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A group of students at Lyman Gilmore School is researching the school's namesake, Lyman Gilmore, an aviator and inventor. They are interviewing people who knew him and creating a film about his life. Gilmore was born in 1874 and claimed to have built and flown a steam-powered airplane in 1902, before the Wright Brothers. He also built the first commercial airfield in the U.S. in 1910. A 1935 fire destroyed his planes and evidence of his flights. People who knew him shared stories about his personality, his financial struggles, and his personal life, including a lost love. He later had a stroke and died in 1951. The students are exploring Gilmore's old airfield and runway, and there is a fictional scene where they meet Gilmore. They plan to continue their research beyond the current school year, utilizing local historical resources.
Author: Lyman Gilmore School
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Hello, Teja Hardis to hear. Vice President of the wonderful school behind me. Some of the students here who are involved with GNN which is a video broadcast group have started a journey to learn more about their school's namesake by discovering interesting artifacts and hearing amazing stories about the aviator slash inventor Lyman Gilmore. We are in the process of searching for people in our community who actually knew Lyman Gilmore and to have their stories recorded in our typed. We also have been producing an original film that will hopefully help educate and inform the students at our school and our community about Lyman Gilmore. So let us show you where our journey has taken us so far. Lyman Gilmore was born in Cowlitz County, Washington on June 11th in the year 1874. He was an inventor from the time he could hold the tools in his hands and at age 17 he built a small glider that would take off in the wind going down a hill. Later he built a glider with an 18-foot wingspan that was horse drawn. He claimed to have been led by a voice telling him what to build and how to build it. In the year of 1902 Lyman Gilmore built a steam-powered airplane and on May 15th of the same year he claimed to have flown that very plane a year and a half before the Wright brothers made their maiden flight. In 1910 Lyman built the first commercial airfield in the United States which was located on the current site of the middle school that bears his name. In 1935 there was a devastating fire in his hangar that destroyed both of his planes and all of the evidence that he had of his flight. Gee, since I was a kid. Oh, 1929? I forget a lot of things. Oh yes, he came to our house quite often to chat because my father grew up in Washington and Oregon. And so we suspect that the fact that they both grew up in Washington. Yeah. Her father was a few years younger than Lyman. And so they would he'd come into our house and where my father had a little place to chat with and anyhow. We always would offer him some food or something but and sometimes he would have some. People were trying to take away the flying field from Lyman Gilmore. A mining company owned what was underneath and they were trying to take it away. They finally reached a settlement which the mining company kept all the land underneath for mining and and but Lyman could use this for continue to use it for an airport. The war is here long and that was I thought that was kind of funny you know. Lyman Gilmore had two or three big cars and none of them worked very well. And I wonder what brand they were. Two of them were cattle. He didn't have any money. No. Lyman Gilmore probably probably in his lifetime didn't earn as much money as you kids have earned already in your lives. Then in 1931 this very close friend of a woman that he would like to he wanted to marry and who lived in Iowa Hill died in 1931 and he was really very unhappy about it. He had said in letters that he was very lonely in his house in Nevada City wish he would come deliver them. Then in 1934 or 1935 his hangar burned down with everything in it. The airplanes and all these things. I think it was down at this end. Yes it was at the east end. They had a stroke in about 1949 or 50 and then it never got really well after that. He died in either January or February of 1951 in Nevada City. Wow that's cool. Look at this what I found. It's Gilmore's flying field and I think our field was his runway. He looks kind of eccentric. Yeah. Yeah. I wonder what it would be like if he came back and saw what we did with his runway. It's not that weather. Oh it's cold. Yes it's pretty chilly. Pretty chilly. Hey guys what's that? I don't believe it. It's gonna land on our field. Is that what I think it is? Well you know you youngsters better get off this. This is an airfield. It's pretty dangerous up here. Who are you and what are you doing on our field? You heard about me have you? Well let me know. Don't listen to the stories that them locals tell. They didn't like me very much back then. So we're looking at the field and we're looking close at your word. We're building a bet that I might be in the future. As you've seen we are only still at the beginning of our journey to better understand this man, Lime Gilmore. Our journey will go beyond this school year as we continue to research and tap into our local historical resources. You
Hello, Teja Hardis to hear. Vice President of the wonderful school behind me. Some of the students here who are involved with GNN which is a video broadcast group have started a journey to learn more about their school's namesake by discovering interesting artifacts and hearing amazing stories about the aviator slash inventor Lyman Gilmore. We are in the process of searching for people in our community who actually knew Lyman Gilmore and to have their stories recorded in our typed. We also have been producing an original film that will hopefully help educate and inform the students at our school and our community about Lyman Gilmore. So let us show you where our journey has taken us so far. Lyman Gilmore was born in Cowlitz County, Washington on June 11th in the year 1874. He was an inventor from the time he could hold the tools in his hands and at age 17 he built a small glider that would take off in the wind going down a hill. Later he built a glider with an 18-foot wingspan that was horse drawn. He claimed to have been led by a voice telling him what to build and how to build it. In the year of 1902 Lyman Gilmore built a steam-powered airplane and on May 15th of the same year he claimed to have flown that very plane a year and a half before the Wright brothers made their maiden flight. In 1910 Lyman built the first commercial airfield in the United States which was located on the current site of the middle school that bears his name. In 1935 there was a devastating fire in his hangar that destroyed both of his planes and all of the evidence that he had of his flight. Gee, since I was a kid. Oh, 1929? I forget a lot of things. Oh yes, he came to our house quite often to chat because my father grew up in Washington and Oregon. And so we suspect that the fact that they both grew up in Washington. Yeah. Her father was a few years younger than Lyman. And so they would he'd come into our house and where my father had a little place to chat with and anyhow. We always would offer him some food or something but and sometimes he would have some. People were trying to take away the flying field from Lyman Gilmore. A mining company owned what was underneath and they were trying to take it away. They finally reached a settlement which the mining company kept all the land underneath for mining and and but Lyman could use this for continue to use it for an airport. The war is here long and that was I thought that was kind of funny you know. Lyman Gilmore had two or three big cars and none of them worked very well. And I wonder what brand they were. Two of them were cattle. He didn't have any money. No. Lyman Gilmore probably probably in his lifetime didn't earn as much money as you kids have earned already in your lives. Then in 1931 this very close friend of a woman that he would like to he wanted to marry and who lived in Iowa Hill died in 1931 and he was really very unhappy about it. He had said in letters that he was very lonely in his house in Nevada City wish he would come deliver them. Then in 1934 or 1935 his hangar burned down with everything in it. The airplanes and all these things. I think it was down at this end. Yes it was at the east end. They had a stroke in about 1949 or 50 and then it never got really well after that. He died in either January or February of 1951 in Nevada City. Wow that's cool. Look at this what I found. It's Gilmore's flying field and I think our field was his runway. He looks kind of eccentric. Yeah. Yeah. I wonder what it would be like if he came back and saw what we did with his runway. It's not that weather. Oh it's cold. Yes it's pretty chilly. Pretty chilly. Hey guys what's that? I don't believe it. It's gonna land on our field. Is that what I think it is? Well you know you youngsters better get off this. This is an airfield. It's pretty dangerous up here. Who are you and what are you doing on our field? You heard about me have you? Well let me know. Don't listen to the stories that them locals tell. They didn't like me very much back then. So we're looking at the field and we're looking close at your word. We're building a bet that I might be in the future. As you've seen we are only still at the beginning of our journey to better understand this man, Lime Gilmore. Our journey will go beyond this school year as we continue to research and tap into our local historical resources. You