Lindbergh and "the Spirit of St. Louis" fly over Mt. Pleasant

Charles A. Lindbergh courtesy of National Geographic

On May 20, 1927 at 7:52 a.m., Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island for Paris, carrying five sandwiches, water, maps and charts, and a limited number of other items he deemed absolutely necessary. He decided against carrying a parachute and radio in favor of more gasoline. In his single-engine monoplane, he was an unlikely candidate to succeed in the transatlantic flight as other contenders opted for multi-engine planes and at least one other crew member aboard. He fought fog, icing and drowsiness (he hadn't been able to sleep the night before taking off) during the historic trip.

On May 21, 33 1/2 hours later, (10:22 p.m. French time) Lindbergh set the Spirit of St. Louis down at Le Bourget Field near Paris. He had flown over 3,600 miles and became the first to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic.

Overnight, Lindbergh became an international hero. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and the first-ever Distinguished Flying Cross by the U.S. government, and received high honors from many other countries. 

A few months later he made  the 1927 "Lindbergh Tour" culminating with visits to 48 states and 92 cities, where he delivered 147 speeches, and rode 1,290 miles (2,080 km) in parades.^[26] At the conclusion of the tour, Lindbergh spent a month at Falaise, Guggenheim's Sands Point mansion, where he wrote the acclaimed "We", a book about his transatlantic flight published by George P. Putnam. (Wikipedia)

Add found in newspapers 1927.

Some who remember the flight over Mt. Pleasant say that he chose our city because he had relatives here.  However we have not been able to confirm this as fact.  We do know that he dropped a scroll which said: "Greetings to the People of Mt. Pleasant".  So where is that scroll today?  It was supposedly housed at the Carnegie Library, but no one in recent years seems to know anything about it or what has happened to it.

Charles A. Lindbergh and "Spirit of St. Louis" flying over Wasatch Academy.

(from Wasatch Academy Archives)

Hilda writes of Lindbergh's visit:

September 3, 1927, Colonel Charles A. Lindberg, aboard his famous Spirit of St. Louis, flying from Cheyenne, Wyoming, en­route to Salt Lake City, paused to greet the citizens of Mt. Pleasant. He arrived over the mountains east of the city.

Mayor Joseph Seely having received a telegram announcing his intentions, Mt. Pleasant had been gaily decorated for the oc­casion and all was in readiness to receive him. The massive plane from which a message of greeting was dropped, circled low sev­eral times over the city. After a stay of about fifteen minutes, he left by way of Fairview for Salt Lake City.

p. 203 History of Mt. Pleasant by Hilda Madsen Longsdorf

Courtesy of Utah Digital Newspapers


Researched  and compiled by Kathy Hafen