On Friday, September 13, 1918, a large “patriotic celebration” took place in Strain’s Grove near Cemetery Road in Fort Branch, Indiana. According to the flyer, Lieutenant Graydon Taylor treated the crowd to “thrilling exhibition flights in a big war plane” during his cross-country flight from Louisville, Kentucky. This free celebration also included a big parade, patriotic speeches, and exhibition drills by Princeton militia, liberty guards, and registered men of the county.
Toward the bottom of the flyer, locals are asked to “Call up your neighbors, have your friends visit you, and get in the parade! It’s an all day celebration, it’s a local holiday, and it’s your day.”
In the photographs, two Fort Branch locals pose next to the nose of the plane, Gertrude Murdock and her son. You can see the large crowd gathered in the background.
Photos and flyer from the Fort Branch-Johnson Township Public Library’s local history collection.
