George Waldner and Burton Pettit 1911 Plane & the Model of It
The author of this piece is unknown. It was an account given to the Hillsdale County Historical Society on September 20, 2003. It was left in the Fair office. It is similar to an account received by Vernon Stevens, written by B. Cooper of 202 Reading Ave. in Jonesville, MI in 1992.
Unfortunately, we don’t know the name of George Waldner’s daughter, who wrote the second account.
During the 2021 Fair, David Simmons and his daughter, Samantha, came in to the Hillsdale County Historical Society Museum. David told us this story: This plane was hung in my bedroom as a child. My father, Don Simmons, bought this for $25 from somewhere in Hillsdale County.” Both David and Samantha, as well as David’s wife, were immensely grateful that the plane eventually made its way into the possession of the Society. They were certain it would have become nothing more than a pile of balsa wood if it had been played with!