First Collegiate Nationals

[howardwhite 6]

This is from The Harvard Crimson.
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Med School Ex-Paratrooper Wins First American Collegiate Meet
Published On 5/6/1957 12:00:00 AM
By ALAN H. GROSSMAN
WOODBURY, Conn., May 4--The country's first intercollegiate parachute jumping competition, held today atop the windswept crest of The Good Hill Farm, was won by Harvard's British-born R.C.A. Weatherly-White.
Flying 2,200 feet above the 50-yard target area, at a clip of 80 m.p.h., Weatherly-White dropped to the ground a mere 9 ft., 3 1/2 in. from the target center, amid the cheers of almost 1,000 spectators, who were held back by U.S. Marine Corps guards, in dress uniform, and officers of the Connecticut State Police.
Competitors and members of the press attended an eleventh hour briefing session in a small farmhouse, a quarter of a mile from the hill farm's landing field. The briefing, and the entire afternoon was dominated by Marine Captain Jacques Andre Istel, iron-willed director of the meet, and captain of the United States parachuting team which competed at the World Championship held in Moscow last year.
The first thrill of the afternoon came when Dartmouth freshman Charlie Hotchkiss, who was making only the ninth jump of his career, landed 39 ft., 9 in. from the target center. Hotchkiss used a Derry Steerable chute, which allows more control over horizontal movement than the chute used by Weatherly-White.
Weatherly-White, who showed up at the meet wearing a black derby, checkered suit, and crimson vest, and changed into a white siren suit for the jump, received his training as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division. He is a third-year Medical School student and, with David B. Burnham '57, is co-captain of the Cambridge Parachuting Club.
Burnham and White began the club several months ago, as the first fully organized college-membered parachuting organization in the country. There are indications that similar clubs are being formed at Princeton and Williams.
All the jumpers at the meet have practiced only on an informal basis this spring, except for the Cambridge Parachuting Club representatives.

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David Burnham went on to become a reporter for The New York Times. His reporting on organized crime formed much of the background for the movie Serpico. Karen Silkwood, of the movie Silkwood, was on her way to provide information to Burnham when she died in an auto accident
Weatherly-White went on to become a successful plastic surgeon in Denver, well-known for his charity surgical trips to third-world countries.
Good Hill Farm (see attached) is still in the Pond family and the airport is still in use. There's an annual party there where you can jump in; it's a treat.

(Where else can you find high-quality trivia like this?)

HW

[Zing 2]

It's darned hard to find this stuff anywhere else, Howard. Keep it coming, please.

Zing Lurks

[DougH 270]

Howard, thank you for posting this, and pointing me to the thread when I was at the DZ this weekend.

Getting to read stories from the early days of jumping is a real pleasure.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[howardwhite 6]

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Howard, thank you for...pointing me to the thread when I was at the DZ this weekend.

Least I could do for the proud new owner of a Hornet.

Oh, wait, that doesn't look like your Hornet.

HW

[kimemerson 7]

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There's an annual party there where you can jump in; it's a treat.

Can someone who's only been jumping a mere twenty years go, or is it an invitation only?

[howardwhite 6]

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Can someone who's only been jumping a mere twenty years go, or is it an invitation only?

Well, it helps if you know someone. It especially helps if their last name is Pond (as in D-69 or D-6969).

(pm me if you're more than idly interested.)

HW

[DougH 270]

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[
Oh, wait, that doesn't look like your Hornet.

HW

No it doesn't... mine is in color.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P