i ‘Smiling Jack” Harding Flew From One Woman’s Arms to
Another, His Pals on Big Voyage Jokingly Say
- (?)-«
Winning Personality of Airman Made Him Favorite All
Over World; Started by Dissembling His Moth
er’s Sewing Maehine When a Youngster.
i Told by LOWELL THOMAS.
/ (Copyright, 1*2 4.)
1 Although all six ot America's
Seorld filers are entitled to equal
credit for having been (be first to
circumnavigate tlie globe by air, the
first to actually complete the circuit
Was “Smiling Jack" Harding from
Tennessee—he whom fellow airmen
Lave jokingly charged with having
• flown round the world from one
Svoman’s arms to another."
As a mn«er of fact. Jack’s right to
the former honor is just as genuine
as Magellan's. You will recall that
when th® immortal Portuguese cir
cumnavigator set forth with his
Spanish fleet he met his death on an
island in the East Indies. But he had
won his right to be forever known as
the first to sail around the world be
cause on a previous expedition he had
sailed in the opposite direction to a
y point farther than he reached via the
west on his final voyage.
So it was with Jack Harding. In
1919 h® had flown across America
from Atlantic to Pacific on what was
known as the “Round-the-Rlm
Plight.*• And when the world fliers
reached the coast of Maine, they
crossed “the trail that Jack had
helped blaze on his previous flight.
Therefore, when he reached Maine
ho at that moment could say he had
been all the way round the globe by
. air.
Mother Thru Ills Sweetheart.
fi However, as to the charge that he
“flew round from one woman's arms
'f to another,” that rumor has spread
simply because “Smiling Jack” has
such a winning personality that every
body, everywhere, singles him out
for special attention and affection. As
• a matter of fact, the only real sweet
• heart Jack Harding ever had up un
til the end of the world flight was
• his mother. Since then—ah, but that
J would be getting ahead of our story.
And surely it's not surprising that
six handsome bachelors, after sue
ceasfully carrying out one of the
most hazardous and daring feats In
all history, should be even more
.sought after than the prince of
Wales. Nor in that adventurous and
romantic sequel to the world flight
did “Smiling Jack” shrink from his
share of the hazard. But we will
not go into the romantic tale of the
world fliers’ triumphal post-flight
‘loi±r until we have gone with them
« around the globe.
“Smiling Jack” Harding; like all of
I the other world fliers excepting
•Lieut. Erik Nelson, comes of a long
line of pioneers who have played a
prominent part in American history.
This same Hardiry* family, through
•another branch, produced the late j
president of the United States, one |
of his ancestors whs “Stonewall" j
Jackson.
We have already seen how Lieut i
Leslie Arnold made the acquaintance
of “Smiling Jack. ' When Arnold '
"“took off from Dayton with Hard j
ing beside him, he thought his pas ;
** senger merely a civilian who h: < j
succeeded in getting the air service*
to allow him to take a joy ride toy
Washington. But an incident oc
'eurred on the way that opened Lieu- j
•tenant Arnold's eyes. In addition to!
•himself and bis passenger, Harding.
{Arnold had two other* along in the
'Martin bomber. They were the regu I
• tar mechanics assigned to take care
‘of the plane. While flying over
jWest Virginia. 30 miles west of
Mound villc. one engine started to
sputter ominously. Before Arnold
h id ;» c hance to spot a place to la ml
and before the two mechanics could
do anyth ng, Lieut. Arnold was
amazed to see his passenger crawl
out of bis cockpit and start tinkering
liith the engine in mid-air. The re
sult was that the engine kept running
until a landing could be made at
Moundsville.
The two mechanic* immediately
‘bustle 1 about and after a few inin
«lit • • ’ inspection informed Lieutenant
Arncld^Umt it would be necessary to
Stop overnight in coder to give the
motor a complete overhauling. “Beg
pardon, lieutenant,” interposed Hard
ing, "but if you like, l will fix your
motor so that we can push on to
Washington in a half hour.” 8o say
ing h^ polled on a pair <>f overalls
and got busy. In less than 30 min
utes he had that engine in order and
the flight was resumed.
Was Motor Expert.
Instead of being just an ordinary
civilian, Jack turned out to be a man
^ Mho had served two terms of enlist
ment in the nil- service* and was still
employed as an airplane motor expert
a i the aviation headquarters in Day
ton.
Lieut. John Harding, jr., is theson
of an inventor and chemical engineer.
As n youngster he attended a small
i * d brick country school house where,
in his oyvn word*, he got "a lickin'
< v.*ry day.”
Ills mother, « charming southern
• lady, whose family came from Vir
ginia and rnrollna, sa \ s that her
Jack always wanted to know what
I
made the wheels go round snd pre
Ferred tinkering with alarm docks to
Fairy tales.
Before he was 10 he had the wood
shed full of wheels, rusty dynamos
nul everything In the mechanical line
lliat he could put Ills hands on. In
stead of buying candy or other nick
nacks with money earned doing
chores, lie would Invest it In bits of
Iron, copper wire, and batteries, and
he was always dreaming of the day
when he could build engines better
than anyone else.
Disassembled Sewing Machine.
The soundest hiding slack ever got
was one day when he disassembled
lis mother's sewing machine and scat
tered it all over Iha^room just when
the was. in a hurry to put the finish
ng touches to a gown she needed for
i party that afternoon. Jack's fath
er thought that this was carrying the
eccentricity of genius a step too far,
and although he was delighted that
his son was able to put every thingu
majig hack where it belonged, that
lid not stay his hand when he usher
ed his on to the wood shed.
Jack Harding not only was the first
man to complete the circuit of the
world by air, but he also has the dis
tinction of lining the first hoy In the
south ever to ride in an automobile.
It belonged to his father and was a
Woods electric. When It was super
seded by another model, the original
was turned over to Jack, who took it
to pieces and put it together many
limes, and thus galne’d his first real
experience with motor engines.
After finishing grade school in the
country lie went off to Webb Prepa
ratory at Belle Buckle, Tenn., one of
the most straight-laced Institutions
south of the Mason-Dixon line. There
are no dormitories at Webb, and the
boys live in private homes in the vil
lage. l’pon arrival at school they
are obliged to sign'll pledge promising
never to go out after dark! -
There is no gym at Webb and the
boys are not even allowed to play
match games with other schools.
Batin, (ireelc and algebra are the
mainstays of AVebb. And when a hoy
finishes four years there—provided
he survives that long—he is not given
a diploma nor even a simple card to
indicate that he has been graduated
from any prep school at all. To be
sure he Is encouraged to go on to
college, but if he does, he gets no
credentials or letter of recommenda
tion from AVebb. He must take the
entrance examinations for that col
lege and stand on his own merit. Of
course, the result of this is that
Wehb produces self-reliant young
men. And young .lack Harding, who
worked his way through Webb cut
ting wood for the classroom stoves,
got as fine a prep school training as
this country has to offer.
When Lieut. Krlk Nelson was told
that he might select anyone he liked
to accompany him in the New Or
leans, he chose "Smiling Jack." Nel
son himself is one of the best aero-,
nautical engineers in America, so to
be selected by him was in itself no
small honor. And events proved that
Nelson knew Ills man. From Seattle
to Alaska, from the Aleutian islands
across the Pacific, all the way across
Asia and Europe and the Atlantic
Lieutenants Nelson and Harding flew
without a single delay. Their record
until they landed back on American
soil was 100 per cent perfect. There
are few men in America today who
know more about Liberty motors than
Jack Harding.
Major Martin and Sergeant Harvey
crashed into a mountain on the
Alaskan peninsula: Lieutenants Wade
and Ogden came down in the north
Atlantic and the Boston went to the
bottom of the sea; and Lieutenants
Smith and Arnold were delayed by
engine trouble several times during
the flight. But Nelson and Harding
came through without trouble until
obliged to make a forced landing be
tween Baltimore and Washington at
the moment when they were on their
way to be welcomed by President
Coolidge.
The son of John Harding and Mrs.
Roberta C. Harding of Nashville.
Tenn., "Smiling Jack,” as he is fa
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mlliarly known, was horn on June
ISStl. All his ancestor* on both skies
of the family originally came from
Kngland. The Hardings were among
the first families of Virginia to mi
grate west to the blue grass country
of Tennessee. Belle. Meade, the Hard
ing plantation near Nashville, was
owned by four generations of John
Hardings and was on# of the most
famous estates in the south in slavery
day*. II* pastures were once the
home of great herds of buffalo and
were a favorite Indian hunting
ground.
Pioneer Tennessee Family.
When the early Virginia colonists
were lured west by tlie tales brought
back by explorers, tales of rich lands,
deep in blue grass, John Harding was
among the pioneers to cross the Al
leghenies to what is now Tennessee.
He built his log cabin near where
the city of Nashville stands today.
There he carved out the vast Belle
Meade plantation which for genera
tions remained one of the most widely
known centers of plantation life in
all the south.
Belle Meade passed on to his son,
Gen. William Giles Harding, famous
as a breeder of thoroughbred horse*
The plantation In those days Included
over 5,000 acres of blue grass land.
Belle Meade was particularly famous
for its house parties and the Hardings
were known far and wide for their
princely hospitality. Most of the
prominent people of the day, includ
ing statesmen, jioets and pioneers like
Davey Crockett, hero of the Alamo,
were entertained there. The finest
traditions of the old smith were up
held by the hosts at Belle Meade.
After the civil war, the Hardings,
like nearly all of the other old aristo
cratic families of the south, encoun
tered vicissitudes. Tarts of Belle
Meade had to be sold and today sons
of the new south in "plus fours" hunt
the elusive golf ball in the blue grass
where the ancestors of Jack Harding
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hunted buffalo and established their
Tennessee home.
Three summers during his prep
school days he spent working as a
keysmith. opening links for careless
people who had lost their keys. Ijdter
he went to work In a garage at Nash
ville and earned enough money to
help put himself through a course in
mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt
university, where he remained for
two years. Then he capped this with
thiee months’ special work in engi
neering at the University of Tennes
see at Knoxville and pushed off north
to Detroit, where he became a road
tester for the •'’hnlmers Motor com
pany.
His job was to take new cars for
their trial spin, in order tti locate
rattles, squeaks and knocks and
eliminate them. From there he mi
grated to the Dodge plant, where he
spent months Juggling J50-pound
engines at the rate of 360 of them a
day. This gave him arms and should
ers like the strong man In the circus.
And It was while with Podge broth
i rs that he developed the prodigious
strength which stood him in euch
good siend when he had to fight the
fur} of the arctic winds that-threat
ened to wreck the world cruiser* ofi
the Alaskan coast.
In August, 1917, just as Jack was
about to return home to resume his
university work with the funds be
had earned in Petrolt. America enter
ed the war and he Immediately en
listed in the air service as a private.
Instead of Uncle Sam taking advant
age of his mechanical genius, Jack
was sent to Fort Oglethorpe and put
on kitchen police for months, later
tiunsferred to Kelly field, San An
tdMo. Tex., where after several more
months’ scouring pots and pans and
engaging In a rough and tumble fight
with a cook, he was demoted and put
to digging stumps. Here again Fate
was fltthig his physique for the hard
ships of the round the world flight.
Ttoad the next installment of the
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story of the round-the-world flight In
The Omaha Sunday Bee.
(■cneva Auto license plates fof l§2'»
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them December 16. It I* eBtlmate*!
that the motor license business for
next vear will amount to $40,000 in
PflltiHM e county . _
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s
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