Worcester, MA – August 22, 1906

Worcester, Massachusetts – August 22, 1906 

Updated August 6, 2017

     On the evening of August 22, 1906, 15-year-old Charles Mayo of New York was to be paid five dollars to make a balloon ascension all by himself from the grounds of an amusement park.  (There is no mention of his having any previous experience with balloons.) 

     After being tied in the wicker basket hanging beneath the balloon, the ascension was made, but in coming down the basket slammed into the roof of the Philip W. Moen mansion knocking off the top of the chimney and tearing away some of the roof tiling.  It was reported that Mayo received “severe injuries” to his legs, back, and head, from the impact. 

     Sources:

     New York Tribune, (No Headline), August 24, 1906, page 3, under general news.      

     Spirit Of The Age, (Woodstock, Vt.) “Boy Hurt In Balloon”, August 25, 1906 

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