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TOM A
Oirounotancif of ',tom*,
JAIL OF WORKER......*41044,404411446.0... a a a wiDDREL1.440110,0.446.•
DATE.......)00.)44.19#0 tUDJFCT• Mingo 4304141116
1 Bawd mid address of informant Nis. W. F. linaths11, Verdigro,
I. Date and time of interview Nov. 14, 1916 940 1.11...-440 P.I.
3. ?Lao* of interview 10 milss moot of Verdigre
4. Name and addicts of person, if any, who put you in touoh with
informant NO body
6. ALMO and address of persons if any, omsompanying you None
6. Dosoription of room. house, surroundings, 'to. Mrs. Windholl lives
with bor husband an the farm, tics Waldron aro not at home. The
house is small and net modern but kept vary dean. Mrs. Minoholl
will permit her pioture to be tibial if it is vrantod.
TORY B
Perional 14atori of Informant
NAME OF WORIER.........1109,AWITIM ADDRESS..Railinast
DATE.
SUBJECTATIMAVAIWit....
SALT AND ADDRESS OF INFUREANT....41thaf.148.11,1106;
SOO
1. Aneestry Irish
2. Plaoe and date et birth Osecola Nebr., Oat. 23* 1880
8. Family Husband* six some and tour daughters
4. Phase lived in* with &its. he has lived in bebraska all her lite. She
lived in Knox County all but a few years that
she lived in Bard County.
5. ESuaations with dates Paroohial **heel ehioh she attended six years
18904E28 Mirried 1901
8. Occupations and acoampliehments* with dates Uostly farm work and homes
keeping
7. Bimetal skills and interests Gardening, loves flowers and liked to raise
chiekens, geese and turkeys.
8. "ommunity and relisious aotivitise None
9. Description of inform* Features have Oharaeteristies of Irish. She is
ghost of stature weighing 180* memtally alert* reliable and twinned to
hard weft.
10. Other points gained in interview She has lived on the farm they lkve
an, sines they were married. bhe is unusually interested in her Shildre
Mrs. Windbag had ONO SOU SA the World War* he enlisted end spent 3 year
in china. he is also interested in her son Omar bluebell who is flyiz
in Alaska* known as the flying oseboy.
FORM 0
Text of ikitze. (fteditod)
NAME OF WCRICER,.....itriff AV."
DATE4100.0016004,01n:414109114
NAME AND AMMAN OF INFORMANT. tort:AM
ItOLDERESSOOTPATtesii41044,0
.suBJEcr..111014.tf.titifte.,
Little boot Local Hero
Oscar Wineholl known as the flying oastoy a sobriquet he won whoa he
piloted bushing bronshoes in *Masa and Wyoming before broakinc into the
aviation gene vas born and raised in Knox County. Went to sehool In Knex
County and worked on this fathers farm till the othcr boys, vas old elisugt
to hike his plasm. Then he went out into the world to shift for himself
going to Colorado, New Mimoio and Arisoma work ng an ramohes and hunting
in the mountains pending the winter in Anions coming back to Nebraska
a year later and working in the hay fields in Western IOW.. and breaking
bronshoss in South Dakota and ?liming and kobbana at last be eons bask
to Ilsobr. telling his mother he vas going to learn to fly so be ooulld
hunt *peyotee from the sky. Tclling her eatohing ooyotes from an auto
owe to slew and not enough sport so he went to South Dakota and found
a flyer and took his first ride through the aloud* and decided to learn
to fly. HO bock a few lessons bought an old plane mhioh him and his
brother Harvey bought and was an his say in the field of aviation.
Ho flew old orate without any trouble and soon cot a job with the
Watertown air linos selling his old plane and taking out some shares
in the +sampan,. His brother also get an the ground as a meohanio,
he flew here till the eompany went brake that left his broks to losing
all he had but he soon wee flying again hin and a partner bought a now
plans awl flow 'very day tin his partner get siek and vas taken to
a hospital laving him alone again. Hard tines was 'ming an and flying
was poor lousing them to lose the plane. By this time Oscar was doing
stunt flying and among the beat. After he lost his plane he got a
jeb flying for same one in Dellafourvha South Dakota here be flew
shout a year then left going to the ftet coast and to Seattle Niishingtal
bearding a boat and going to Alaska whore he had a hard time to get a
job as a pilot. But finally sueemodad and vas given a ship to fly mail
passengers from cloppereentor to Fairbanks. He ensountered many hardships
on s no of these flights at ms time having a forced landing that broke
the prop of the ship the 100,1104 eight feet de* and be was a stranger
hie
in that country but be was lueky having with a b101 native and a pair of
snow shoes the man got out and started for a trading poet up the &rot
9 miles and returnirg with a dogteas and sled taking with him a bladko
smith and SONO t0011 t( take the propeller off. After taking it off thay
left the plane and vast beak to the peat awl stayed over night returning
the nett day to find that a hard wind had merturnod the plane One
wing broken this took 3 Lora days to fix the vino In all hi was cow
a week and no one had heard from kin. when he returned wvivry mama
glad to sae him bask. Ainohall said Sepperoenter was but a small place
a postoffioe and trading post being about all that was there. Pilot
"imehal knew Slim Nilliamo and saw the famous dogs grow up Ult.'s Williams
drove to the world Fair at Chicago. Later Winehall vent anoberage wharfs
be flow for the 1100ao airways,. Hs flew to many interesting pitied,
Point Harrow is one place that he flow to before Wilay Post lost his
lire then, he told of staying a *wok in an Eskimo Village while lofting
forced down in a storm and of living 'with them for a week in their dugouts
of
umder ground he told then having only eaught a two ton of fish when they
could have sought hundreds of toms saying a man eould esti& a thousand
pounds every day then the: was running by using a trap. Retold of them
eating needle fish sin they were out of other filth. BO said most Of
them had never tasted breed or flour their Ghia feed being fish and rein-
deer fraawhish they made their sloths he said they dens their min
tanning, Pilot Winehell was one of the first to got to Wilr, Pests
plane when he vent down during his amend hop around the worlds Winatall
felt his mother pistures of the crippled Weenie Mho also of Wiley Poet
and the *row that repaired the ships
inAmmths city of Ione was dactraywd by firs an September 18# IOU
aid was rushed by plane to the stieken city Pilot winshollohoomn as
the flying oewboy was the man called on for the job the first plans
to be dispatehed for the purpose Of assisting in the stride= oitk
None, he left anchorage in the morning flying in a Stinson *able
pontoon plane taking with hie radio operator Bob &mares who woe die..
patched by V. S. Signal Carps and Chiefs of '4achingtemmilaske Telegraph
and radio sorrier. he also to ‘k another passenger with hio Winoholl headed
direct for beme over for bore over the shortest routs he was the first
man the fly this short out route going via McGrath and across the Yukon
to Nome* A no vs raekirE tale was told by Winehell about haw fire had
to be put out on mary cases sontsIning vasoline until the blaze shifted
and gct too hot on that side of the buildings winst24Vilatlt:el.
A 1,144V,2 4,1PAMia` CI4
sent his
has made
r maw pistures of the fire at Noose Pilot Winohell
sem flights eraoss rough mountains .z4 ii ova
-14,4-ct P-0
Village across the mountain west of anohorage while bringing a boy
for a brain operation. Another time 40) flew through a storm from
Bethel when he resipod word of a crash at Goodwin Bay. Where
Pilot Bob Carlson was bound on an errand of mercy when he went to his
dee* in a raging storm at Coodnews Bay mining °oolong' those his ship
vent in a tailspin from a height of BOO feet when *aught by erees winds
during a thrid attemtp to land in a storm to aid a sick nano Carlson
had 'a passenger Joy C. Johnson manager of a mining oompany. Johnson
died one hour and a half after pilot Winehell arrived he arrived at
7 P.M. The erash *soured at nocni, be brought with him a government
defter that he piaked up at Atrial a flight of k few minute* up the
river from Bethel, the detester gave the injured man aid who was not
seriously injured. The next day the bodies were platted an a trailer
end paled with a traitor **roes the mine miles of tundre to pilot
Winsh04164 ship. *here he had landed after maneuvering over the field
where Pilot MOM was killed. Pilot linchell had landed on a strip
of beaoh after &aiding conditions we too haserdouw to try to land
tt the mine. He took the bodies to flat !Rhone bad weather made 'it advisable
to Chenge his °curse of flight to Fairbanks the next day he flew to
anchorage with the bodies on another flight fifty pounds of dynamite
left andhorage by airgans one mornirg untr speeii.1 permit issued
by the bureau of air earners* Pilot limoholl made the flight with
orders while the highemploeives was being transported. He was to
avoid flying over any oommunity and to ,maintain high altitude. The
dynamite was plead in the seat beside him so that he oould throw it
out of the plane under unfavorable landing venation. he took the
dynamite to Takata's for spring mining operations he also book a light
plant and other freight into the interior. On Deoenher 2. 19114 he
beams narenned in the wilderness for vine nights. having Asked up
poisoners at interior points he flew through rainy pass on his var
to ansherage vhsn he was at the head of Happy river his plane began
to ensounter heavy aloud. a warn spell was prevailing over most of
Ainekt but in this plase it vas old enough to osuse sleet. over Happy
river snow began to gother on the wi± shield making it practically
tarisible snow and sleet on the wings made it =WI so linebell
eireled over the river and found a ber Wire he landed at noon. They
had no trouble in landing en the bar there being no snow. The weather
was so thick that they did not dere to take offo they had with than
but likt1e foos and one sleeping robe and a 20.20 rifle, the passengers
got out and looked for a place to stir they were David Strandburg,
anchorage resident. Waino hatello well known placer operator of flat
and oripPe Greek and Mn. Easel McClung hardy yoomg woman of Junsay
a half mile aver the hill after orossing attreaoherous strewn 20
feet wide an logs plamod aerosol it. They sane to an old roadhouse
that hotAgibbeen used for years, in this they found some old blankets
but the house WIE unfit to stay in over night. The stayed in an
old each, that was used by trappers years before. It was bad shape
but they spread a raindeer skin an the floor and plaosd their bed roll
on the raindser thin to keep out the dampness. In the old roadhouse
they found an oil tank stove on this they 000ked and dryid their *loth's.
Their food was streehed out and nothing was wasted, each day the went
to the plane to twit for searching planes. The morning they awoke to
find 30 imbibe of snow on the ground, their plan. bet: g on Wheat mods
th impossible to take off, the party attempted to tramp down the snow
to make a runmny but they were unable to get up onoughfspeed and
were using up gas to no odvantage and no gas could be wasted it the
plane was to fly into the emit supply base. On the fifth diky Pilot
Johnny Moore flying from anshorage loosted the overdue plane. Eis
flew lee and sirs attempting to land, the party awed to Moore net
to attempt to land in the deep anarialitheut a skiemounted plans*
On the sixth day a storn prevented searching planes fruit going out.
Baob dry they crossed the stream hating difficulty ix oressihg but
they wished to be near the plane meet of the time. They out distress
letters out of spruee trees mak rig them 200 fa t long when layed on
the anew. These are the words they spelled Ilitungrywneed food and skis.'
the skis were for the plane, by taking the wheels of the skis could be
put on. The largo welds could be seen several thousand foot abets the
ground by searching planes. The party spent the days and nights es best
in
they could, sleepig in the °oohs and cooking the old roadhouse. The
food was son tune end game had to be shot but the snow was to deep
to wade without snow shoes but something had to be done so ()seer and
Puntillo tewk the big rifle and ',runt out and shot some grouse Oscar
said every tine they shot a bird ail they had left was the legs, these
went into a sort of mulligan that they ihide from some old been. and
rise that they had bob found before the beans and rise viers found in
some old tin sans also some vinegar and soda. These limited rations
with the five grouse linetail and Puntilla shot was mighty maser they
had no luxuries suet as milk, salt or auger. On the eighth day their
rationowere all gone and they were getting very hungry and were losing
WtOnith. The relief plane elms to them on the tenth.dey flown by two
Pilots hey Dickson and Chet Meleer it las ski -mounted plans, they
brought food with them that hate been prepared for the eastsweys.
114.141finehell and his party was given the ski...mounted plane, and ailer
iating and being refreshed they flew the skioplans bank to anchorage
getting there at dusk ,,irrtving 10 or 15 pounds lighter the men veering
long shacy beards. All the men praised Are. McClung for her trying
ordeal while lost in the endorsee,. They also praised ilot Winchal
U:r the way he brought his orrip to sefety and for the attempts he made
in trying to tot the plane off the ground until it was seen all efforts
were fUtile. They were fortunate to extra footwear with them swill as
wool sooks and boots. After a good nights rest Pilot Winehell flow
a skiomounted plans baa the next day tEking skis with him for the
marooned plane.