Caryn’s Thoughts
Typhoon Vera, also known as the Isewan Typhoon, was an extraordinarily powerful tropical cyclone that hit Japan in September 1959. It became the most intense and deadliest typhoon to ever make landfall in the country, and it remains the only one to have done so as a Category 5 equivalent storm. The typhoon caused unprecedented catastrophic damage, severely impacting the Japanese economy, which was in the midst of post-World War II recovery. Following Vera, Japan underwent significant reforms in disaster management and relief operations, establishing a new standard for handling future storms. The country is still well known for its disaster preparedness.
Typhoon Vera formed on September 20 between Guam and Chuuk State, initially moving westward before shifting to a northerly path and reaching tropical storm status the next day. The storm then took a turned westward, rapidly intensifying to peak intensity on September 23 with maximum sustained winds that made it Category 5 hurricane. Maintaining its strength, Vera veered northward and made landfall near Shionomisaki on Honshu on September 26. Influenced by atmospheric winds, the typhoon briefly entered the Sea of Japan, then recurved eastward, making a second landfall on Honshu. Crossing over land significantly weakened Vera, and 
upon reentering the North Pacific Ocean that same day, it became an extratropical cyclone on September 27, with its remnants lasting two more days.
Although Vera’s path into Japan was accurately predicted, the limited telecommunications coverage, combined with the Japanese media’s lack of urgency and the storm’s severity, significantly hindered evacuation and disaster prevention efforts. The flooding from the storm’s peripheral rainbands started affecting river basins before the typhoon made landfall. As it hit Honshu, Vera unleashed a powerful storm surge, destroying many flood defenses, flooding coastal areas, and causing ships to sink. Vera resulted in damages totaling $600 million US dollars, which was equivalent to $6.27 billion US dollars in 2023. The death toll from Vera is uncertain, but current figures suggest the typhoon caused over 5,000 deaths, ranking it among the most lethal typhoons in Japan’s history. Additionally, it injured nearly 39,000 individuals and also displaced around 1.6 million people.
Immediately after Typhoon Vera, the Japanese and American governments launched relief operations. The typhoon’s flooding led to localized outbreaks of diseases such as dysentery and tetanus. These epidemics, along 
with obstructive debris, hindered the relief process. In response to the extensive damage and casualties caused by Vera, the National Diet, which is the national legislature of Japan, enacted laws to better support the impacted areas and reduce the impact of future disasters. This led to the creation of the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Act in 1961, which laid down guidelines for disaster response in Japan, including forming the Central Disaster Prevention Council.
My grandniece, Jolene Thompson has long been a Daddy’s Girl, and as such, she liked to do all the things her daddy, Tim Thompson was doing. They would go hunting, fishing, camping, and in general, all the “guy things” Tim was doing. Being a tomboy was great while Jolene was a little girl, but these days, Jolene is growing up, and whether her daddy likes it or not, she is quickly becoming a “girly girl” too. I’m sure she will still love doing those things with her daddy, because…well, he’s her daddy, but right before his eyes, Tim’s little tomboy is becoming a complicated mix of tomboy and girly girl…but then, isn’t that what all girls do at a certain age. These days, her favorite color is…you guessed it, pink, and she loves wearing dresses. Her bonus mom, Kellie Hadlock is very much a “girly girl” too, and Jolene wants to emulate Kellie in most of the things she does. She and Kellie have so much fun together.
This past summer, Jolene spent a good bit of the summer with Kellie. They had a blast. They attended family 
parties and church, where Kellie is one of the lead singers. They shopped together, and really that is where Jolene expressed her girly interest to Kellie. Jolene has become such a big part of the Hadlock family. She loves having girl cousins to play with, and Kellie’s nieces, Aurora, Adelaide, and Mackenzie all truly love hanging out with Jolene whenever they can. Jolene and Kellie made several trips to Laramie and the three youngest girls even got matching t-shirts. Jolene is a sweet little girl, who loves other kids. She may be quiet around adults she doesn’t know well, but around kids, she is in her element, and she makes them feel special and happy. She has an 
infectious smile that makes everyone around her smile too.
While Jolene is quickly growing into a young lady, she has still kept parts of her daddy’s tomboy. She loves riding on the big equipment that her daddy knows how to run….and seriously, who wouldn’t. Jolene has also started wrestling, and she has a great talent for it. So much so, in fact, that she won first place in a competition. Jolene is a strong little girl, and she doesn’t let much get in her way. If she sets her mind to something, she does it. That is an amazing character trait, and one many people would be blessed to possess. Today is Jolene’s 9th birthday. Happy birthday Jolene!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
During the summer and early fall of 1950, a series of fires in northern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia consumed around 4 million acres, making it the largest recorded fire in North American history. This event was known as the Chinchaga fire, and it generated smoke that ascended into Earth’s upper atmosphere and covered parts of Canada and the United States by late September, leading to the phenomenon known as the Great Smoke Pall. The dense, black smoke caused midday skies to darken, prompting some to speculate about a nuclear attack. Phone calls started coming in as the people panicked. The impact of the Great Smoke Pall extended as far as Europe.
The Chinchaga fire, also referred to as “Fire 19” or the Wisp fire, it is believed to have been started by humans near Fort Saint John in Alberta, Canada. During an unusually hot and dry spring, the fire ignited on June 1, 1950, but received little attention from the media. A policy had been put in place to ignore fires in remote areas, much like the “Let it Burn” policy of the 1970s, so authorities allowed it to burn freely. The fire grew into a massive inferno, raging all summer and spreading further with the changing winds and weather fronts.
In September 1950, winds intensified the flames, leading to a significant expansion of the fire. Thick smoke ascended into the atmosphere, encountered an atmospheric trough, and shrouded Ontario before moving towards Ohio and the eastern coast of the United States. On September 24th, the residents of Ontario observed strange hues in the sky. By midday, the smoke had obscured the sunlight, necessitating the activation of streetlights. The whole area took on an eerie tone.
That afternoon, smoke spread along the eastern seaboard. Pilots landing at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport faced zero visibility, necessitating instrument landings. By 4:00 pm, Pennsylvania residents observed unusual colors in the sky, which darkened completely within half an hour. The smoke was so elevated in the atmosphere 
that it was odorless, and it sparked fears of a nuclear attack among some. Others speculated that an anticipated total lunar eclipse had prematurely begun. Reports of a purple moon abounded, and panic ensued as numerous people feared an apocalyptic event.
The smoke spread to Western Europe, where high-altitude smoke particles caused the sun to appear blue, intensifying fears of a nuclear attack. By late October 1950, rains and cooler temperatures ultimately put out the fire. The widespread panic induced by the Chinchaga fire prompted the Canadian Forest Service to implement new fire suppression techniques to avert a recurrence. All thoughts of a “Let it Burn” type policy were abandoned…for the time being anyway.
Jack Henry Abbott spent nearly his entire life behind bars. Sent to a Utah reform school at nine, he was later arrested and convicted of forgery shortly after his release. During his sentence at the Utah state penitentiary, he killed an inmate in 1966, claiming self-defense, which nevertheless resulted in an additional 14-year sentence. In 1971, Abbott fled from incarceration and committed a bank robbery in Denver, only to be apprehended later.
While incarcerated again, Abbott learned of Norman Mailer’s project on Gary Gilmore, who was awaiting execution in Utah, and started sending Mailer detailed letters about his alleged mistreatment behind bars. Mailer, who strangely thought that Abbott had talent as a writer, persuaded the New York Review of Books to publish some of his letters. Subsequently, Random House published Abbott’s book, “In the Belly of the Beast.” Pointing out Abbott’s potential in writing, Mailer proposed to hire him as a researcher, and with his backing, on June 5, 1981, Abbott was released to a halfway house in New York City.
Now released, and finding himself embraced by the New York literary scene, Abbott nevertheless felt more at ease among the petty criminals of the city’s Lower East Side. A mere six weeks post-parole, Abbott instigated a confrontation with waiter Richard Adan at the Bonibon restaurant, fatally stabbing him in the chest. Fleeing to a small village in Mexico, but his inability to communicate in Spanish hindered him there, so he was forced to return to the United States.
Deciding to return in a different area, he thought that perhaps he could escape detection. Nevertheless, an extensive search ensued, and Abbott was ultimately captured in the Louisiana oil fields after a two-month chase. The manhunt started when he killed Richard Adan at the Binibon restaurant in New York City on July 18 was finally over. At that time of the murder, Abbott was on parole, a privilege granted in part because of author 
Norman Mailer’s support of his considerable writing talent, which convinced the authorities. Unfortunately for Adan, the writing skills Abbott had, didn’t do anything to curb his anger.
Incredibly, back in New York, Abbott received the minimum sentence for the murder of Adan. He was sentenced to a mere 15 years to life…partly due to Mailer’s plea for leniency to the court. Mailer believed that “culture is worth a little risk.” I seriously doubt that Adan or his family would agree. As a result of his ability to get off easy, Abbott gained further notoriety, and his book achieved bestseller status. In the end, I suppose one could say that justice was finally served when Abbott took his own life in prison on February 10, 2002.
My nephew, Jason Sawdon is a great guy…just ask anyone who knows him. His sister-in-law, Chelsea Hadlock tells me that Jason is kind, helpful, and sister-in-law, Lindsay Moore says that he has a generous heart, which she believes to be straight from the Lord. Jason is always willing to help others with a variety of things. He helps out his church in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with their computer things, like streaming their services online, which is such an important part of church services these days. If people are sick, or just can’t get out of their home easily, they don’t have to miss out on the church service. Jason serves others gladly and with compassion. He is so handy and can truly figure anything out!!
Jason is dependable. If Jason says he will be there to help…he will. This past week, he helped his father-in-law, Chris Hadlock with the electrical work in Chris’ new garage. Jason did a great job on the wiring for the garage. It will be inspected next week, and they are confident it will get the green light. He has a lot of talent when it comes to electricity and engineering…a great plus, in the “saving money” arena. If you can save money, it’s a good thing. Having that help within the family is awesome.
Everyone tells me that Jason is also funny, but not in an obvious way!! You really can’t tell he’s joking unless you know him well!! Those are the best tricksters, because they will get you every time. Not everyone can tell a good joke or pull a really great prank with a straight face, and if you can’t, the prank with never go over. You have to have a “poker face” so to speak. Jason is quite a character, he and brings lots of fun and adventure to their lives!! Everyone feels blessed to have him as a brother-in-law, they love him very much. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t agree with them on that.
In a “Wild Hogs” kind of time, Jason went on a motorcycle trip with his friends this summer. They went on some backroads trails across the state of Wyoming. They had a great time. Now, I don’t know if they got into as much mischief as the original “Wild Hogs,” but I’d say probably not. Jason, being a Wyoming 
Highway Patrol Lieutenant, would be very unlikely to get into any trouble, and my guess is that at least some of his friends are also law enforcement, so…getting in trouble is not an option, Haha!!
My sister, Allyn Hadlock, Jason’s mother-in-law, like every mom, takes a different view about what traits are most important in her son-in-law, and Jason has gained her approval in every area. He is a great dad and husband. He is always happy to indulge, his wife, Jessi’s whims!! He’s a great guide to their daughter, Adelaide and loves her so much!! They have a lot of fun as a family, camping, traveling, or just time at home hanging out together. Allyn says, “We are very blessed to have Jason in our family!!” Today is Jason’s birthday!! Happy birthday Jason!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
My dad, Al Spencer, and my niece, Liz Masterson, as well as other of my family members New York Yankees baseball team. Of course, lots of us know about the famous, Babe Ruth and his historic baseball abilities…specifically his famous records, such as an astonishing 56 major league records at the time of his retirement in 1935, including the most revered record in baseball…714 homeruns. Ruth was the first player in baseball history to hit 700 home runs, and he won seven World Series titles, including four with the New York Yankees. His record was the reason that Yankee Stadium was called “the house that Babe Ruth built.”
Of course, as we all know, all good things must come to an end, and the old Yankee Stadium was no exception. The Stadium with its unique design, such as a short porch in right field and covered seats in deep center opened in 1923. The beloved stadium was the scene of scores of Major League Baseball’s most famous moments, including Ruth’s first home run in the stadium on April 18, 1923, Reggie Jackson’s three home-run game to close out the 1977 World Series, and Aaron Boone’s Game 7 walk-off home run in the 2003 American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox.
Now, the stadium was getting old, and finally, on September 21, 2008, the stadium witnessed its final game being played. I’m sure it was a sad moment for many Yankees fans. To think that the iconic stadium would cease to exist most likely brought tears to the eyes of many loyal fans. Thankfully, the stadium went down with a win against the Baltimore Orioles, 7-3. Future Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera closed the game with a perfect ninth inning. Who could have asked for anything more…other than maybe not closing down the stadium. Yankees pitcher, Andy Pettitte said, “The way I feel emotionally right now and just physically so drained, it feels like a huge postseason win for us.”
The stadium would go out in typical reverence. The Yankees hosted a pre-game ceremony, allowing fans and former Yankee legends to walk the hallowed grounds a final time. Julia Ruth Stevens, Ruth’s daughter, threw out the ceremonial first pitch as the scoreboard flashed “To Be Continued…” and a photo of “The Bambino” winking. While the iconic final game meant a lot to many people, it was ultimately meaningless in the standings for the 2008 Yankees, who in an ultimately underwhelming season, would miss the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade. But veteran Yankees noted a playoff-like atmosphere. Even some of the retired Yankees, such as Bernie Williams, described pre-game jitters, saying, “I feel as nervous as I was before a playoff game.”
In an effort to encourage the fans who were sad to see the old stadium go, Yankees captain Derek Jeter told the New York faithful to bring the same energy to the “new” Yankee Stadium the next season. “We are relying on you to take the memories from this stadium, add them to the new memories to come at the new Yankee Stadium, and continue to pass them on from generation to generation,” he said. While the 2008 Yankees couldn’t pull off a trip to the playoffs, the 2009 Yankees managed to win another World Series…the fifth and final one of Jeter’s historic career. As for the old Yankee Stadium, it was demolished in 2010, and the site was converted into a public park called Heritage Field. Heritage Field is located on the same plot of land previously occupied by the original Yankee Stadium. It was finally completed in 2012. In a strange twist, there is very little recognition of the history of the ballpark that once stood there. There are only four benches and numerous 
pavers that list various events that occurred at Yankee Stadium. The site has no featured plaque which describes exactly what was on this spot previously. As to the original Yankee Stadium, the only thing remaining is a large piece of frieze, located in what was the outfield. Heritage Field is nice, but there is a sense of something missing, because of the lack of enough recognition of Yankees baseball history.
Margaret Haughery was a philanthropist in the New Orleans area. A philanthropist is “a person who seeks to promote the welfare of others, especially by the generous donation of money to good causes.” She was well known as “the mother of the orphans.” Margaret Gaffney Haughery was such a kind and loving person, and in 1880s New Orleans, she was beyond loved. She was so loved that she was known as “Our Margaret,” “The Bread Woman of New Orleans” and “Mother of Orphans.” The reason, Haughery is so loved is that she devoted her life’s work to the care and feeding of the poor and hungry, and to fund and build orphanages throughout the city.
Haughery was an Irish immigrant, and she was also a widow. Haughery held many titles. She was commonly referred to as the “Angel of the Delta,” “Mother Margaret,” “Margaret of New Orleans,” the “Celebrated Margaret,” “Head Mame,” and “Margaret of Tully.” A Catholic, she worked closely with New Orleans Sisters of Charity, associated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans. Her work was mainly with poor and orphaned widows and kids. She opened four orphanages in the New Orleans area in the 19th century. She didn’t stop there, however. Many years later in the 20th and 21st centuries, several of the asylums Margaret founded as places of shelter for orphans and widows evolved into homes for the elderly.
After her many long years of working with the needy, Haughery, a woman known for her great work in charity, became famed for her lifelong championing of the destitute. Some people considered her a living saint worthy of canonization. Haughery didn’t have a wealthy start. On the contrary, she was born into poverty and orphaned at a young age. She struggled most of her young life. She then began her adult life as a washwoman and a peddler. Nevertheless, she died a businesswoman and philanthropist and received a state funeral. Her life proves what is said in Luke 6:38 in the Bible, “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Haughery was an extravagant giver. It doesn’t mean that she gave tons of money, although over the years, she did. Nevertheless, she gave as much as she could, sometimes even more.
Margaret was born in a stone cottage in Ireland in 1813, the fifth child of William and Margaret O’Rourke Gaffney. The family fell on hard times and the family divided, leaving the three younger children in Ireland with William’s brother. Before long the rest of her family died or, as in the case of her brother, ran off. Haughery was alone and homeless. A Mrs. Richards, who had made the overseas crossing with the Gaffney family heard of Margaret’s plight. She had lost her husband to yellow fever. She took Margaret into her home. There Margaret remained for some years, where she worked for her keep. In fact, she may have been little more than a servant. Margaret received no formal education, and never learned to read or write. When old enough, Margaret went into domestic service, which was common for Irishwomen in Baltimore at that time. While she basically started out with nothing, she received the “kindness” of Mrs Richards and then turned her life around. Margaret went on to show kindness to so many others, and in the end, she became one of the most beloved women in New Orleans.
Margaret married Irish-born Charles Haughery on October 10, 1835, when she was 21 years old. Margaret persuaded him that a change in climate might be therapeutic for his poor health. So, they moved south. They left Baltimore on the ship Hyperion and reached New Orleans on November 20, 1835. Unfortunately, New Orleans was in the middle of yellow fever and cholera epidemics. For a time, Charles’ health showed a slight improvement, but it was short-lived and medical advice recommended a sea journey. In desperation, Charles decided to go to Ireland, which was his native land. The trip had to be delayed for several months pending the birth of the couple’s first child, a girl named Frances. Eventually, Charles made the voyage but after some months Margaret received word that he died shortly after reaching his destination. A short time later, Frances became seriously ill and died. Once again, Margaret’s family was wiped out, and she was just 23 years old. At this point, Margaret Haughery could have given up in despair, but she didn’t. She turned her life around and became one of the most beloved women in New Orleans.
In her will Margaret left everything to charities, without distinction of religion, for widows, orphans, and the 
elderly. She left all her wealth to charities with the exception of the bakery, which she bequeathed to her foster son, Bernard Klotz. According to her will, the rest of her wealth. When Margaret died and her will was read, with all her giving, she had still saved a great deal of money. She somehow had given so much, and still had more to give. She left every cent of it to the different orphan asylums of the city. Each orphanage was given something, whether they were for white children or black, for Jews, Catholics, or Protestants, made no difference. Margaret always said, “They are all orphans alike.” Margaret signed her will with a cross instead of a name as she never learned to read or write. Her signature, a reminder of her humble beginnings, great business successes, and mark on humanity, despite being unable to read or write.
Very often, those we would least expect to rise to greatness, show us just how wrong we were. Grace Murray Hopper, at a very young age showed an interest in engineering. She could often be found taking household goods apart. Still, lots of kids have taken things apart, but then Grace would put them back together too. Still, her family had no idea that her curiosity would eventually gain her recognition from the highest office in the land. She was just a curious kid…right? Well, maybe not.
Hopper was born in New York City on December 9, 1906. She started out in the normal educational way, attending a preparatory school in New Jersey. Then after her high school education ended, she began her journey to greatness. She enrolled at Vassar College. After graduating with her Bachelor’s degree, Hopper went to Yale University, where she earned her Master’s degree and PhD in Mathematics. The she went on to teach at Vassar College.
So, in 1943, Hopper resigned her position at Vassar to join the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service). She felt a higher calling. In 1944, she was commissioned as a Lieutenant (Junior Grade) and assigned to the Bureau of Ordnance Computation Project at Harvard University. She was on her way to that greatness. Her team worked on and produced an early prototype of the electronic computer, called the Mark I. She also wrote a 500-page Manual of Operations for the Automatic Sequence-Controlled Calculator, outlining the fundamental operating principles of computing machines. It was also Hopper that came up with the term “bug” to describe a computer malfunction. We all know that term these days.
When World War II was over Hopper went on to become a research fellow on the Harvard faculty, and in 1949, 
she joined the Eckert-Mauchly Corporation, so she could continue her pioneering work on computer technology. When you see things like UNIVAC, the first all-electronic digital computer, think of Hopper. She also invented the first computer compiler, a program that translates written instructions into codes that computers read directly. The work she did on the compiler led her to co-develop the COBOL, which was one of the earliest standardized computer languages. COBOL allows computers to respond to words in addition to numbers. It was an important step into a new era. Along with her work on computers and technical innovation, Hopper also lectured widely on computers, giving up to 300 lectures per year. She saw a world where computers were mainstream. In fact, she predicted that computers would one day be small enough to fit on a desk and people who were not professional programmers would use them in their everyday life. As we all know, that is exactly what has come to pass.
While her time of active service to her country was behind her, Hopper retained her affiliation with the Naval Reserve throughout her latter career. Moving up, she attained the rank of Commander by 1966. Then, as happens in the reserves sometimes, Hopper was called back to active duty in 1967. She was assigned to the Chief of Naval Operations’ staff as Director of the Navy Programming Languages Group. Hopper continued to move up the ranks, reaching the rank of Captain in 1973, Commodore in 1983, and Rear Admiral in 1985. She 
basically had two great careers. In 1987, she was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the highest decoration given to those who did not participate in combat. It was a moment to be very proud of.
While her military career had been amazing, her work with computers wasn’t anything to make light of either. She not only gained national attention, but she was recognized internationally for her work with computers. In 1973, Hopper was named a distinguished fellow of the British Computer Society. At that time, she was the first and only woman to hold the title. Hopper retired, but she couldn’t really retire, so she returned to the classroom, where she taught and inspired students until her death on January 1st, 1992. Throughout her life, Hopper had many career accomplishments, but she later said that her greatest joy came from teaching. In 2016, Hopper was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her body is interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
My great grandson, Axel Petersen, turns one today. He is a typical little boy. He loves the maneuver from crawling to sitting and regularly shows his parents, Josh and Athena Petersen just how smart he is in all he does. Axel is a smiley happy baby and displays such sweet little smiles. Axel recently moved with his family from Casper, Wyoming to Lawton, Oklahoma, and while we are all very sad that they have moved so far away, we are glad that they are adjusting well. We all miss him very much, especially his grandma and papa, Corrie and Kevin Petersen, who liked to have the boys over to visit. For now, they live with his mommy’s brother Jacob Salazar, his wife Idalia, and their children. Axel and his brother, Justin are having a great time playing with their cousins and getting to know their aunt and uncle better. Axel really likes spending time with his Aunt Dali.
Axel has several new teeth coming in and had 8 in total. That means he gets to eat a whole new variety of 
foods, which makes him very happy. He often says dad, and when he and his brother were finishing a bath the other day, Josh dried Justing off while Athena finished up with Axel. When she started to dry him off, and Axel saw that his daddy dried his brother off, when Axel saw that his mommy was drying him off, he cried and said “No…Dad!! Dadddd!!” Athena says she was “offended!” I guess Axel was too. Apparently, mommy didn’t dry him off right or else it was a matter of what his big brother got…Axel should get too!! I know Athena was hoping Axel would be her “momma’s boy” for a little bit longer. I guess she will just have to settle for Axel’s new little brother, Cristian (coming around February 1st) to be her “momma’s boy” now.
Axel has been having a great time touring the Lawton area with his parents. He loves going to the park and playing on the toys there, especially the swings. He loves watching what his daddy is doing, especially when Josh is being funny. Axel loves to smile and laugh. He is very ticklish, and actually likes being tickled. Of course, anyone who knows kids, knows that they really do like being tickled. There is just something about getting tickled that makes kids happy. Axel is just an all-around happy boy, who makes his parents and family very happy. He may 
not know it yet, but he is getting ready to become a big brother too. This will be a different experience for our little Axel, but I know that he will be a great big brother, just like his big brother, Justin is. Today is Axel’s first birthday. Happy birthday Axel!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
It all happened overnight. The people of East Berlin became prisoners of their government. The government was oppressive, and people wanted to leave. The government could not have that, so walls were put up encircling the city virtually overnight. East Germany was now a part of the Eastern Bloc, and it was separated from West Germany in the Western Bloc by the inner German border and the Berlin Wall, which were heavily fortified with watchtowers, land mines, armed soldiers, and various other measures to prevent illegal crossings. The people were prisoners, and the East German border troops were instructed to prevent defection to West Germany by all means, including lethal force (Schießbefehl; “order to fire”). Many people attempted escape, and many people died trying.
One of the people who refused to give up and settle for imprisonment was Peter Strelzyk (born 1942), an electrician and former East German Air Force mechanic. Strelzyk, along with his friend, Günter Wetzel (born 1955), who was a bricklayer by trade, were determined to get out of East Berlin. The men had been colleagues at a local plastics factory for four years. They had long shared a desire to get out of the country and make a better life for their families. They began discussing, albeit very quietly, how they might make their escape. On March 7, 1978, they decided that they were done living that way and began to plan an escape. Their first thought was to build a helicopter. Then, they realized that they would be unable to acquire an engine capable of powering such a craft. Then, their imaginations alighted on the thought of building a hot air balloon. That idea came about after they watched a television program about ballooning. Some say that they got the idea after a relative shared a magazine article about the International Balloon Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It really doesn’t matter where the idea came from, because they main thing is that they cose a hot air balloon as their escape vehicle.
The decision made, Strelzyk and Wetzel began research into balloons. The plan was to escape with their wives and a total of four children, aged 2 to 15. This was going to have to be a big balloon to hold eight passengers and the basket they would ride in. They calculated the weight of the eight passengers and the craft itself to be around 1,650 pounds. With that in mind, they knew that would need a balloon that could carry the weight would need to hold 71,000 cubic feet of air heated to 212 °F. The next calculation was the amount of material needed for the balloon itself, estimated to be 8,600 square feet.
The pair lived in Pößneck, a small town of about 20,000 where large quantities of cloth could not be obtained without raising attention. There were a number of things that raised suspicion, and a number of people in East Berlin who were all too willing to tell the authorities what they saw and heard. The two men tried neighboring towns of Rudolstadt, Saalfeld, and Jena without success. They travelled 31 miles to Gera, where they were finally able to purchase 3 feet 3 inch wide rolls of cotton cloth totaling 850 2,790 feet in length at a department store after telling the astonished clerk that they needed the large quantity of material to use as tent lining for their camping club.
Wetzel spent two weeks sewing the cloth into a balloon-shaped bag, 49 feet wide by 66 feet long, using a 40-year-old manually operated sewing machine. Strelzyk spent the time building the gondola and burner assembly. The gondola was made from an iron frame, sheet metal floor, and clothesline run around the perimeter every 5.9 inches for the sides. The burner was made using two 24-pound bottles of liquid propane household gas, hoses, water pipe, a nozzle, and a piece of stove pipe.
Finally, in April 1978, the balloon was ready to be tested. For several days, the men searched for just the right spot for the test. The site had to be secluded and yet have a good-sized clearing. They settled on a forest clearing near Ziegenrück, 6.2 miles from the border and 19 miles from Pößneck. Unfortunately, when they tried to inflate the balloon, the heated air from the burner would not move into the balloon. They thought the problem might stem from the fact that they had laid the balloon on the ground. After weeks of additional searching, they found an 82-foot cliff at a rock quarry where they could suspend the balloon vertically before inflation. Unfortunately, that plan also failed.
In the most dramatic invention to date, the men decided to fill the bag with ambient-temperature air before using the burner to raise the air temperature and provide lift. For this, the men constructed a blower with a 14 horsepower 250 cc 15 cubic inch motorcycle engine, started with a Trabant automobile starter powered by jumper cables from Strelzyk’s Moskvitch sedan. The engine, which was quieted by a Trabant muffler. The engine turned 3.3 feet fan blades to inflate the balloon. They also used a home-made flamethrower, similar to the gondola’s burner, to pre-heat the air faster. With these modifications in place, they returned to the secluded clearing to try again, and again the plan failed to inflate the balloon. At this point, they discovered that the cotton material was the problem. It was just too porous, and the heated air quickly seeped out. That unsuccessful attempt had cost them 2,400 DDM. Strelzyk disposed of the cloth by burning it in his furnace over several weeks.
The men went back to the drawing board. Strelzyk and Wetzel purchased samples of different fabrics in local stores, including umbrella material and various samples of taffeta and nylon. Then they used an oven to test the material for heat resistance. They also created a test rig from a vacuum cleaner and a water-filled glass tube to determine which material would allow the vacuum to exert the most suction on the water, and consequently which was the most impervious to air. Of the materials tested, the umbrella covering performed the best, but it was also the most expensive. In the end, they instead selected a synthetic kind of taffeta.
Once again, the men traveled to a distant city to make their purchases so they wouldn’t arouse suspicion. This time they travelled over 100 miles to a department store in Leipzig. Their new cover story was that they belonged to a sailing club and needed the material to make sails. They were extremely worried that the purchase could alert East Germany’s State Security Service (Stasi). Nevertheless, they returned the next day and picked up the material without incident. They paid 4,800 DDM (US$720) for 2,600 feet of 3-foot 3-inch 
fabric. On the way home, they also purchased an electric motor to speed up the pedal-operated sewing machine they had been using to sew the material into the desired balloon shape.
Wetzel spent the next week sewing the material into another balloon. The new motor made the work much faster. Before long they were ready. Soon afterwards, they returned to the forest clearing and inflated the bag in about five minutes using the blower and flame thrower. It was amazing!! Unfortunately, there was s glitch. The bag rose and held air, but the burner on the gondola was not powerful enough to create the heat needed for lift. The pair continued experimenting for months, doubling the number of propane tanks and trying different fuel mixtures. Disappointed with the result, Wetzel decided to abandon the project and instead started to pursue the idea of building a small gasoline engine-powered light aeroplane or a glider.
Strelzyk, however, refused to give up. He continued trying to improve the burner. In June 1979, he discovered that with the propane tank inverted, additional pressure caused the liquid propane to evaporate, which produced a bigger flame. He modified the gondola to mount the propane tanks upside down, and returned to the test site where he found the new configuration produced a 39-foot-long flame. Strelzyk was ready to attempt an escape.
Now down to just four people, the Strelzyk family chose July 3, 1979, and go-day. The weather and wind conditions were favorable. The entire Strelzyk family lifted from a forest clearing at 1:30 am and climbed at a rate of 13 feet per second. They reached an altitude of 6,600 feet according to an altimeter Strelzyk had made by modifying a barometer. A light wind was blowing them towards the border. The balloon then entered clouds, and atmospheric water vapor condensed on the balloon, adding weight which caused it to descend prematurely. The family landed safely…but they were approximately 590 feet short of the border, at the edge of the heavily mined border zone. It was a terrifying situation. At first, they weren’t sure where they were, but Strelzyk explored until he found a piece of litter…a bread bag from a bakery in Wernigerode, an East German town. The terrified family spent nine hours carefully extricating themselves from the 1,600-foot-wide border zone to avoid detection. They also had to travel unnoticed through a 3.1-mile restricted zone before hiking back a total of 8.7 mile to their car and the launch paraphernalia they had left behind. Amazingly, while the balloon was found, their car had not been. They made it home just in time to report absent due to sickness from work and school and go to be to get some much-needed rest.
The abandoned balloon was discovered by the authorities later that morning, and Strelzyk destroyed all compromising evidence and sold his car, fearing that it could link him to the escape attempt. On August 14th, the Stasi launched an appeal to find the “perpetrator of a serious offence” and listed in detail all the items recovered at the landing site. Strelzyk felt that the Stasi would eventually trace the balloon to him and the Wetzels. He agreed with Wetzel that their best chance was to quickly build another balloon and get out as soon as possible.
At this point, Wetzel again joined Strelzyk. They doubled the balloon’s size to 140,000 cubic feet in volume, 66 feet in diameter, and 82 feet in height. They needed 13,500 square feet of taffeta, and purchased the material, in various colors and patterns, all over the country in order to escape suspicion. Wetzel sewed a third balloon, using over 3.7 miles of thread, and Strelzyk rebuilt everything else as before. They worked feverishly, because they knew their time was very limited. The authorities were closing in on them. In six weeks, they had prepared the 400-pound balloon and a payload of 1,210 pound, including the gondola, equipment, and cargo of eight people. Confident in their calculations, they found the weather conditions right on September 15, 1978, when a violent thunderstorm created the correct winds. The two families set off for the launch site in Strelzyk’s replacement car (a Wartburg) and a moped. Arriving at 1:30 am, they needed just ten minutes to inflate the balloon and an additional three minutes to heat the air.
They lifted off just after 2:00 am, and in their hurry, the group failed to cut the tethers holding the gondola to the ground at the same time, tilting the balloon and sending the flame towards the fabric, which caught fire. They quickly got the fire out, because they had prepared for such an emergency. Then the balloon climbed to 6,600 feet in nine minutes, drifting towards West Germany at 9 miles per hour. The balloon flew for 28 minutes, with the temperature plummeting to 18 °F in the unsheltered gondola, which consisted solely of clothesline railing. Nevertheless, they pressed on.
A design miscalculation resulted in the burner stovepipe being too long, causing the flame to be too high in the balloon, creating excessive pressure which caused the balloon to split. While they had to use the burner more that they had hoped, they kept the balloon in the air. At one point, they increased the flame to the maximum possible extent and rose to 8,200 feet. They later learned they had been high enough to be detected, but not identified, on radar by West German air traffic controllers. They had also been detected on the East German side by a night watchman at the district culture house in Bad Lobenstein. The report of an unidentified flying object heading toward the border caused guards to activate search lights, but the balloon was too high and out of reach of the lights. God had protected the families.
When the propane ran out, the balloon descended quickly, landing near the town of Naila, in the West German state of Bavaria and only 6 miles from the border. The only injury was suffered by Wetzel, who broke his leg upon landing. Various clues indicated to the families that the balloon had made it across the border. These included spotting red and yellow colored lights, not common in East Germany, and small farms, in contrast to the large state-run operations in the east. Another clue was modern farm equipment, unlike the older equipment used in East Germany. Two Bavarian State Police officers saw the balloon’s flickering light and headed to where they thought it would land. There they found Strelzyk and Wetzel, who first asked if they had made it to the west, although they noticed the police car was an Audi…another sign they were in West Germany. Upon learning they had, the escapees happily called for their families to join them.
Of course, East Germany immediately increased border security, closed all small airports close to the border, and ordered the planes kept farther inland. Propane gas tanks became registered products, and large quantities of fabric suitable for balloon construction could no longer be purchased. Mail from East Germany to the two escaped families was prohibited.
Erich Strelzyk learned of his brother’s escape on the ZDF news and was arrested three hours after the landing in his Potsdam apartment. The arrest of family members was standard procedure to deter others from attempting escape. He was charged with “aiding and abetting escape”, as were Strelzyk’s sister Maria and her 
husband, who were sentenced to 2½ years. The three were eventually released with the help of Amnesty International.
The families decided to initially settle in Naila where they had landed. Wetzel worked as an automobile mechanic and Strelzyk opened a TV repair shop in Bad Kissingen. Due to pressure from Stasi spies, the Strelzyks moved to Switzerland in 1985. After German reunification in 1990, they returned to their old home in their hometown of Pößneck. The Wetzels remained in Bavaria. Peter Strelzyk died in 2017 at age 74 after a long illness. In 2017, the balloon was put on permanent display at the Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte: Museum in Bavaria.
