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deRirpas-T .Jaurn1 >I C G. -1. September, 1962 Volume 34 Number 1 The American Air Mail Society A Non-Profit Corporation Incorporated 1944 Organized 1923 Under the Laws of Ohio PRESIDENT Official Publication of the Dr. James J. Matejka. Jr. AMERICAN AIR MAIL SOCIETY LaSalle Hotel, Chicago, Illinois SECRETARY VOL. 34, No. 1 Whole Number 389 . Ruth T. Smith 102 Arbor Road . Riverton, N. J. TREASURER Contents for October, 1962 John J. Smith 102 Arbor Road Riverton, N. J. Pioneer Flight No. 35 1 VICE-PRESIDENTS The First Hovercraft Mail .... 5 Joseph L. Eisendrath Foreign Pioneer Airpost Flights Samuel S. Goldsticker, Jr. Herman Kleinert 1909-1914 7 Lester S. Manning Cb.apter News ................ 13 EDITORS - Other Publications Aerogrammes .................. .. ............ 15 L. B. Gatchell Geo. D. Kingdom Charles A. Lindbergh ................................. 18 ATTORNEY World's Shortest Airline .............. .. ..... 22 George D. Kingdom Official Section .............................................. 2·4 DIRECTOR OF First Airmail Service Between Europe FOREIGN RELATIONS and Northern Africa 1919-22 ....... 25 Dr. Max Kronstein Boy Wonder Flyer Sees Jet Airport AUCTION MANAGER Open ..................................... .. ....... 27 Samuel S. Goldsticker, Jr. Catalogue Editor Receives High Post ADVANCE BULLETIN SERVICE Office Honor .................................. ..31 Paul Bugg 3724 Old York Rd. American Air Mail Catalogue Supple- Baltimore 18, Md. ment (Separa;te Section) .... 37 TRANSLATION SERVICE Roland Kohl Augusta-Victoria Str. 4 EDITOR Wiesbaden, West Germany Joseph L. Eisendrath AUDITOR 350 No. Deere Park Drive, Highland Park, III. Stuart J. Malkin ASSISTANT EDITORS DIRECTORS Robert W. Murch Alton J. Blank, Herbert Brand Ernest A. Kehr L. B. Gatchell ner, Paul Bugg, Robert E. Har ing, Dr. Max Kronstein, George DEPARTMENT AND ASSOCIATE EDITORS L. Lee, Narcisse Pelletier, Horace R. Lee Black, N. Pelletier, Florence L. Kleinert. D. Westbrooks. Dr. Max Kronstein, Richard L. Singley, William MEMBERSHIP DUES - $4.00 R. Ware, James Wotherspoon, John Watson, William T. Wynn, Frank Blumenthal, Samuel per year S. Goldsticker, Jr., J. S. Langabeer. Include subscription to The Published monthly at Albion, Erie Co., Pa., U.S.A. AIRPOST JOURNAL. Appli cants must furnish two refer Entered as second-class matter at the Post Office ences, philatelic preferred. At at Albion, Pa., February 10, 1932, under least one must reside in Appli the Act of March 3, 1879. cant's home town. Applicants The AIRPOST JOURNAL is not conducted for under 21 years must be guar profit. The Editor and all others serve without teed by Parent or Guardian. compensation. Receipts from advertising, sub Membership may be terminated scriptions and contributions are applied to the by the Society in accordance betterment of the magazine and the promotion with its By-Laws. of aero-philately. · Correspondence concerning sub scriptions, back numbers and The Editor and Officers of The American Air bound volumes, address changes Mail Society assume no responsibility for the and other matters and all re accuracy of statements made by contributors. mittances should be sent to the Every effort js made to in~ure correctness of Treasurer. All general com all articles. munications and advertising Subscription Rates: $4.00 per year, 35c per copy. should be sent to the Editor. Advertising Rate Card available from the Editor. South Amboy - Perth Amboy July 4, 1912 Pioneer No. 32 By T. J. O'Sullivan The Amboys in New Jersey are lo- • had been an aviation enthusiast. He cated in the eastern part of the State. had gone so far into this hobby that he owned his own plane and had his own Perth Amboy, the larger, lies on the left private pilot. The plane, a Burgess bank of the Raritan Hiver, and in 1912 Wright biplane was housed in his hangar had a population of over 25,000. South at Seidler's Beach. It had a forty-horse Amboy, on the right bank, had over power engine which ran two propellers 6,000 people at that time. On July 4, by means of chain drives. The pilot and 1912, after an enormous amount of pre passenger sat in the open on two seats paration, Oliver G. Simmons flew a bag on the forward edge of the lower wing, of mail across the river from South Am with the passenger on the pilot's right. boy to Perth Amboy, and thus our Pio The plane was equipped with pontoons neer No. 85 came into being. which replaced its original wheels. The idea for such a flight was the Although his residence was at Wicha brainchild of Edwin C. Roddy, who was tunk, some ten miles back in the coun then assistant postmaster at South Am try, by means of his plane Mr. Collier boy. He got the backing of the Busi often commuted to his office in New ness Men's Association of which he was York City by flying over Raritan Bay, up secretary. Postmaster General Frank H. the lower Bay and through the Narrows Hitchcock w~s asked for and gave his to New York. When he had been ap approval in an authorization dated June proached by the committee, he gave hiS 25, 1912, directed to Postmaster Haines support and guidance and for the flight and which read in part as follows: offered his plane and his personal pilot, "The postmaster at South Amboy, Oliver G. Simmons. This was to be Sim N. J. is hereby authorized to dispatch mons' first and only appearance as a mails from South Amboy to Perth Pioneer air mail pilot. However it was Amboy on July 4, 1912, one trip one not the first hydroplane mail flight. Pre way by aeroplane service, provided viously such flights 'had been mad':' at such mails be carried by a sworn car St. Louis (No. 4), down the Mississippi rier and without expense to the de River (No. 5), and from Newport Beach partment." to Catalina Island (No. 20A). The route was numbered - as were all Meantime th~ preparations proceeded such air mail routes at the time, and was apace. The city off:ic>als of both South the first such official route to be num Amboy and Perth got behind the project bered in New Jersey. Hence it was given - as did the local newspaper and suit number 609,001. Other official New able publicity was given the flight. A Jersey routes followed t h i s number luncheon was planned to take place chronologically and consecutively - thus afterwards, and speeches were prepared Hoboken (Pioneer No. 42) was 609,002; and memorials obtained. The flight was Ocean City (Pioneer No. 48) was 609,- to supplement the traditional fou~h of 008; Plainfield (Pioneer No. 47) was July festivities in the !<rea. 609,004; and Bayonne, which is un A list of dignitaries to whom mail known but which should be Pioneer No. carried on the trip would be sent was 65A because 241 pieces of mail were prepared. These included former Presi flown there on July 4, 1918, was 609,005. dent Theodore Roosevelt and the then One of the residents of the South Am President, Howard H. Taft, as well as boy area was Robert J. Collier, a wealthy Governor Woodrow Wilson of New Jer and prominent citizen. He was owner sey. The mayors of both Perth Amboy of "Collier's Weekly" and for some time and South Amboy, Fred Garretson and THE AIRPOST J"OURNAL, OCTOBER, 1962 1 Michael Welsh, respectively, were to ex fore. He was given many orders on how change greetings. Sixteen pounds of mail, he was to sit, what he could touch, what or approximately 1,000 pieces, accumula he could not touch and what ha was to ted for the trip. A special cachet, a two do 'if something went wrong. Pilot and line rubber stamp reading "AERO passenger took their seats, tha former PLANE - Route No. 900006" was made. wearing a life preserver and the latter In the excitement attendant to all pre clutching t!he mail bag. The propellers parations, this was prepared incorrectly. were cranked and the motor started. The 'number should have been thal After a short run on the water, the plane assigned to the route by the Post Office rose and flew at a low altitude over Department, 609001. However, South the waters of the Raritan River towards Amboy need not hang its head in shame. Perth Amboy. The takeoff was at 12:22 It does not stand alone. A sister com.. P.M. The destination of the plane was munity of New Jersey, Plainfield, in the only slightly over one mile away. Another special postmari< ]'Ut on its Pionet!r mail crowd, also estimated to be about 20,000, (No. 47) misspelled the word AERO lined the shore there. They landed in PLANE as AREOPLANE. the water at the foot of Lewis Street, Perth Amboy at 12:25 P.M. William H. July 4, 1912 was bright, mostly clear Pfieffer, the Postmaster, and J. H. Tyr and hot, with a few clouds. The day rell, Assistant Postmaster, of Perth Am seemed perfect for the flight. Around boy, who were in the crowd, took the noon, a crowd estimated by the news mail bag from Mayor Garretson. It went to the Post Office in Perth Amboy and papers at 20,000 gathered at the take was sorted for further handling in the off point. The mail had received th"l mails. To entertain the crowds Pilot cachet and been cancelled in the Post Simmons made two other trips acr0ss Office. Both envelopes and postcards the river. On one of theJ::; one of the were included in the mail. Postmarks reporters present was a pas~enger. have been noted with time stamps of 10:30 A.M., 11:20 A.M., and 12 N in After this, the committee and the in the South Amboy postmark.