Soaring high – the story of Elmer Noland
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BY Beth McGlasson
Vice-President, Jersey County Historical Society
Jersey County has been home to lots of people with interesting careers. One of the more interesting was that of William “Elmer” Noland.
Noland was born Nov. 5, 1884 in Jersey County and grew up in the Jerseyville area. At a young age, he became an entertainer and traveled with an acting troupe, playing a villain. He then switched gears and worked for the Harris Nickle Plate Circus out of Chicago. He made his living as a clown, often performing with a trick mule named Hezekiah.
When the circus’s popularity waned, Noland turned his attention to hot air balloons, which had long fascinated him. He, along with other early balloonists, developed the thrilling three-parachute drop.
This trick was accomplished by a daredevil who wore three parachutes while perched on or dangling from a trapeze attached to a hot air balloon.
When the balloon reached sufficient height, an observer on the ground fired a signal gun. The aerialist cut loose from the balloon and pulled the release on the first parachute. When the first parachute fully opened, he cut loose from it. He repeated the process with the second chute, relying on the third parachute to deliver him safely to the ground.
As you can imagine, performing such a stunt was quite dangerous, and Noland experienced several harrowing experiences.
One occurred in nearby Hardin during a holiday celebration. Noland was the main attraction of the event, and a large group had assembled. The balloon was nearly fully inflated and ready for release when a powerful gust of wind slammed into it, wrenching the ropes from the hands of volunteers. Noland gave chase to the balloon and managed to grab one of the ropes as the balloon shot skyward. By pulling himself up hand over hand, he managed to reach the trapeze several hundred feet into the air. He then cut loose from the balloon and deployed his parachutes to land safely.
Another incident, more humorous than scary, occurred in Fieldon. On this particular day, Noland would not be performing. Instead, the young man who typically fired the signal gun, was to make his first flight.
A large crowd had gathered in the village to watch the big event. It was a picture-perfect launch with the young man perched atop the trapeze. However, after the balloon began to ascend, Noland and his crew discovered the man had forgotten to hand over the signal gun!
Noland rushed to nearest home, which was owned by Dr. Brewster, the local physician.
Noland hurriedly explained that he needed to borrow a gun so he could signal when the young man needed to cut loose from the balloon. Dr. Brewster rushed upstairs, grabbed his shotgun, ran out onto the upstairs porch, and blasted away with both barrels.
The young man cut loose form the balloon and made a perfect landing just a half mile from where the balloon was launched.
Noland’s last flight took place at the Iowa State Fair in 1925. By now, he was a seasoned balloonist, having completed more than 100 parachute jumps. But this flight would be no piece of cake. Power lines and other obstacles had to be avoided, and strong winds made what normally would have been a tricky ascent downright dangerous.
Shortly after takeoff, a gust slammed the balloon into a line. Noland fell 80 feet, suffering serious injuries that required several months of hospitalization and left him permanently disabled.
Despite the accident, Noland never lost his enthusiasm for heights. For a number of years, he worked as a steeplejack and could be spotted high above the ground painting church steeples and water towers.