“Crazy Thompson” is County’s First Pilot

Step outside and look up.  Today we see plane after plane soaring above us but one hundred years ago, the sight of planes sailing in the sky was very rare.  The first recorded plane came through our area exactly a century ago, flown by Beckwith Havens, as a series of flight exhibitions in cities across the United States. Havens was one of the original aviators hired by the Glenn Curtiss Exhibiton Company to demonstrate airplanes in cities across the United States and why he chose Manitowoc to land his plane isn’t known but for the hundreds, maybe even thousands who came to town to see the ship, it was certainly a sight they never would have forgotten.

Fast forward to the year 1924.  A poster reads ““Aeroplane Picnic – Quarry, Wis. July 29, 1924. … Aerial stunts and airplane rides at $2.50 a person.”  The pilot behind the daredevil stunts and flying show was Melvin Thompson, often referred to as “Crazy Thompson”, using a pasture on the outskirts of Quarry for his landings and take-offs.

Born in Quarry, near Valders, in 1897, Melvin’s grandfather, Thompson Olson Helle, a Norwegian immigrant, built the Thompson Cabin that is located at our museum’s historical village.  With not much more than an eighth grade education Thompson would become one of Manitowoc County’s first airplane pilots and a true “daredevil genius.”

It all began about 1914, when Thompson traveled to Chicago to work in his brother’s garage.  It was at that garage where Thompson learned about engines and caught the bug to learn to fly.  He also took a course at the Thomas Edison Electrical School to learn the basics of electricity.

Soon Thompson got a hold of a catalogue that sold airplane kits and bought his first kit.  When the kit arrived and the plane was almost finished, he was not satisfied with the construction and decided to make some changes to the creation – a longer wing spread and a larger motor.  After two years of fiddling and retooling, Thompson was able to fly the plane over the fences in the field. 

Thompson’s first flight was from his home to the Manitowoc County fairgrounds in 1918 but eventually he was taking longer flights to Green Bay and Sheboygan and states across the country.

In addition to being considered the first pilot in Manitowoc County Melvin is also known for being the personal pilot for Walter J. Kohler Sr., the governor of Wisconsin from 1929 to 1931.  During Kohler’s campaign, Thompson and Kohler would travel around the state and land at sites where Kohler was expected to speak.  When Kohler’s term as governor ended, he gave Thompson a wonderful bonus – the plane that originally cost $12,200 for a cost of $500.

Thompson went on to manage the Kohler airport until 1960 and then moved to New Holstein and built a hanger there, managing the field until his retirement in 1968.  He died in 1986.