Kathryn Cleven Sisson - Eddie Rickenbacker [boy pilot and racer]

One afternoon in March 1897, six-year-old Eddie Rickenbacker went to visit his friend Big John in the blacksmith shop. He pumped the long handle of the bellows and watched sparks shoot up from the brick forge. Slow down there, Eddie, said Big John.

Im not really working, said Eddie. I just want to help you, if I can.

Big John just smiled. Skillfully he picked up a horseshoe with a pair of long tongs and held it in the fire. As soon as it was red hot, he pulled it out and put it on the point of his big iron anvil. Stand back and watch out for the sparks, he warned.

He struck the hot horseshoe a heavy blow with his hammer. Sparks flew out in all directions, hitting his long leather apron. He pounded the horseshoe again and again, then held it up to look at it.

Big John was preparing this shoe for Duke, the milkmans horse. The milkman had asked the blacksmith to put new shoes on both front hoofs. Now Duke was hitched a short distance away in the shop. Every few minutes he stamped his foot impatiently on the floor. Duke doesnt like to wait for his new shoes, said Eddie.

Well, hell just have to wait, because it takes time to shape a pair of horseshoes, said Big John.

When he finished shaping the first shoe, he inspected it again, and then plunged it into a tub of cold water. Puffs of steam rose from the tub and clouded the room. Why do you always put a new shoe in cold water? asked Eddie.

One reason is to make it cool so I can handle it with my bare hands, replied Big John. The other reasons are more difficult to explain.

Eddie now pumped the long handle of the bellows to heat the other horseshoe. Big John hammered it on his anvil and finally plunged it into the tub of water. Theyre ready, he said. Now Ill nail them on Dukes hooves.

He carried both new shoes over to the horse with Eddie following closely. He bent one of Dukes front legs backward so that he could hold the horses hoof between his knees. Then he began to nail on the shoe.

Eddie stood off at one side and watched. Could I make a horseshoe on your forge some day? he asked, Sure, but not until you are a few years older, replied Big John.

Just then Eddies ten-year-old brother Bill appeared, looking impatient. Come on home, you little scamp! he cried. Mama has sent me to get you.

Eddie wanted to stay longer, but if his mother wanted him to come home, he knew he had to go. Solemnly he said good-bye to Big John and followed Bill from the shop.

Bill led the way home across a field covered with a fine layer of snow. As Eddie trudged along, he felt the wet snow soaking through a hole in the sole of one of his shoes. He hurried to get home so he could dry out his foot.

When Bill and Eddie reached their yard, they called to Nanny, a goat tied to a stake in the yard. The Rickenbackers kept Nanny and some other goats for milk. They used goats milk for drinking and cooking, and sold some in their neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio.

Eddie rushed up the three steps of the back porch of the small Rickenbacker home. He burst into the large kitchen, the only room on the first floor except a bedroom. Upstairs there were two bedrooms where all the older children slept.

By now it was time for supper. Inside the kitchen, Mama was cooking food on the stove and setting the table. She looked at Eddie and cried, Ach, there you are. Where have you been? Its time to take care of the goats.

Eddies parents, William and Elizabeth Rickenbacker, had come from Switzerland. They spoke German in their home and so did their children. Two of the other children were older and two younger than Eddie. The two older children were Mary, who helped with many household duties, and William, whom everybody called Bill. Emma was five years old, and Louis was a baby.

Ive been with Big John at the blacksmith shop, he said. Some day, when I get a little older, hes going to let me use his forge.

I worry about your going over there, said Mama. You could get hurt or burned.

Oh no, Mama, answered Eddie. Im always very careful. Big John watches me, and Ive learned a lot about his work.

Huh! teased Bill, who had just come in from the yard. Some day, when you grow up, youll be a genius.

Mary and Mama laughed, and Eddie felt hurt. Quickly he pulled a cap over his reddish hair and ran out to the barn to look after the goats. Bring Mama an egg for the baby, Mary called after him. All right, Eddie yelled back. (Image 1.1)

Image 1.1: When he bent over to pull the heavy lid back over the cellar, he suddenly heard the sound of hoof beats.

He carried armfuls of hay for several goats in a pen near the barn and an armful for Nanny, still tied in the yard. She playfully nudged him and bleated out her thanks for the hay.

Next Eddie went to their cellar in the back yard to get the egg for the baby. This cellar was actually a huge hogsheada kind of barrelwhich his father had buried in the ground. It was filled with fruits, vegetables, eggs, and meat, all neatly packed on shelves. The eggs were stored in a jar with a white liquid, called water glass, around them to keep them from spoiling.

Eddie removed the lid from the top of the cellar and climbed down a ladder inside. He trembled with fear because it was dark down in the cellar. Cautiously he reached into the crock, pulled out an egg, and put it into his pocket. Then he wiped the water glass off on his overalls and climbed back up the ladder to the outside.