It was 20 years ago this week when a very important part of history was rewritten. In the little Alabama hamlet of Talladega, of all places.
Simultaneously, the greatest-ever quote — Civic Pride Division — was delivered.
In recent years, we’ve gotten accustomed to rewriting of history. Or, in some cases, bending it to meet modern desires.
In this case, we got a two-for-one, but it came at a cost: The Wright Brothers had to take a hit.
Yes, those Wright Brothers.
Former colleague Bob Pockrass, now a Fox Sports racing guru, joined me on a (very) long weekend to Tallahassee (for a Thursday night FSU-Clemson game during the “Bowden Bowl” years) and then on to Alabama for weekend’s NASCAR festivities — culminating in that Sunday’s Winston 500, forerunner to this weekend’s YellaWood 500.
On the Sunday morning of race day, host tracks like to bring folks into the media center to either kill time (the cynic’s view) or entertain and/or entertain the masses (their view).
On the Sunday morning of Oct. 6, 2002, the locals in Talladega did something a little different. They tore down a pillar of American greatness and made it all about themselves.
You know the type.
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There was a press conference to accompany the press release, and it’s a real beauty. So much so, I’ve kept it within arm’s reach for two decades.
Here’s the opener:
“In an announcement made jointly today by the City of Talladega and the city’s airport board, Talladega Mayor Charles Osborne proclaimed that the site of the airport be officially known as Talladega Municipal Airport at Boswell Field.”
Simple enough, right?
Yeah, but the details, you know.
Turns out, the Boswell was Dr. Lewis Archer Boswell, a local bigwig of the early 20th Century in Talladega, who in 1902 might’ve performed the most underrated fete — or at least under-reported — in our history.
You might want to sit down for the second paragraph. Here goes.
“Dr. Lewis Archer Boswell, according to patents granted and to stories passed down from eyewitnesses at the time, actually flew an airplane of his own design some 13 months prior to the much more famous flight made by the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, N.C.”
Orville and Wilbur had a better PR firm, it turns out.
The press release goes on to say the flights took place at the site of the current airport, and they lasted several seconds and covered 50 to about 300 yards. No beverage and snack service.
Ray Miller, who was chairman of the town’s airport board at the time, cites common sense (his own, by the way) for making such a claim.
“Since no airport was built at the site in Kitty Hawk, or any other site of the fledgling flights of that era, we are confident that Boswell Field is the world’s first airport. We are proud to have that distinction right here in Talladega.”
If only the Wrights had followed their 1903 flight by tearing down some dunes near the beach and putting down an air field to codify the occasion. But they built a flying machine, not a bulldozer.
Finally, let’s examine Mayor Osborne’s final words on the topic 20 years ago, sentence by sentence.
“We feel that it is long overdue to name the airport for Dr. Boswell, who may have actually been the first person to fly an airplane.”
Fair enough. Local pride and all.
But here comes the hammer.
“Experts say it cannot be proved that Boswell was the first . . . (sitting down?) . . . but they can’t prove he wasn’t, either.”
THEY CAN’T PROVE HE WASN’T!
Go ahead, try to argue with that.
In closing, the mayor spoke the indisputable truth.
“It makes for a very interesting debate.”
No kidding.
— Reach Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com
