Viewing page 6 of 11

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

GROVER C. BERGDOLL
Wealthy Wright Sportsman Pilot
Grover C. Bergdoll was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 18, 1893, son of a wealthy brewer. He attended local schools, then Pennsylvania University as a law student. Grover's elder brother, Louis, was an early Philadelphia motor car dealer and operated the Bergdoll Motor Company. He also owned some race cars and was in the racing game, and reportedly Grover did some driving at that time.
     There is evidence that the two brothers developed an early interest in aviation, for in 1910, Louis bought an imported Bleriot monoplane from Rodman Wanamaker who had imported it for a display in his Philadelphia department store. During the summer of 1910, William Haupt, an employee of the Bergdoll Motor Company, taught himself to fly this machine and it appears that Grover may have also started to fly it some during that season.
     In March, 1911, Louis announced that he had given this plane to Grover who was going to fly it that summer. In the early spring of 1912 Grover enrolled for flying instruction at the Wright School at Dayton and was a member of the first class of students, which included Charles Wald, William Kabitsky and John Klockler, with Al Welsh instructing. The class started about April 1st and while there Bergdoll purchased a Model B Wright plane for his own use. He finished his course about April 15th but did not obtain a pilot license at that time. Je then returned to Philadelphia to prepare for the delivery of his plane. He established a flying field and built a hangar at Bergdoll country place at Manoa, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. He called this Eagle Field and later carried on most of his operations from there. He was then 19 years old and still a law student. As soon as his new plane arrived, Bergdoll began making regular daily flights and carried social and student friends as passengers.