Written in Erma (Almy) Witherell’s hand “my first plane ride” 1927. Can you imagine that kind of plane ride???
“Glenn took picture from the plane. James Rd. Airport. Arrow showing where we landed.”
Detroit from the air – arrow pointing to Second National Bank
James Road Runway. I have no idea if this is from Saginaw (if that’s where they started from) or Detroit. I couldn’t seem to find what used to be called James Road Airport or Runway. It could be in Bay City actually, which is very near Saginaw. I know Bay City has a similarly named airport that is now called James Clements Municipal Airport. Could be the same place.
One of the many plants of the area, I’m sure. The arrow is pointing to the Grey Iron Plant. I’m not sure if this is near Saginaw or part of Detroit.
Probably this was the reason for the trip – Erma’s cousin, Ivan Wiltse, in Detroit 1927. Ivan was the son of Erma’s father’s sister, Chauncey. I wonder if this house is still standing in Detroit…
ontheupcyclemom
Very cool pics! I can’t imagine flying back then!
NikiMarie
I agree! That plane looks a bit small to me
ontheupcyclemom
And she still managed to take pictures from the air!
NikiMarie
True! Although she did note that it was her husband who did that, not her. I feel like I’d be holding on for dear life!
gpcox
Fantastic post! You are very lucky these photos were saved.
NikiMarie
Thank you! I agree; these are unique
Stacy
Hi NikiMarie,
I was googling the name of my grandfather, Donald Witherell, when I came across your blog. I know very little about him, and it sure sounds like you have a lot of info about the Witherell’s (my maiden name). My father was David Charles Witherell, born in Michigan, 1932 I’d love to hear all you know about my ancestor’s.
NikiMarie
Hello! The Witherell surname, as I found out, is quite popular. My Witherell tree came to Michigan around the Civil War era and I’ve been able to, for the most part, figure out where those Witherell’s went (except for one that went to Canada that I haven’t dived into yet). For the most part, those Witherell’s came from New York where I discovered MANY Witherell’s – there are also MANY Witherell’s in Michigan too. Who knew! For being so many, I am sad to say that not many people are searching for them, or at least, not for the ones I am looking for. With that said, I haven’t gotten far on the Witherell’s. I got back as far as David Witherell who was born in New York around 1813 and died in Michigan in the 1860’s. I’ve got more searching to do in the Witherell line. I looked into your line a bit just to see if maybe there was an offshoot that made us related and I didn’t find anything as of yet. If you wanted, we can keep in touch to see if we can find out if there is a common ancestor or not! I’m always excited to meet another Witherell who is researching the line. We could email off the website if you’d like, just let me know 🙂