Way Up John

This month's column is about a cousin who used to fly over Danvers in the early days of aviation. See the online version, Viewpoint: Way Up John.

Cousin Stuart recalls, "Seeing or hearing an airplane was a big deal in those days. Many planes followed above the Newburyport Turnpike since it was a straight line reference point. Everytime a plane would fly over, we would rush out to see it. And sometimes it was "Way Up," who would circle the house a number of times. What a thrill."

John's daughter provided a copy of this photo taken by cousin David Brewster, captioned "John B. Nichols with his Kittyhawk Biplane (Way-up-John) / Portsmouth, NH 1935"