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On to the Second Century!
exhibitions over two days in July 1911.
Turpin, like the Wright brothers, hailed from Dayton, Ohio. After earning an engineering degree from Purdue University in 1908, he initially worked for his father’s gasoline engine company. However, the lure of flight soon captured his imagination.
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Turpin left his father’s business in 1909 to help Wilbur and Orville Wright improve their airplane engines. Then he took flying lessons from the Wrights’ flying school in 1910, successfully soloed, and joined the Wright Exhibition Team.
Turpin and other Exhibition Team members spread out across the land, performing at state fairs and other large public gatherings.
Community promoters in Princeton heard about the flying shows in Springfield, Joliet and Peoria in the spring of 1911. They decided to try to attract one to Bureau County.
WINGS, continued on page 12
What’s happening at the Sash Stalter Matson Building?
Maintaining all the structures is an important part of our museums. We are starting the process of giving it a new purpose as part of the historical society campus.
