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Broadwick - 11

in water, or any very peculiar landing places?

Broadwick: Well, I've landed in the water a lot, and that's another thing that you have to learn, how to handle a parachute in water. Of course your cotton parachutes are far more dangerous than your silk parachutes, because they soak up the water very quickly, and if you don't know how to throw a parachute in going into the water, you're in trouble. Lots of people have been drowned that way, even in late years. But you can teach them how to uncover themselves when they parachute would fall over them. I had to learn that very young, because in Jacksonville, Fla., I landed in the St. Johns River about three times a week. Maybe twice I'd hit land but the other times I always hit out in the water.

Q: How many jumps a day did you perform, usually?

Broadwick: At the carnivals, you'd do one in the daytime and then one in the evening. We didn't go in for double parachute jumps at night. It was always just a single parachute drop, no stunts or anything, just going up at night, making the ascension with your torches and flares, to make it look very exciting -- and it was dangerous.

Q: You said after the carnival, you graduated to fairs?

Broadwick: And parks. They always paid us a salary, and we were always a drawing attraction, for any of them -- they'd come to see this free balloon ascension, but of course for a free balloon ascension you have to pay admission to get in to see it.

Q: Did your act change when you went to the fairs and parks?

Broadwick: No, it was just about the same. We ran on a regular schedule. We might have another parachute or another balloon in the day's work, but no changes.