Tuesday, March 20, 2012

From Grandma's Album

Bea's mother took a lot of pictures over the years, and Mom ended up with quite a few of them.  Most of the photos are family members, but there are a few like the steamboat, and this Jenny that have a wider appeal.

It looks like this barnstormer found a sponsor to help with his expenses.  I am pretty sure that my grandmother didn't get a ride in this old crate, because the only flight I have heard her talk about was in a Piper Cub owned by a family friend.

I'm coveting the barn with square corners, straight walls, and a tight roof. 

The old Kodak wasn't very good at stop-action photos, but you can see that the tail has come up.
at

2 comments:

  1. dannoMarch 19, 2012 at 10:34 PM

    Nice. Now that's history.

    An internet search suggests "Big 4 Oil" of Sheldon, IA was a manufacturer of Soybean oil. Interesting they were doing biofuels waaay back then.

    Any notes or pictures include the pilot or the date?

    ReplyDelete
  2. David aka True Blue SamMarch 19, 2012 at 11:23 PM

    My best guess is the mid-1920's; Grandma left no notes with these photos.

    I don't know if the soybean oil company is the same as the company advertising on the side of the plane, but it could be. Iowa farmers started growing soybeans back then, but I don't know what soybean oil was used for at the time. Soybean meal was used in livestock feed when I was a kid during the 50's and 60's.

    I seem to remember hearing that soybeans were used in the manufacture of early plastics....this calls for research.

    ReplyDelete