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This black and white photograph shows Karl Garver standing next to a Laird Swallow at the Lone Tree Ranch in Attica, Kansas. The Garver Flying Circus, established around 1920 or 1921, by Karl Garver from Attica, Kansas and Cyle Horchem an ex-army flyer from Ransom, Kansas, performed spectacular aerial stunts across the Kansas sky. The group of daredevils successfully entertained the crowds of spectators with death defying acts until tragedy struck in 1924. On March 2, Bertha Horchem fell to her death during a loop stunt in San Antonio, Texas. On October 12, Ruth Garver "Champion Lady Parachute Jumper", fell to her death from one thousand feet in the air with a tangled parachute. Later that same year on November 12, Cyle Horchem slipped and fell to his death as he attempted to climb onto a wing while in flight. Karl Garver continued to perform at air shows but eventually sold his airplanes and died of alcohol poisoning in 1926.
Date: Between 1920 and 1926
Item Number: 216673
Call Number: TL.500 Gar.E *9
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 216673
Business and Industry - Occupations/Professions - Aviators
Collections - Photograph
Community Life - Events and Celebrations - Circuses
Date - 1920s
Objects and Artifacts - Communication Artifacts - Documentary Artifact - Photograph
Places - Cities and towns - Attica
Places - Cities and towns - Ransom
Thematic Time Period - The Twenties, 1920 - 1929
Transportation - Air Travel - Aeroplanes
Type of Material - Photographs
http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/216673