The First Aviator To Fly Over Northumberland & Snyder Counties

Nine years before Amelia Earhart  took her first flight, a man from Sunbury Pa was building, and flying, planes over Northumberland and Snyder County Pa.  He was the first pilot to ever do so. Local factories closed down, as people lined the streets to see the "bird man" fly over Selinsgrove.

The Miltonian, July 1911

Today we are accustomed to airplanes flying overhead all throughout the day.  But in 1911,  just 8 years after the Wright Brothers first flight, they were not common at all.   As a matter of fact, before 1911, an airplane had never flown in the skies over Northumberland and Snyder Counties.  So when Emory Conrad Malick flew his biplane over Shamokin, it was the first a plane ever seen in that area. 

1911 Mt Carmel Item

 Two years later, during the summer of 1914, planes were still such a novelty that when Malick flew over the town of Selinsgrove, factories were temporarily shut down to witness the novelty.  

An example of a Curtiss Pusher Plane

 Emory was flying a Curtiss pusher, an engine powered biplane, which he had assembled himself.  On August 31 he flew over Rolling Green Park as well, making him the very first pilot to fly over  Northumberland County, and also the first to fly over  Snyder County.

The Mount Caramel Item

July 25 1911

(Seven Points is an area between Sunbury and Trevorton PA)

Emory Conrad Malick, was born December 29th 1881, in Northumberland County Pa, the son of Darius & Susanna [Conrad] Malick. The family moved to Sunbury in 1887 - the family home, built by Darius, still stands at 601 Catawissa Avenue.  

 Emory worked with his father, a carpenter, installing mahogany veneer in the dining and sleeping cars for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Harrisburg , and in his spare time, he built airplanes.  He first  built his own gliders, which he flew across the Susquehanna River to his job on Cattie Weiser’s farm. 

In 1910, Malick  moved to Philadelphia where he transported passengers for his Flying Dutchman Air Service.  He was also an airplane mechanic, as well as a carpenter and master tile-layer, and he worked in aerial photography with the Aero Service Corporation and Dallin Aerial Surveys.

Although residing in Philadelphia, Malick flew home to Sunbury frequently over the years.

 On July 24, 1911, Malick made his first recorded flight over  Northumberland County in an engine-powered “aeroplane,”  in Seven Points.  Later that year he flew his biplane over Shamokin for a labor day celebration.  

 Emory earned his international pilots license on March 20 1912, while attending the Curtiss School Of Aviation in San Diego.  

An article in the Chambersburg Newspaper noted, in August of 1912, that Malick had not flown for 6 months, "having been  engaged in experimental work, some along the pacific coast.  

He has had much more experience than the first flyer of this meet and had a style, a sang froid, as we French say, that made his feats. look easy. He made a very pretty start at 6:272 and soared over the northwestern and northeastern pats of town, far out into Hamilton township and away east beyond Stoufferstown. He volplaned, dipped, curved and made the other stunts and came back with a whirr and a rush fairly startling, landing at 6:41 p. m. amid cheers and applause from a fairly good crowd of people at Wolf Park. The big Curtiss machine was then quickly taken apart and boxed and next day was shipped to Harrisburg.   The next flights will be at Stewartstown, at Allentown Fair and elsewhere....  A Curtiss biplane like the one used here costs $5,000. They break easily and the extra parts run into much money also."

From Aero & Hydro Magazine, September 1912

In 1912, there were regular advertisements in the Lancaster New Era, for aeroplane flights with Avators McCalley and Malick at Rocky Springs Park

Two years later, in 1914,  he flew his Curtiss Pusher biplane over Rolling Green Park and downtown Selinsgrove.  The entire town turned out to witness this amazing spectacle.   Malick was the first pilot to ever fly over  Northumberland and Snyder Counties.

  

In September of 1914, Malick flew a bit too low, got tangled in electrical wires, his propeller hitting one of the wires and "giving him a severe shock".  His plane landed on top of him.  He was taken to the dr, where after a short time, he was sent home, and went to work that same day repairing his plane.

The chronology of Selinsgrove by William Schnure mentions the wreck  on page 126,  "Local aviator wrecks biplane in the high tension line north of town, escapes injury, but wrecks machine completely and paralyzes trolley and local factories for almost an hour."

A story by Mary Groce, a relative who is writing a book about Malick, adds this amusing anecdote: "Before passing out and being rushed to Dr. Decker’s office, he glanced up and saw a wide-eyed first-grader gaping in awe at the vision: Emory lying crumpled on the dirt road, caught in a tangle of wood, metal, wheels, wires, twisted, torn fabric, and billows of black smoke.

“Little boy, what’s your name?” croaked Emory. “You look like you could be my nephew Wilfred!

Little Will was already gone. He didn’t stop running until he was safe inside his own kitchen.

“Mama! Mama!” he panted. “There was a man…on the ground…I think he fell out of the sky…and he knew my name!”
“Well, Will,” his mother replied slowly, measuring each word. “That would have been my brother Emory. He’s your uncle. Now wash up for lunch.” http://www.emoryconradmalick.com/mary.html

The Philadelphia Inquirer

September 12 1914

William M. Schnure’s “Chronology of Selinsgrove” mentions that Malick

made several flights over Penns Creek.  On the 31st the entry reads: "A new epoch in local history.  Bi-plane completely circles Selinsgrove and outskirts to the wonderment of all.  Factories temporarily shut down to witness the novelty.  Flyer returns to camp site successfully."

In 1926, Malic was navigated through heavy fog, with a compass, while attempting to view the Philadelphia Sesquicentennial celebration from the air.    Newspapers all along the east coast reported that he was feared lost, but he landed safely in New Jersey.

PILOT LOST IN A FOG WAS GUIDED ONLY BY COMPASS

 E. C. Malick, Formerly OF This City, 

Had Exciting Experience Enroute From Cleveland to Jersey

 Becoming lost in the fog while enroute by air from Cleveland, Ohio, to his landing field in New Jersey, Emory V. Malick, formerly of Shamokin, who is now conducting a hangar near Philadelphia, promoting the idea of viewing the sesqui from the air, soared over Central Pennsylvania for several hours guided solely by compass Saturday. Mr. Malick, who is an accomplished pilot, landed at the Pine Valley aviation field in New Jersey at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, none the worse as a result of the experience. A report became widespread that the aviator had become lost and this information spread to Shamokin. Inquiry, however, revealed his safe arrival. Mr. Malick left Cleveland at an carly hour Saturday tween Uniontown and Chambersburg he encountered a dense fog and lost his bearings.

Relying upon his compass he flew back to Harrisburg and then worked his way to Philadelphia following the railroad tracks. Pilot Malick is the son of D. Malick of 603 Catawissa avenue, Sunbury, and is well known in Shamokin. He has been engaged in flying for many years and had many thrilling escapes near Augustaville during flights with his improvised glider a number of years ago.

Shamokin News Dispatch, August 1926

In 1928, Malik crashed twice.  The first time, at a Camden NJ Air show, Malick had two passengers aboard his Waco three seater, when the engine died. 

 Malick banked left to avoid spectators, the wind caught the aircraft, and the Waco crashed.  “The entire plane seemed to crumple as if it had been smitten by the fist of a giant,” reported a Sunbury newspaper. The two passengers were injured, but survived.

Later that year Malik crashed again, but this time his passenger died.  (The cause of that crash is unknown.)

Shamokin News Dispatch 1928

 At a flying club banquet in 1928, Malick displayed the 60 horsepower engine that powered his 1914 flight over Selinsgrove.  He had stored it in his fathers basement. 

 The Sunbury Daily Item reported on the event, saying, "Mr Malick, the son of C. Darius Malick, of Catawissa avenue, came to Sunbury by train to attend the dedication of the local airport, but was not called up last night, although he was probably the one deserving the highest honor.....The Sunbury native is one of the real pioneers of aviation and boasts of 3,000 flying hours, ranking him among the foremost of the country." 

Olley L. Davisl and Emory C. Malic land at Selinsgrove

October 1930

" MALICK FLIES BY AIRPLANE TO VISIT PARENTS 

Northumberland County's Pioneer Pilot Lands at Selinsgrove and Then Proceeds to Sunbury

 - Has Good Record as Flier 

Emory Malick, Northumberland county's pioneer air pilot, at present located at Camden and Philadelphia : where service, he is landed in the yesterday commercial at the flying Selinsgrove airport on the Isle of Que, proceeding later to Sunbury to visit his parents. Malick, it will be remembered, started to fly about 1914 and one of his earliest flights was from Harrisburg to the old driving park at Weigh Scales. A commercialized enterprise was staged at that place with Malick scheduled to take to the air to give a vast audience of local residents their first view of a pilot taking off.

Starting from in front of where the old grandstand formerly stood, Malick went into the air gracefully, but failed to observe a wire stretched across the driving park, with result that his plane struck the wire, causing the machine to crash. The youthful pilot was seemingly badly injured and was rushed to the Shamokin State Hospital, where he rallied a short time later and disappeared from the institution. 

In more recent years Malick has become one the most capable and best known commercial and stunt fliers in eastern flying circles and is a familiar figure about the Camden and Philadelphia airports."  - Shamokin News Dispatch, 1930

Emory Malick died January 23 1959 in Philadelphia, at age 77.  He resided at 1928 Mt Vernon St, Philadelphia Pa, at the time of his death.  Malick is buried at Wolfe's Crossroads Cemetery, Seven Points, Northumberland county, Pa - where his mother is also interred.

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The Controversy Over Race

Was Malick The First Black Man To Receive A Pilots License?

Descendant Mary Grose discovered a box of photos from her Aunts attic, with photos and clippings about her brother Emory Malick.  Mary believed the photos showed Emory to be a black man.  An article in the 2013 Daily Item states that he came from a "mixed race ancestry".  As his mother had died when he was young, and several of the children were adopted out, Mary believed this was the family secret her father wanted left hidden.  She began a campaign to have Malick recognized as the first black man to receive a pilots license.  Read more here - http://www.emoryconradmalick.com/hero.html

On February 5th 2011, The Smithsonian Air Space Magazine Published an article titles "The Unrecognized First", about Malick. This prompted Guy E Franklin to do some research, and he wrote a book entitled Emory Conrad Malick: A Closer Look. In this book Guy methodically outlines the case that Emory was actually white. He even included research on Emory's membership in the Odd Fellow's (an organization limited to white members at this time).   In a review of the book on Amazon, one commentor writes:

"Emory Conrad Malick is my 3rd cousin 5x removed. I am thrilled you have written this book because it verifies all my research on Malick. I have found NO conclusive evidence that Malick was anything but Caucasian. I have verified this thru extensive genealogical research thru all branches of the family tree. All census records, marriage, death and draft information lists him as white. I do have clippings of him that verifies his identity and race...."

WWI Draft card description - Brown hair, blue eyes, white.

Family members who have done DNA tests say they show no African American ancestry.

Grose continues to believe he was the first black aviator to receive a pilots license.  You can read her rebuttal in the comments section of this post.  

I have no idea which researcher is correct, but the evidence strongly points to Malick being Caucasian.

 Lebanon Courier and Semi-Weekly Report, 02 Aug 1912

 The first Pennsylvania man licensed as an aviator appears to have been James B. McCalley, listed in the above article, 

In 1911, the Alabama Sumter Enterprise Identified Wesley Peters as the first negro aviator in the world.

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READ MORE

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The Malick Family

The 1910 census shows Emory as living in Lancaster as a farm laborer.  The 1920 census has him in Northumberland County, again as a farm laborer.

Death certificate 

One researcher noted: Emory Conrad Malick was the first AA to get a Private Pilot License trough the then CAA now FAA. 

1928 Letter to sister Anna

The Selinsgrove Times Tribune

September 17th 1914

1928 Crash

WWII Draft card

Brown Hair, Blue Eyes, White.