John H. Whitney's work for Glenn Curtiss

Life at North Island and Coronado

Evening work

That evening the same two men sit in the parlor of a home at Coronado. The airman sprawls comfortably in his chair, picks up a letter, glances over it and begins to dictate, "Mr. John Smith, 2387 Prairie Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Dear Mr. Smith: We have your letter of the 10th and in reply will say …"

After finishing this dictation he remarks to the photographer who is now his secretary, "Well let's go out in the kitchen and see if you did get the two those fingers of yours claimed!"

They proceed to the kitchen and he glances over the photographer-secretary's shoulder as the latter pulls out in turn each of the day's negatives, a dozen in all. "Yes, you did get them both! You're a good photographer, all right". This last remark is the best possible pay for the day and evening work since commendation is not given by Curtiss unless it is deserved.

They return to the parlor, or rather the airman does, while the photographer pours out the hypo, rinses out the tank developer with its dozen photo negatives with fresh water then sets all to wash under the faucet.

By the time he rejoins the airman in the front room, the former is ready to start again "Take a wire to James Brown, you know his address …"

And so on for another hour.

Finally, from the airman "Well, I guess that's all for tonight. I'm for bed" and he disappears. The afternoon photographer and now evening secretary makes another trip to the kitchen, removes the washed plates and puts them on a drying rack where they will remain until morning when they can be printed.

The airman is Glenn H. Curtiss; who has just invented the first practical aircraft to take off from the water, and the photographer-secretary is John H. Whitney, author of these lines.

Curtiss would retire about 9 PM but not me, I would labor on, typing the messages; mostly night letters (Western Union, 50 words for the same price as a 10 word day wire and delivered the next morning anywhere in the USA). I would labor on, writing out the wires he had dictated. Finished, I trudged wearily, I didn't even have a bike, to the distant telegraph office hidden away in a corner at the world famous Hotel Coronado as if they were ashamed of it!

At the big hotel, I would meet some of the guests. Many notable people, and wealthy who were much interested in Curtiss' aeronautical work. I had many requests for passes to his island hanger but had to turn them all down. We were not welcoming visitors as Curtiss' research work was secret and had not yet been patented, much of it.

I would file the wires, pay for them, and then start home to my distant sleeping room. As money was so scarce and my salary correspondingly small, I did not live at the great hotel. It would have taken more than I was paid for board and room alone, there. I had a comfortable room with a private family and boarded at a very satisfactory place, which provided good "home cooking" without much, if any, style and swank. I would fall into bed, asleep before my head touched the pillow. Such was a typical day.

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