Sepia Saturday : 74 14 May 2011

Welcome friends, please do step aboard...I hope refreshments aren't real necessary for this flight....

Postcard from Florida!  Welcomes sun, fun and water-play around the MARTIN PBM MARINER

From the request of Alan at Sepia Saturday we find ourselves clutching our Passport and boarding pass in search of Gate 14……oh where or where is it?  Can you assist, or would you too just like to take pleasure in posting your own Sepia Saturday as you step back into the days of yesterdays so long ago!
Just go here
http://sepiasaturday.blogspot.com/2011/05/sepia-saturday-74-saturday-14th-may.html




Our photo theme this week is of a brilliant-over-achiever, Glenn L. Martin who first turned his mother’s kitchen into a kite-factory and later turned an old Methodist church in Los Angeles, California into an airplane factory.   I'm totally serious!   Martin used the sails of kites as inspiration on everything from ice skates to wagons and even pushed his bicycle to move faster with very little effort. Effort and success were his middle names and a driving force to many accomplishments in his life.

You have heard of Lockheed Martin, Martin Marietta Corporation, or Wright-Martin Aircraft just to name a few….. haven't you?

Thank-goodness for postcards....one of my favorite pastimes is searching through old postcards, if only more of them were actually mailed and written on...

The MARTIN FLOATPLANES...Martin built his first pusher bi-plane in 1909 at the age of 23 and not to forget.....he took up exhibition flying at fairs and local airfields. 



 Glenn Martin's name and dreams made it big in advertising too.....with this fantastic ad

Luxury aloft in the MARTIN MARS Flying Hotel...better than a sleeping car on a slow train to well anywhere....why travel like a snail when you can soar with the eagles?!

MARTIN AIRCRAFT

On May 10, 1912 Martin flew his own plane, built in Santa Ana from the waters of the Pacific Ocean at Balboa to Catalina Island.  This was the first water-to-water flight and the longest and fastest (of course) over water flight ever, to that date.  On his return to the mainland Martin carried the day’s mail from Catalina another first…..Location marking this is at the South end of

Main Street

at Ocean Front (Balboa) Newport Beach.

Another awesome fact about Glenn Martin was his visit to Hollywood and his once in a life time role as a dashing hero in the movie "A Girl of Yesterday" (1915) starring Mary Pickford!  But he had to kiss Frances Marion (later she became a legendary Hollywood screenwriter) ...funny thing he's quoted as saying about his kissing scene...."My mother would not like it," which astounded Pickford as well as Marion!   Funny how Martin was right at home flying Pickford around in his airplane but he had such a hard time working up courage for a simple kiss!  He did complete his kissing scene with surely much pleasure!

And since I'm located within the land of friendly skies of Minnesota and what used to be the home of North Central Airlines, and Northwest Airlines, now just simply....Delta Airlines, and also where you can visit an old homestead of Charles Lindbergh right here in Minnesota, (OH NO, sorry) I won't post him (he was actually born in Detroit, Michigan) but I will introduce to you.....something more real to life!


I'll close with a more natural home grown Minnesota big time flyer...
the non-flyer pictured here is wearing a silly hat....

Courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society

Quite possibly this entry is located at Gate 14 at the Minnesota State Fair!

Thank you for sharing this flight...you may now debark the post....