Donated Propeller to TDHS
Palmer Photograph Album
Palmer Grandfather is flying the plane
JennyBiPlanePalmerGrandfather_IMG_0347
BacksideRFSJennyBiPlanePalmerGrandfather_IMG_0348
It seems that Greg’s grandfather was once gifted this propeller which reportedly flew on a “Jenny”. Jenny is the colloquial name for the Curtiss JN-4 airplanes that were originally manufactured as training aircraft for the U.S. Army after World War I. The Jenny became the “backbone of American postwar [civil] aviation." See Note 1. The Jenny is America's most famous World War I airplane and was developed by combining the best features of the Curtiss "J" and "N" models.
So what has this propeller got to do with Truckee? Recall that the transcontinental airmail route paralleled mostly along the transcontinental railroad tracks across the country, and locally from Reno to Sacramento through the Donner Summit area. See Note 2. Following are pictures of the propeller just outside TDHS’s Old Jail Museum where it will be on display, as well as close ups of the propeller serial number and central bolt section.
So what has this propeller got to do with Truckee? Recall that the transcontinental airmail route paralleled mostly along the transcontinental railroad tracks across the country, and locally from Reno to Sacramento through the Donner Summit area. See Note 2. Following are pictures of the propeller just outside TDHS’s Old Jail Museum where it will be on display, as well as close ups of the propeller serial number and central bolt section.
You might be aware of the much-maligned “Inverted Jenny” 24-cent 1918 US Air Mail postage stamp printing fiasco in which the blue (the vignette of the US Army Curtiss mail plane) ink appears “inverted”. Oops. (For your information, the rarest of this misprint was only done on one sheet, and today still represents one of the most valuable U.S. Post Office Department’s printing errors ever. In 2007, one stamp with this Inverted Jenny sold for $977,500. "Robert A. Siegel Auction #946a." SiegelAuctions.com. |
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So, ever curious, we noted the markings on the propeller shaft, the placement and number of bolts (8), and any other discernible notations. We then contacted an online propeller group (yes, there really is such a group) and believe it or not, we narrowed down the propeller’s “highly probable” origin to a Jenny.
While we cannot say conclusively that this donated propeller actually flew OVER Truckee, it’s entirely possible. Just think over 100 years ago one could look up and see mail planes winding their way over Truckee, through Donner Summit, and headed to Sacramento and destinations beyond.
While we cannot say conclusively that this donated propeller actually flew OVER Truckee, it’s entirely possible. Just think over 100 years ago one could look up and see mail planes winding their way over Truckee, through Donner Summit, and headed to Sacramento and destinations beyond.
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Notes
1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_JN-4#cite_note-1
2 Several past TDHS articles recount some of these airmail stories: Alien' Concrete Arrows, Beacons and Air Mail, June 2018, pp. 3-14; Concrete Arrows and Beacons, Sept. 2018, p. 4; and Concrete Arrows and Beacons, Dec. 2018, p. 15. Donner Summit Historical Society [DSHS] monthly Heirloom articles: DSHS Heirloom, May 2011, p. 3; (Transcontinental Air Route); Plane Crashes on Donner Summit, March 2009; DSHS Heirloom, July 2011 , pp. 1, 7-11; DSHS Heirloom, December 2016 , pp. 5-8 ; DSHS Heirloom, October 2017, p. 13 photo of old weather station atop Donner Summit AND red airway beacon in background on right of house showing beacon at Donner Ski Ranch; and DSHS Heirloom, May 2018 , pp. 7-10.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_JN-4#cite_note-105
https://siegelauctions.com/2007/946a/s946a.htm
1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_JN-4#cite_note-1
2 Several past TDHS articles recount some of these airmail stories: Alien' Concrete Arrows, Beacons and Air Mail, June 2018, pp. 3-14; Concrete Arrows and Beacons, Sept. 2018, p. 4; and Concrete Arrows and Beacons, Dec. 2018, p. 15. Donner Summit Historical Society [DSHS] monthly Heirloom articles: DSHS Heirloom, May 2011, p. 3; (Transcontinental Air Route); Plane Crashes on Donner Summit, March 2009; DSHS Heirloom, July 2011 , pp. 1, 7-11; DSHS Heirloom, December 2016 , pp. 5-8 ; DSHS Heirloom, October 2017, p. 13 photo of old weather station atop Donner Summit AND red airway beacon in background on right of house showing beacon at Donner Ski Ranch; and DSHS Heirloom, May 2018 , pp. 7-10.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_JN-4#cite_note-105
https://siegelauctions.com/2007/946a/s946a.htm
Heidi Sproat
