RUSSELL REED

 

Russell Reed, WWI (Source: ancestry.com)

 

Russell Reed landed at least twice at the Grand Central Air Terminal (GCAT). Each time flew the Ford 4-AT-D trimotor NC5578. He co-owned this airplane, S/N 4-AT-24, with fellow Register pilot Eugene Clemm. They purchased the airplane on November 19, 1930. No reason was given for buying their airplane, but see below.

NC5578 was a frequent entry in the GCAT and our other Registers, landing once at Clover Field, Santa Monica, CA, twice at the Davis-Monthan Airfield, Tucson, AZ and seventeen times at GCAT.

Russell Reed was born October 1, 1891 at Ida Grove, IA. The 1910 U.S. Census locates him, at age 18, living in Ida Grove with his parents and two brothers (one older; one younger), and a servant. His father, James William, age 49 was listed as a "Banker." Russell was listed as a "Bookkeeper" at a "Cement Plant."

He was a veteran of WWI. A portrait of him near the time of his service is at left, courtesy of ancestry.com. He served at March Field, Riverside, CA, and would be about 27 years old in this photograph. His (undated!) draft registration card is below.

We learn from this card that he was tall and slender, with brown eyes and black hair. He was not bald and had no physical limitations to defer him from military service. He did, however, on the front side of the registration, claim exemption because of his occupation, which at the time was farming. That claim was not honored by his draft board.

Russell Reed Draft Registration Card, WWI (Source: ancestry.com)

 

As with many things, the details are in the fine print. If you look carefully at the diagonal printing at the lower left of this card, the text says, "If person is of African descent, tear off this corner." Some things change; some things remain the same.

The first time Reed brought NC5578 to GCAT was on January 11, 1931 at 16:40PM, just a couple of months after he and Clemm purchased it. He remained on the ground for 17 minutes before departing to an unknown destination. January 11th fell on a Sunday that year, so Reed might have been "hopping" passengers on scenic flights. The owner of the airplane written in the Register by the tower Operator "Lygum" was "Reed & Clemm."

Reed's second landing was on Monday, April 20, 1931 at 12:38PM. He noted his arrival from Fresno, CA. At both landings the names of the copilot or numbers of passengers were not recorded. Reed and Clemm continued to register NC5578 until 1937.

 

Russell Reed & His First Airplane, Date Unknown (Source: ancestry.com)

 

I don't know when or where Reed learned to fly, but a photograph from ancestry.com, right, shows him with what was identified as his "first airplane." It looks like a model of the Standard line. These airplanes were used as trainers during WWI, and found their way into the surplus market after the conflict. Please let me KNOW if you can identify it more precisely.

The 1920 Census still has him living with his parents and brothers. His father by this time was cited as 68 [sic] years old and not employed. Russell was listed as an "Electrician" and self-employed. Also living in his home was his father's brother- and sister-in-law, and his niece. There was also a servant, but she was different than the one in 1910. A Glendale, CA business directory for 1923 lists him living with his wife Ruby with his work identified as a pilot. So we can closely bracket the date of his marriage, somewhere between 1920 when he was single and living with his parents, and 1923. Likewise, we can identify his three-year transition from electrician to pilot in the same period.

Russell Reed, Draft Registration Card, 1942 (Source: ancestry.com)

 

The 1930 Census places him at age 38 living with his wife Ruby (age 37, 1892-1985) and Son Russell, Jr. (7, 1922-2009; Ph.D. Chemistry, UCLA) at 1021 Willard Avenue, Glendale, CA. Today, on Google Earth, this is a small, tile-roofed home that might be of 1930s construction. His occupation was listed as "Pilot" in the "Aviation" industry. According to one undocumented source at ancestry.com, he was an airline pilot for Maddux Airlines flying between Glendale and San Francisco. Other than that reference I could find no others that document his work or social life during the 1930s onward. If you can help fill in the blanks, please let me KNOW.

The 1940 Census places him at the same address, living with Ruby and Russell, Jr. who is now 16 years old. Reed was identified as an "Engineer" in the "Motion picture" industry. I don't know what motion picture company he worked for, or for how long. Perhaps he brought his skills to bear on training films for the Army or Air Corps during WWII.

In the early years of WWII, Reed was required to register for the draft a second time. His registration card for 1942 is above. He was 50 years old, living in Santa Monica. Curiously, the address doesn't show up today on Google Earth. Note that he had no middle name.

There is no Web presence for our Russell Reed that I could find. Reed passed away March 11, 1983 in Ridgecrest, CA at age 91.

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