JAN. 24 ISSUE ANSWERS: The photo to the right shows Charles and Anne Lindbergh. Note the 1920’s dress and hat that Anne is wearing. The picture on the left shows Charles in Shelby Township at the Packard Proving Grounds in August 1929. On May 10-11, 1927, Lindbergh was the first to fly nonstop from New York to Paris, and won a $25,000 prize from New York hotel owner Raymond Orteig. This cross Atlantic flight gave Charles the new nickname “Lucky Lindy.” When Packard developed a new diesel motor for airplanes, Charles showed up in Shelby Township to see the engine installed in the Waco open cockpit plane. Charles had earlier parachuted out of a mail plane before it crashed. He was concerned about flight safety. The Waco plane had only been flown by Walter Lee up to that time. Walter knew that Charles would want a ride in the experimentally fueled plane. As Charles entered the plane, he told Walter to move over and that he would take the controls. The plane took off flying over Macomb County with Lindy at the controls. After the flight, Charles wanted to see how explosive the new fuel would be in case of a crash. Fuel was placed in a bowl and was not able to be ignited. This was good news for pilots in a crash. At the end of the tour, Charles drove a “Speedster” car around the 2 ½ mile track at 112 miles an hour with Charles Vincent at the Packard Proving Grounds in Shelby Township. Charles influenced the Edward Fisher family in Bruce Township as reported last week in the The Record. He also contributed to the Roaring/Flying 20’s. Visit the Packard Proving Grounds in Shelby Township to learn more. R. Beringer, Romeo Historical Society staff