:
1930:
1949:
1942:
1922:
9.07 inches
8.59 inches
8.04 inches
7.76 inches
7.42 inches.
7.35 inches
7.27 inches
7.18 inches
6.82 inches
6.59 inches
6.5“ inches
1971: 6.55 inches
191?: 6.48 inches
1911; 5 12 inches
★ Courthouse
COMINUFD I ROM FACT 1
for lack of a second, no vote being
taken. The meeting also featured a
heated verbal exchange between
Briscoe and Pet. 1 Commissioner
David Montgomery, who remains
opposed to .the full-scale project on
the basis of cost.
Thank
You
Hondo
1. KRME 29.6%
2. \V()AI
3. KKYX
-}. KBUC
5. KTSA
In a recent survey conducted by
the Hondo Chamber of Commerce
and the Medina County Extension
Service, you chose KRME first
above all other radio stations. We
appreciate that, and at KRME,
we’ll continue to provide you with
the latest area news and sports,
up-to-the-minute weather forecasts,
and of course, the best in enter-
tainment. You made us n1, and
we’d just like to say “Thank you!"
MAKE KRME A PART OF YOUR DA Y!
mz
i
kHz
TAKEOFF... The Vin Fiz, named for a grape-flavored soft
drink, takes ofT Sept. 17, 1911 from Sheepshead Bay, N.Y.
The aircraft and its pilot, Cal Rodgers, would endure 20
crashes on a 49-day journey to California. (Photo courtesy
of Armour Food Co.)
Mary Kay Holiday Open House
Nov. 2 2-6p.m.
Home of Kathy Callicoatte D’Hanis
Everyone is Invited
$Ot(i c/fnniuEiiazLj
EfUn {l\illon YScxxy and. Eaxl '17. 'jSexxq S
ciiuwuJ cA CK’tmhtx 2, iQytC ^
(-eldhiatuiq f>Q usaxs a:ith a paxtg S
cd>tacj£coach fjnn (Huh in cSalado ^
^bandacj, ootmfjLX 2 2-4 p.m. ^
'll out pvtiznct a gift ^
#SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSJ»SS%>>.'->.>
' Rocky’s
PIZZA
JAMES R. LLOYD-, pilot
of the 1986 version of the
Yin Fiz, poses with his
wife, Susan, in period
costumes. (Photo courtesy
of Armour Food Co.)
Thurs.-Fri.-Sat.-Sun.
FREE 5-10 PM DELIVERY
officer Joe Cemey. After being
struck, the Shinn auto slid down
tiie nearby bridge embankment and
came to rest.
Villarreal w as charged for passing
to left unsafely .
The baby's grandmother, Lou
Sheehan of Hondo, believes Sheri
would not have survived the
accident if she had not been in her
cafseat.
Large Pizza
Medium Pizza
Small Pizza
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Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 23, 1986, newspaper, October 23, 1986; Hondo, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth818582/m1/2/?q=Homecoming+queen+1966+North+Texas+State+University: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hondo Public Library.