|
" Wings Over Istanbul", shows the author, Johnnie Polando at the left and his partner, Russell Boardman, inside the cabin on the right. So far, it is the only good portrait of them I have been able to find. |
via email from Joanna McCurdy Brunso, 4-6-05 Niece of Russell Boardman As my mother was the sister of Russell Boardman, I am his niece. We all wish that we had asked more questions of our parents and their siblings when they were still alive. Russell Boardman had a ranch in Arizona call the Rim Rock Ranch. I believe it was somewhere between Phoenix and Flagstaff. That is a rather large territory, but I have been thinking of driving up there and trying to locate it. Other than the name, and the fact that certain celebrities liked to visit there, I don't know much more about the ranch. Russell Boardman was brought up on his grandfather Don Pedro Griswold's farm in the hamlet of Elsworth, CT. located in the Town of Sharon, CT. It was a meager farm as well as a stagecoach stop, and Russell and his older brother, Earl, would have had to tend animals and hunt in the area's fields and woods to put food on the table for the family of six or seven: 5 siblings, a widowed mother and their grandfather. Earl's financial success and Russell's fame as a pilot allowed them to dream of larger "farms". The ranch was probably just a place to hunt from. I remember my Uncle Earl had multiple skins and mounted heads from hunting in the southern Rocky Mountains hanging on the walls of his home in Mattapoisett, MA. Also I remember Uncle Earl sent my mother a large riding horse from the ranch in 1941, so I believe it was still in existence at that time, but this is not certain. Lately I have become the family historian, since apparently I listened more to my mother and aunts. However, I suggest that you call Russell Boardman's daughter, Jane Boardman Teglas, at her home on Cape Cod to find out what she remembers. I would be interested in anything else you happen to find out about the Arizona Ranch. Joanna McCurdy Brunso Green Valley, AZ |
via email from Clark Boardman McCurdy, 4-7-05 Nephew of Russell Boardman You have peaked my interest in this project on my uncle Russell Boardman. I have always used him as a model for my life and may be a lot like him in many ways, perhaps. You must remember their upbringing was largely by the oldest brother Earl and Russell certainly followed his advice. (Earl certainly was the patriarch to the families as we grew up as well.) Their parents died when they were just entering their teens and they had to find ways to raise the family and finance the family as well. There was work as the two boys could get it and there was dare devil riding of motorcycles in circus events, anything to get money to finance the family. Eventually the three sisters: Claire, Sandra and Alice were sent off to college and there were many businesses they, the brothers, were involved in, the ranch in Arizona and a Cadillac dealership in Boston. Now, about aviation. You must remember that the rules on flying aircraft and how to teach flying are all written in blood from the mistakes of the predecessor. Russell from his dare devil times had brought some acceptance of perhaps dangerous ways to his flying career which I believe would eventually kill him. The loop on take off as a 'signature' move as described in the DVD on the Granville Brothers DVD. It seems Russell was not unfamiliar with crashing airplanes. It may be that working at the ranch was a way to establish a better reputation prior to marrying his beloved wife, or at least getting her father's permission to do so. I hope that I am continually included in your discoveries on my uncle Russell Boardman so I can continue to fill out my files on information on him and my family. Clark Boardman McCurdy |
via email from Joanna McCurdy Brunso, 4-9-05 Niece of Russell Boardman In August of 1981 there was a 50th Anniversary Dinner to commemorate the Boardman Polando flight and honor Johnny Polando. My mother rounded us all up and we went. (I will tell you that she was upset because of the attention to Johnny Polando at the expense of her brother, Russell Boardman. We all knew that Russell planned the flight, Earl financed it, and Johnny was brought along because he was the smallest and most daring mechanic they could find. Nevertheless, Johnny survived and Russell didn't.) For the celebration my brother Clark flew in with Johnny from Brooklyn Field in a Cape Cod replica or restoration. He can tell you exactly. One of the early astronauts, Gene Cernan spoke. I remember that he said that after doing some research on the flight, he was impressed because this was the earliest example of planned flight he could find. He also said that the long distance record was not broken until 1956. Later my youngest son and I went up to ask him why the record had not been broken. He replied that he wasn't sure but he surmised that until there were new designs for planes and engines, that this flight had reached the maximum distance and then WWII intervened. He must have been talking about a certain class of planes. Do you know if any of this is true.? Joanna McCurdy Brunso Green Valley, AZ |
|