OCR Text |
Show Besides the post office, Father got Nada on the map in a modest way by lending a large tract in our southwest field for an emergency landing strip when planners for the pioneer airmail routes visited our store. He readily agreed to have the necessary markings installed. This strip led to a news story which I reported to a Salt Lake paper: NADA, UTAH. MAy 25.-(Special) Whiz-zoom and a cloud of dust! A burnt-out generator forced down a Western Air Express plane at Nada emergency landing field Monday. Learning of the lack of phone facilities at the desert hamlet, the pilot proceeded on his battery. While the big Douglas biplane sat on the field the entire population of Nada, numbering three, surged around in wide-eyed wonder. At the plea of the pilot, no one took any souvenirs, not even a chip off the propeller. Due to the high gale and the soft condition of the field, hopping off was difficult. The plane clung to the earth. But at the last moment the tense throng rose on tiptoe and gave a rousing yell. The plane took heart, shot up and swung away. The letterhead of Nada Commercial Club carried a picture of the reservoir Father had constructed on our Experiment Farm across the track. The photo showed water glittering high up the earthen banks. Having pumped the reservoir full, we hastened to photograph it before seepage emptied it. This duplicity of ours was forgivable because we fully expected to solve the problem soon. If my puddling job failed to make the tank hold water, Father intended to cement the reservoir. As president, George Lewis joined Father and Mother to stimulate mail inquiries while the early momentum persisted. The Club located scores of families on claims. |