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HENRY KLECKLER
Pioneer Curtiss Mechanic - Engineer 

[[stamp]] FROM THE FLYING PIONEERS BIOGRAPHIES OF HAROLD E. MOREHOUSE [[/stamp]]

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Henry Kleckler was born on a farm near Tyrone, Pennsylvania May 14, 1881, the youngest of four children. His father died three months before his birth. He grew up on the farm and attended the county Wixson grade school.

Kleckler wanted to further his education so his mother moved to Bath, New York where he entered High School. After one term he was forced to give up school, at age 15, and go to work to help support his mother. This was a disappointment to him for he seriously wanted to get a better education. 

His first job was with a market gardener near Bath. Then he went to work for his cousin, Frank Kleckler, in Bath who operated a machine shop where he began to learn the machinist trade. Mechanically inclined, he enjoyed shop work and took to it naturally. He remained there three years then became employed by the Bath Gas and Electric Company. After a time there he went to Thompsonville, Connecticut with a firm installing and servicing electrical equipment. 

In 1906 he returned and went to work for Glenn Curtiss at Hammondsport, New York. Curtiss soon recognized Kleckler's abilities and during 1907 placed him in charge of his shop. A very close friendship developed between the two

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