illinoisgeographicalsociety

Joliet's KSKJ Building

A Midair Rescue Attempt Over Route 66

Journalist Maria Traska wrote and voiced this essay about a midair rescue attempt on July 6, 1930.  The incident happened along Route 66 in LaGrange (suburban Chicago), at the former Stinson Airport.  The heroic rescue effort resulted in one death.  The survivor would go on to a life of international adventure and be a forerunner to Elizabeth Taylor in the multiple-marriage department.