The people of my family are quiet and not fodder for media coverage, but we have one story that recently swirled back into our focus this summer.
The town was Waukesha, Wisconsin where in 1943 my dad was a young man of 17. His curiosity lead him to fill several balloons with hydrogen (how he obtained that, I do not know) that he let loose, hoping that when they returned to earth, they would be found and the notes attached to them would be returned to him, revealing how far they had traveled.
He heard back on three balloons, one traveling only 5 miles, another traveling farther, near Racine, Wisconsin. Not too bad for amateur science. At some point, months later, he received a letter from a Lieutenant Vernon Paux of Pampa Army Air Field in Pampa, Texas. He wrote "This slip of paper was found in a balloon near here. I don't know what color the balloon was, but I am sure it will interest you to get this letter.
"I was greatly interested in it because my home is at Odell, Wisconsin. I also have several relatives living in Waukesha, the Hughes brothers who operate a farm several miles west of town. I hope you have as good luck with the other balloon you sent out."
Well, this amazing journey set off by a 17 year old boy caught the attention of the local press, and even the Milwaukee Journal mentioned it. There was a local scientist who thought it possible for a balloon to travel that distance, but the direction seemed implausible without highly unusual weather conditions. A balloon released in Waukesha ought to go east, not south.
It was a few moments of fame, such as predicted that we all get in our lives, and the story was not an important one as stories go.
Time passed, my dad graduated from Waukesha High School in 1944, and served in the United States Navy, being on a ship headed for Okinawa when the
Bomb was dropped that ended the war. He returned to Waukesha and eventually started a TV repair business with his older brother, Arthur.
Years later, Arthur was on a repair call, and asked by the clients if he knew a Francis Richardson. It turns out that this family had a good laugh at the story of the balloon that flew to Texas because they had found the balloon near the Waukesha airport, and mailed the paper to relative serving in the army in Texas, who then mailed it to my father, starting the 'media frenzy.' They never revealed themselves to the local paper when the story was reported, and it seems only by merest chance that my family ever came to know the truth. Perhaps they sought out Richardson Brothers TV and Radio Repair just to pass on the rest of the story.
The TV repair business was closed down many years ago. Arthur moved to Kansas and has long since passed away, while Francis remains in Waukesha to this day, along with children and grandchildren. The local paper recently reran the story as a retrospective feature from 65 years ago, which caught the attention of the family, now expanded and spread out but with a core still in the area.
It goes to show you that even the smallest of media stories can re appear when you least expect them to!
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