Before ordered to Vietnam, Guy was based at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. When an older couple at church discovered that Guy was an air traffic controller, they invited us to their home for dinner.
Howard and Winifred Firebaugh were so gracious. She served Cornish game hens, which we’d never eaten before. Everything was so elegant.
Mr. Firebaugh was a pilot and worked for the FAA as a representative at the air force base. He said his pilot’s certificate had been signed by one of the Wright brothers! An article in the FAA Horizons newsletter of Oct. 14, 1968, shows a photo of Howard and the treasured signature of Orville Wright.
The accompanying article says that the certificate, “issued jointly by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale and the National Aeronautic Association of U.S.A., was among the last of its kind. Shortly afterward, licensing of U.S. pilots was taken over by the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce.”
Orville Wright was chairman of the Contest Committee of the National Aeronautic Association, which issued licenses “on proof of fitness.”
J. Howard Firebaugh was born in 1901 so was 68 when the article was published, and about the time we met him. After obtaining the license in 1929, he left coaching at Santa Cruz, CA, and worked as a barnstormer, aerial photographer, and flight instructor, then for the Bureau of Air Commerce at Montana State Airport.
In 1937, Firebaugh transferred to air traffic control, serving as chief controller at Cincinnati and Great Falls ARTC Centers, and more.
We also learned that Howard Firebaugh was a student of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and had hiked much of their route. That was a new concept for me, but after reading Undaunted Courage, I can certainly see why someone would enjoy that as a hobby. Oh, I wish we’d asked more questions.
I remember serving Cornish game hens only once. So much for trying to be elegant.
I’ve never served Cornish Game Hens!
Gail, I don’t think I’d ever heard of them before!
I don’t do elegant very well either!
We’ve adopted cottage-style in about everything, especially these days.
How are you both doing? Did I tell you about my fall,not from grace, this time, but flat on my face? Two very serious black eyes, one very sore nose, and a fractured humerus resulted. Interestingly, my nose did not break, nor did my glasses. My arm was very swollen and is still bruised. Oh yes, it is my right arm, attached to that very new shoulder. It was just fine!
Oh, you poor dear! We’ve both learned to be more deliberate in walking, turning, standing up, just everything. Be careful!
What a great story! (You don’t need Cornish game hens to be elegant. 😉)
Actually, Liz, elegant isn’t a word anyone would need for me anyway. ha!
😁Me neither!
What an amazing man…and what a story, Joy. Thank you for the introduction! 💝
(And…P.S….I chuckled about Liz’s comment below. My mom, Sue, always thought Cornish game hens signaled “elegant dinner party” but no one really liked them. Too many small bones!)
Hugs and love! 💝
Thank you, Vicki. Yes, too many small bones.
💝😊💝
What a fascinating story. I loved reading about his connection to Orville Wright, and I’ve never served Cornish game hens either. 🌺🩷
Thanks, Kymber. I wish I hadn’t shunned history classes after high school, but this means even more several decades later!
What an interesting man and an amazing story. Cornish Game Hens were popular in the late 60s and early 70s. I made them a few times, but moved on to other things. Remember fondues? They were big in the mid to late 70s and fun too. I never thought of what we ate as elegant. I just liked trying different things, still do.
I forgot about fondues, but we had friends who hosted a fondue night. Fun. I love it that you still enjoy trying new things, Darlene!
Great story, Joy. I have served Cornish game hens, but quit after so much of the hen was left by the guests. I can imagine them hitting McDonald’s on the way home. 😄
Oh no! Is it because they’re difficult to eat while chatting?
Such a great story! My mother told me that her grandmother once prepared fifty or more Cornish Hens for one of her children’s Baptism parties. I have never prepared one myself! I did make a great many oven stuffer roaster chickens for my family over the years. Does that count? 🙂 Perhaps, it is not so elegant, but it did feed a hungry crowd!
Yes, Linda. I like yours better!
Sometimes treasures show up in unexpected ways.
They sure do. Thanks, Jim!
So very interesting.
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much!
Fascinating past, Joy! It’s so nice that he was stationed close to home before being sent to Vietnam, and you were invited to dinner. 😍
Thank you, Tim.
My pleasure, Joy. 😍
[…] Orville Wright Signed His Pilot’s Certificate by Joy on Joy Neal Kidney […]
We do meet some fascinating people along the way, don’t we? My husband introduced me to Cornish game hens and I cook them occasionally. One makes a fine dinner for two.
We’re into leftovers these days, Eilene. I so wish I’d had a little more perspective when we met Firebaughs, but I just discovered genealogy while we were in Idaho so that’s where I began lapping up history and enjoying research!