14 q 
MANCHESTER WOMAN’S CLUB 
Mrs. Todd Lectures ‘* Aerial 
Navigation”’ 
The regular semi-monthly meeting 
of the Manchester Woman’s club 
was held at the Congregational 
chapel, Tuesday afternoon, the pres- 
ident, Mrs. Emma E. Stanley, pre- 
siding. 
During the business session the 
proceeds from the lecture on Nov. 
Ist was announced as $22.20, which 
will add a goodly sum to the club 
treasury. The autumn federation 
meeting will be held with the Han- 
nah Dustin club at Haverhill Nov. 
16th. The Manchester club’s dele- 
gates will be Mrs. Annie M. Sinnicks 
and Mrs. Mary L. Blaisdell. 
At the close of the lecture, Miss 
Helen Benfield of Peabody favored 
the audience with a brilliant piano 
solo from Faust. She was heartily 
applauded. The speaker of the af- 
ternoon was Mrs. Mabel Loomis 
Todd, wife of the famous astron- 
omer. Her subject was ‘‘ Aerial 
Voyaging’’ and treated as it was 
from personal experiences, proved 
very entertaining. Mrs. Todd has a 
happy, easy delivery and her lecture 
was in narrative style touched with 
humor and impressive descriptions. 
In part, Mrs. Todd considered bal- 
loons {safe and aeroplanes unsafe. 
She believes that as the ocean has 
been conquered, so the air will be. 
Historically, attempts at aerial 
navigation were tried in the early 
ages before Christ. In 1783, hot air 
was used by burning straw in the 
primitive airships. Other mediums 
in the early ages of such experi- 
ments were hydrogen, mountain air 
and the vacuum. 
Benjamin Franklin was very much 
interested in aerial navigation —in 
its infantile stages—and anticipated 
speedy results toward its realization. 
Prof. Langley had the right prin- 
ciple in his flymg machine although 
it only made an altitude of 700 feet. 
People made as much fun of him as 
they did ‘‘Darius Green and _ his 
Flying Machine.’’ 
There are two kinds of balloons to 
be considered, the free balloon by 
wind, which is legitimated straight 
ballooning and the dirigible balloon. 
Aeroplanes are of several classes. 
They are the ‘‘heavier than air ma- 
on 
chines,’’ ‘‘flapping machines’’ and 
‘‘maple seed aeroplanes.’’ Mrs. 
Todd’s aerial flights did not deal 
with aeroplanes, but with balloons. 
Her first flight was a day flight 
from Fitchburg in the Glidden bal- 
loon, Massachusetts. Mrs. Todd 
described in detail the preparations 
for such a flight,—the inflation of 
BREEZE 
the balloon, the ballasting of the 
balloon with sand baskets, the care- 
ful adjustment of balance, the 
equipment of the balloon with the 
stethoscope to determine air pres- 
sure and other necessary instru- 
ments. A great crowd of people wit- 
nessed the flight which also added to 
the excitement of the occasion. 
A balloon invariably goes straight 
up into the air unless there is an ex- 
tremely strong cross current wind 
blowing. There is no perceptible 
sensation of moving, but it is the 
strangest sensation, when one_ has 
summoned courage enough to look 
over the edge of the basket to see 
the world receding. The moment 
the stethoscope registers too high 
an air pressure for safety the appen- 
dix of the gas bag is opened to allow 
gas to escape. This brings the bal- 
loon down or if the balloon is getting 
too low for safety a scoop of sand 
thrown out will serve to send it up 
in the air 50 feet. These are the 
main requisites to be followed out 
by a careful pilot. 
This day flight carried Mrs. Todd 
across the state over Worcester 
and the Connecticut valley’s cities 
and towns with an eventual safe 
landing in a Manchester, Connecti- 
eut, field, where friends met them 
in an automobile and brought them 
refreshments and aided in the 
transportation of their aerial car- 
riage, then an uninflated bag, and 
the basket to the nearest railroad 
station. During this flight an alti- 
tude of 5,000 feet was reached and 
Mrs. Todd was most generous in her 
praise of inland Massachusetts as 
viewed from such a height. The si- 
lence which reigns in the clouds is 
most wonderful and restful from 
the turmoil and noise of the world 
below. A sunset at such a height 
was spectacular and beautiful in the 
extreme. 
The next flight Mrs. Todd made 
was from Pittsfield at midnight 
last year, to help view and secure 
photographs of MHalley’s comet. 
This was successfully accomplished 
in the big Glidden balloon, Boston, 
at an altitude of 7000 feet. An- 
other wonderful sight was the view- 
ing of a sunrise at such a height. 
This flight was terminated suecess- 
fully also with only one terrifying 
experience, an attempt to shoot at 
the balloon by some one with a long 
distance rifle, the bullet nearly hit- 
ting Mrs. Todd, but fortunately just 
whizzing by her ear. 
Mrs. Todd proved a strong ad- 
vocate of the balloon. As to aero- 
planes, their greatest future status 
will be founded on the ability of 
constructing them of steel with the 
maximum of weight and minimum 
of power definitely adjusted. 
An informal reception followed 
the lecture, when Mrs. Todd re- 
ceived many personal congratula- 
tions. 
During the social period, Mrs. 
Annie M. Sinnicks was the hostess 
of the afternoon. In the tea room, 
Mrs. F. M. Johnson of Swampscott, 
formerly of Manchester, and Mrs. 
Wm. Hoare, poured. 
The next meeting of the elub will 
be held Nov. 21st. It will be an 
open meeting and musicale on 
‘*English Melodies,’’ Mrs. Maud 
Conway Blanchard, — entertainer. 
Mrs. Philip Stockton will be the 
hostess at this meeting. 
SOCIETY NOTES 
Many pleasing things are being 
done for Miss Helen Fitch of Com- 
monwealth avenue, Boston, and 
West Manchester, during her visit 
to friends in Denver, Col. 
oOo 9°09 
Armour & Co., of which A. Wat- 
son Armour of Kansas City and 
Magnolia, is a trustee, is to pension 
their New England employees. 
About 2000 are eligible. The an- 
nouncement was made Monday. 
Mr. Armour visits Magnola as the 
guest of his mother, Mrs. Charles 
Webster Littlefield’ (nee Annie 
Hearne Armour). The pension 
fund is based on a. gift of $1,000,000 
from J. Ogden Armour, president of 
the packing company. 
oOo 9°09 
Ex-Gov. and Mrs. Eben S. Draper 
of Beacon street, Boston, have is- 
sued invitations for the marriage of 
their daughter, Miss Dorothy Dra- 
per, to Thomas Brattle Gannett of 
Cambridge and Manchester, for 
Tuesday, November 21st, at 12.30 
o’clock, at the Memorial church, 
Hopedale, when the Rev. Frederick 
Lewis will officiate. -A reception 
will follow at ‘‘ The Ledges,’’ the 
Draper’s beautiful summer home 
there. 
groom’s Harvard class of ’97, to- 
gether with Eben §. Draper, Jr., 
brother of the  bride-elect. Miss 
Draper’s bridesmaids will include 
the Misses Mary Parkman, Kather- 
ine Putnam, Amy Peabody, 
garet Richardson and _ Katherine 
Saltonstall. Miss Draper is a mem- 
ber of the 1910 Sewing Circle of 
Boston and vice president: of the 
Vineent club. Mr. Gannett’s fam- 
ily are summer residents of Man- 
chester of long standing and regis- 
ter at The Brownlands. 
ioral 
Robert T. Gannett will be_ 
his brother’s best man and the ush- 
“ers will be drawn from the bride- 
Mar- | 
