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156 MELVIN W. HODGDON Pioneer Boston Aviator Melvin W. Hodgdon was born at Somerville, Massachusetts, November 18, 1896. He attended local grade schools and as a boy became interested in flying after seeing the early aviation events in the Boston area. The first plane he had seen in flight was flown by British aviator Tom Sopwith, at the Harvard-Boston Aero Meet held at the Harvard Aviation Field, Squantum, Massachusetts, August 26 to September 4, 1911. Hodgdon was determined to learn to fly and enrolled for instruction with the General Aviation Company School at Saugus, Massachusetts in April, 1912, at age 15. Their flying field was at the local race track about ten miles north of Boston. School instructors were Harry N. Atwood and Arch Freeman on Wright-type planes and Ripley Bowman on Curtiss-type biplanes. Hodgdon chose the Curtiss course and his instruction was given on a single-seat machine by the grass-cutting-and-gradual-hop method, with verbal ground guidance only. By May Hodgdon had advanced to his first straightaway hop of about 100 feet, approximately five feet above the ground. From May 30th to June 1st the school held a small flying meet and all instruction was stopped. At the meet were Lincoln Beachey, Harry Atwood, Arch Freeman, Phil Page, George Gray and Frank Terrill. After the meet the General Aviation Company went out of business, leaving their students stranded. In addition to Hodgdon there were Roy Waite, Harry Jones, Jack McGee and several others. As the company folded they had two partially completed Curtiss-type planes under construction by the students at a shop in