Pat Thaden Webb, the daughter of Louise Thaden (the aviatrix who won the 1929 Powder Puff Derby) recently wrote to me about her mother's friendship with Pancho. It's quite poignant so I thought it best to share... Here's what she wrote: "Yes, Mom and Pancho were friends, and Mom thought the world of her. I remember one time when Mom and I were driving somewhere and the conversation came up about some of Mom's early flying friends that had met such tragic deaths, which made a lasting impact on my mother that she maybe could have done more than she had to change things. I asked her how in the world she could have been friends with Pancho when Pancho was so wild and Mom was just the opposite. Mom replied with great feeling that the crazy things Pancho did was just for effect, and that she was one of the most good hearted persons she had ever known, and had done more to help people all during her life than most people knew...and for me not to forget that. Pancho was at the top of the list of the people Mom admired, respected and loved."

On Sunday, I attended a special screening of 'One Six Right', a wonderful film made by Brian J. Terwilliger. (See: www.onesixright.com) Brian's film is obstensibly about the history of the Van Nuys Airport, but it actually reaches far beyond that and into a somewhat ethereal area, celebrating the mystery, joy and wonderment of flight. Beyond that, it has an important political message, that local and municipal airports contribute to our nation's economy and welfare.

Brian's film is obstensibly about the history of the Van Nuys Airport, but it actually reaches far beyond that and into a somewhat ethereal area, celebrating the mystery, joy and wonderment of flight. Beyond that, it has an important political message, that local and municipal airports contribute to our nation's economy and welfare.

The special screening represented the end of a bit of a barnstorming trip for Brian, who showed the film all across the country after premiering it at the Osh Kosh air show. In attendance at the screening were many notables from the aviation world.

On display were some amazing aircraft including an A-26 Invader, Clay Lacy's DC-3 in United colors, and some of the stunt aircraft from the film. 'One Six Right' sets a standard that we can only hope to follow with "Pancho".

Once a year a group of volunteers from the Scenic Mount Lowe Railway Historical Committee, www.MTLOWE.net, invite a group of 75 people to accompany them to the site of the Alpine Lodge. The Historical Committee, led by Brian Marcroft, is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Mt. Lowe railway and the integrity of what remains. Today, I had the opportunity to visit Mt. Lowe with them. It was a wonderful experience, a journey in many respects back in time. The journey from Pasadena up to the site of the Alpine Lodge takes about 20 minutes by car, although normally the public isn't allowed to traverse the fire road, so you either have to walk or ride a bike up the steep grade. Once at the Lodge site, I found a group of extremely enthusiastic people, all of them volunteers, and all of them interested in the history of the Mountain Railway. The Historical Committee had set up a camp in what used to be the lobby of the Alpine Lodge — now a tiny meadow — and set up a series of interpretive displays and photos. Eating a hotdog cooked on a grill salvaged from the remnants of the Lodge kitchen, and admiring the scenery, it wasn't hard to see why Lowe felt this place was special. Although just a short ways from Pasadena, it is quiet, cool, and shaded by trees.

The trip to the Alpine Lodge also included a brief excursion to Inspiration Point, a short walk from the lodge site. The ramada was rebuilt by volunteers several years ago, and wow was it worth it! From here you get a panoramic view of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, including the Rose Bowl and Catalina Island. It is tremenous! Accompanying me on this jaunt was Lance Ferm, a direct blood descendent of Professor Lowe who mantains a neat website about the railway and the Lowe family, which you can see at: www.thaddeuslowe.name From our perch above the city of Pasadena the Rose Bowl was clearly visible; unfortunately for Lance and I the USC Trojans were upset by the UCLA Bruins that afternoon, spoiling what otherwise was obviously a perfect day!

Visible here are a few remnants of the mountain railway which have survived, including a snowplow front intended to be fitted on a trolley car, a metal frame suspected to be from the kitchen of the lodge, and one of two safe doors recently retrieved by the volunteer group. Although most of the railway and the building complex were destroyed, dynamited, or scrapped prior to 1960, a few concrete abutments, railroad ties and electrical harnesses still dot the landscape of Mt. Lowe.

Florence "Pancho" Barnes' grandfather was one of Pasadena's most prominent and interesting citizens. Professor Thaddeus S.C. Lowe was a self-made man who made and lost several fortunes during his lifetime. He is remembered famously as a pioneer American balloonist, but he also invented an early ice machine, and improved upon various technologies associated with the use of natural gas. During the Civil War Lowe persuaded President Abraham Lincoln that balloons could be important reconnaisance platforms, and thus for two years he and his Balloon Corps made observations above battlefields from Chancellorsville to Chickahominy. In the process Lowe became known as the "Most Shot At Man" in the war. In the late 1880s Lowe moved his family to Pasadena and began one of his most ambitious projects: building a railway up the side of the San Gabriel Mountains. The railway actually consisted of two stages. The first was a large funicular which ran a steep grade up to Echo Mountain. The second was a trolley car line that ran from the funicular to Mount Lowe's Alpine Tavern hotel. When it opened in 1893, the mountain railway was hailed as a singular engineering achievement, and a spectacularly beautiful addition to Pasadena. Unfortunately, just six years after the railway opened, Lowe was forced into bankruptcy. He would never recover from the loss. The railway itself was eventually acquired by the Pacific Electric, which operated it until the late 1930s when several disasters, including a fire at the Tavern and a torrential flood, forced its abandonment. It's safe to assume Pancho rode on her grandfather's railway sometime during her childhood. More significantly, in 1910 Professor Lowe took her with him to see the Air Meet at Dominguez Hills. This air show, the first in the history of the United States, must have put the balloonist Lowe in his element. According to Pancho's memoirs, her grandfather pointed at the aircraft zipping by, and told young Florence that one day, she too would learn to fly. She certainly did.