#onthisdayinfortsmithhistory May 18 and May 21, 1910~Aviator James C. "Bud" Mars executed the first flight in the state at League Park in Fort Smith, Arkansas, sponsored by Fort Smith Light and Traction Company. Mars had tested the aircraft on May 18 in advance of the public flight demonstration that took place on May 21. Crowds gathered to observe history made as Mars executed two flights in a Curtiss Biplane at an altitude of seventy-five feet. (Courtesy of Ben Boulden) League Park was located at the site of the present Terry Motel adjacent to what was Electric Park, now Kay Rodgers Park. In 2010 the Fort Smith Museum of History celebrated the centennial anniversary of its founding with numerous exhibitions including, “The Fort In Flight”. The exhibition highlighted Mars, Louise Thaden, Betsy Kelley Weeks, Alexander Field, Ollie Blan, and many other pioneers of Fort Smith aviation, and celebrated their accomplishments and contributions to Fort Smith aviation. See the full article below. Fort Smith's First Flight Author's Note: This article first appeared in the Times Record newspaper in 2003. I've added a few facts that weren't in it and may add more in the future as I learn more about Bud Mars. https://www.fortsmithhistory.org/arc.../bios/budmars.html... By Ben Boulden They didn't have an airfield or a control tower. Until just a few days before, they didn't even have an assembled airplane. Nevertheless, the citizens of Fort Smith in May 1910 were determined to see a plane fly and pilot James C. "Bud" Mars was planning to show them one. On May 17, 1910, a Curtiss biplane arrived at the train depot in Fort Smith in three boxes and was transported to Electric Park (present-day Kay Rodgers Park) where crowds gathered to observe the mechanics as they put it all together. Once it was assembled, Mars spun the propeller to jumpstart the motor while four men held the plane down to keep it from breaking away. According to the Southwest American newspaper, Mars tested the aircraft for the first time and "a few friends, invited guests and newspaper men" were privileged to witness the flight of an airplane in Fort Smith for the first time on May 18, 1910. It wasn't too dramatic at first as Mars and his biplane "went skimming over the ground but high enough to see daylight between the wheels of the craft and the skyline," according to the American. Both the American and the Fort Smith Times Record described it as not only a first for the city but a first for Arkansas as well. The first flight occurred not at Electric Park where the flying machine was assembled but at the nearby Fort Smith Country Club. Mars' public exhibition of the biplane, sponsored by the Fort Smith Light and Traction Co., was held May 21 at League Park, the baseball field next to Electric Park. May 21 also was the birthdate of the biplane's creator, Glenn H. Curtiss, and the anniversary of Curtiss? first flight. Lynn Bauter, formerly Curtiss' mechanic, was on hand to explain the unfamiliar machine to the public. Mars made two successful flights at an altitude of 75 feet. The American said, "The spectacle of witnessing a man flying in the air with the ease of a bird was indeed thrilling to the spectators. "Two circular flights were made in a half-mile circuit which gives Mars a world record for making an accurate flight in a circuit of one-half mile, as all previous flights have been made in not less than one mile circuits." Before he took off, Mars' wife broke a bottle of wine on the engine of the machine saying, "I christen the Skylark; may she fly long and high." In the next day's exhibition flights, the Skylark improved on its performance, reaching an altitude of more than 200 feet and a speed of 40 mph. Mars' maneuvers took the plane over the park and surrounding fields as well as the trolley line in a flight lasting more than 10 minutes. Although the following day's exhibition was canceled, the Times Record estimated that a majority of the city's residents had journeyed to the park to observe the first manned flights in Arkansas on May 21 and May 22. A scheduled exhibition flight on May 23 was canceled. Only a few weeks later, on June 9, 1910, Mars crashed the Skylark in Topeka, Kan., at another exhibition. He survived the crash and after being reassembled and repaired so did the biplane. Mars went on to participate in aviation meets and exhibitions throughout the United States and Asia. According to one report, he was the first man to fly an airplane in the Philippines, taking to the air in that island country during a Mardi Gras or Carnivale celebration in 1911. He went there after being forbidden to fly his plane in Hong Kong. He was one of the first eight licensed pilots in the United States and was taught to fly by Curtiss. Mars died on July 25, 1944, in Los Angeles of a heart ailment. He was 68." https://www.earlyaviators.com/emars1.htm... https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/aviation-4589/... Photograph: Courtesy of the Library of Congress and open internet sources. #fsmuseumhistory #FortSmithHistory #thefortinflight #budmars #thejournal #fortsmithhistoricalsociety #benbouldenwrites #encyclopediaofarkansas #fortsmithaviationhistory (fb)

Artifacts, Exhibits, & Images oh my! Fort Smith has had its fair share of famous figures that have come to visit, from outlaws to movie stars to athletes and even presidents. For this week’s images, we have none other than 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt giving a speech, during his run for a third nonconsecutive term on the Progressive Party ticket, April 20 1912. According to Southwest American, April 21st, 1912 newspaper, “between 5,000 to 6,000 persons surround Speaker’s stand to see Presidential Candidate- visit was cut short and guest is forced to abandon address because of noise.” From the Fort Smith Museum of Image and Photography Collections #1992-45-2 Donor: Mrs. Hiram S. Nakimen Photographer: N/A, President Teddy Roosevelt during his speech ca. 1912 Source Cited: A Community Archive of the Fort Smith Public Library :: Viewer (fb)