Pilot attempting historic flight ends up in Colfax

Wandering through the Colfax Heritage Museum looking for something to write about, I spied a funny looking piece of wood. As it turns out, my mother had donated this piece of wood. She got it from the first "aeroplane" to fly over Colfax. Now I'm asking myself, how did she get a piece of wood from a plane that flew over town?And that's where Robert Grant Fowler (1884-1966), comes into the picture.Born in Gilroy, Fowler grew up as somewhat of a daredevil racecar driver.Then he decided to learn how to fly. In 1910, he purchased a 25-hp Curtiss biplane.The next year he attended the Wright Brothers Aviation School in Ohio, learning to fly from Orville Wright. In the meantime, William Randolph Hearst offered $50,000 in prize money to the first person to fly across the United States. He gave the aviators 30 days to accomplish the feat with an Oct. 11 deadline. So, with a mere three hours of actual airtime, Fowler decided to try to win the prize.Backed by the Cole Motor Company, Fowler rented a Wright Brothers, 30hp, twin engine model B, "Cole Flyer."On Sept. 11, he took off from San Francisco and headed east.Fowler landed in Sacramento for a short time, and continued at a blistering speed of 54 mph to Auburn. He had said he wanted to make a continuous flight over the Sierra to Reno, so on Sept. 12 he left Auburn. Numerous people had gathered in and around Colfax to watch for the plane.This is where the piece of the wood comes in.At 10:30 a.m., Fowler crashed in Alta. Apparently the rudder had broken and the engine failed. Fowler was not injured.When news of the crash got to Colfax, members of the Colfax Rod and Gun Club drove up and convinced Fowler to bring the plane to Colfax for repairs. The plane was placed on a Southern Pacific Railroad flat car, which was following the flight path with spare parts aboard.On board were Fowler's mother and two mechanics from the Wright Brothers factory, who could oversee any needed repairs.Learning that the plane was to be repaired in Colfax, the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad set up special excursion trips into Colfax so residents could see the biplane. The round-trip fare was $1.When Fowler and his mother arrived in Colfax, they were treated like royalty -- both in Colfax and Grass Valley.By Sept 23, the plane had been repaired and test flights over town had been made.Fowler took off and immediately headed for Reno, reaching 5,000 feet over Blue Canyon, passed over Emigrant Gap at 7,200 feet and was at 7,500 feet at Cisco. Then he encountered winds of 50 mph, which barred any forward progress. Nine miles from Donner Summit, Fowler was forced to turn back and landed in Carpenter Flat at Bear Valley. Shortly after he landed, it began to rain. The weather conditions, including strong winds, later forced him to abandon the transcontinental flight.He then moved to Southern California where he attempted another transcontinental flight. On Feb.12, 1912, Fowler landed a plane in Moncrief Park, Florida, becoming the first to fly west to east, this time using a southern route across the United States.The flight was not uneventful, however. He had numerous mishaps on the second attempt.Hearst did not have to give up any money since no pilots were able to make the flight in his prescribed timeframe.The piece of wood from Fowler's biplane is on display at the Colfax Area Heritage Museum, 99 Railroad Street.If anyone has photographs of Fowler's plane or the crash, call me at 346-8346, or bring them to the museum, which is open daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.By the way, my mother isn't that old. She got the wood from my grandfather, who retrieved it from the crash site.