Ed note: 96 years ago, the Apple Fair in Boonville was marked by the dual tragedies described in these articles from local newspapers. Many thinks to Debra Silva for finding them.
Fort Bragg Advocate News, Oct. 12, 1927
Pilot And Robert Witherell Seriously Hurt When Plane Crashes At Boonville Fair —Rushed To Ukiah Hospital
An airplane tragedy marked the closing hours of the Boonville Apple Fair Sunday afternoon. With hundreds of people present—probably the record attendance for the three days.
The plane which had been on the ground since the opening of the exhibition, made regular flights each day and carried passengers. It crashed in full view of a large portion of these passengers, just north of Boonville, barely missing the Anderson Valley grammar school. A feeling of horror went through the big gathering as the plane crumpled to earth. The distance of its fall made if almost certain that the three occupants of the plane—its pilot, D.C. Warren, and passengers, Thelma Farrer and Robert Witherell) must have been badly injured if not killed outright, and those who quickly gathered at the wrecked plane to extricate the unfortunates had their fears realized for the three were desperately hurt.
Miss Farrer lay unconscious and Hal Warren and Witherell were ashen-faced from intense suffering, the pilot with a broken thigh and Witherell with a fractured leg and internal injuries. All were removed as quickly as possible, temporarily treated and started on their way to Ukiah where they could have hospital care, and where Miss Farrer passed away that evening,
Following the crashing of the airplane came another fatality: for which the airplane was partly responsible. Merle Ginochio, little 8-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Jess Ginochio, wishing to obtain a better view of the airplane flights had climbed to the top of a tank tower, some forty feet in height, and was watching them with intense interest when apparently he forgot: his dangerous location in his attempt to keep his eyes on the plane and he made a misstep and toppled from the structure to the ground where he lay for a long time until his mother, missing him, started in search of him and finally located him lying at the foot of the tank. She gathered him up and took him to the house and summoned a physician. No serious injury manifested itself at the time and the lad did not come complain of serious hurt. Bat apparently he had suffered seriously, internally for his condition grew worse during the night and he passed away the following day.
Fort Bragg Advocate News, Oct 12, 1927
Ukiah, Oct. 10, 1927 —Miss Thelma Farrer, of Boonville, passed away in Ukiah General Hospital last evening at about 9 o'clock from injuries received in an aeroplane accident at Boonville several hours previously.
Her companions in the flight, Robert, Witherell, aged 17, also of Boonville, and D.C. Warren, of San Francisco, pilot of the plane, received more or less serious injuries and are in the hospital. They were reported this afternoon to be doing as well as could he expected. Witherell received internal injuries and a broken femur. Warren has a broken femur. Both are suffering greatly from the shock as well as from their injuries.
Miss Farrer’s injuries were largely internal. She suffered also a broken tibia and a very severe cut in the thigh. Her death was due to the shock as much as to her injuries, according to the physician in charge.
The cause of the crash was due either to failure of the ignition or to the stoppage of the gasoline feed. Warren had been flying low and was making a bank at an elevation of about 300 feet. When the engine failed the machine went into a tail spin.
[Ed note: The cause of the crash was later determined to have been toy balloons that had somehow floated into the plane’s propulsion system.]
The machine was straightened from the tail spin, but owing to his close proximity to the earth, he was unable to get out of the nose dive that followed. The plane hit the earth on its nose and the left wing also received some of the shock. It is understood that the plane was a new one, being out of the factory only four days and Warren is considered one of the best pilots in the Bay region.
The plane crashed near the Boonville grammar school, only a short distance from the hall in which the, Boonville Apple Fair was being held. Hundreds of people were at the scene almost immediately and first aid was given by Mrs. Theresa Ray, owner of Ukiah General Hospital and by her nurse, Miss McIver, who were visiting at the Apple Show. Sheriff Byrnes and Capt. Royal Ryder were also on hand directing traffic and keeping the immense crowd that gathered in order.
Owing to the lack of dressing material at Boonville the injuries could not be taken care of as well as desired but makeshift dressings were applied and the injured occupants of the plane were put into trucks on mattresses and rushed to the hospital in Ukiah.
Word of Miss Farrer’s death was telephoned to Boonville about nine o’clock, a few minutes after she passed away. and the fair and a dance which was in progress were immediately closed.
Ukiah Dispatch Democrat, Oct 15, 1927
The funeral of Miss Thelma Farrer was held at Boonville Wednesday afternoon at 2 o’clock at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J.T. Farrer, parents of the deceased. The service was conducted by Rev. Luther Beasley of the Ukiah Methodist church, and was one of the most largely attended of any ever held in Anderson Valley.
Music was furnished by a quartet composed of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Brown, Mr. Don Mackintosh and Mrs. Emily Presley, and a solo, “Whispering Hope,’’ was sung by Miss Christine Burke.
The following tribute to the memory of Miss Farrer was written by a friend:
Thelma Elizabeth Farrer was born April 4, 1910 at Boonville and after 17 brief and happy years our friend and playmate quietly slipped away from us on October 9, 1927.
The people of Anderson Valley are stunned by the loss of our young friend, yet the inspiration of her beautiful, loyal life will ever abide in our hearts and our lives will ever be the richer because she has dwelt among us. She was a friend to all and “none knew her but to love her, or name her but to praise her.”
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