The Crash that Changed History by David Salinero
The Crash that Changed History by David Salinero
The histories of Mountain View and Moffett Field have been intertwined for almost 100 years. Local residents organized a campaign to lure the military base close to its borders. Moffett Field has brought new residents, commerce, and educational opportunities to the city. In return, the city has provided services to military personnel and their children. Moffett Field was conceived as a lighter-than-air base, but its mission has changed several times over its history.
In the 1950s, after the Korean War, Moffett Field housed squadrons of planes assigned to aircraft carriers of the Pacific Fleet. This was the“ jet age” when many flights took off and landed at Moffett Field daily. By the end of the decade, sonic booms would be a regular occurrence in the Santa Clara Valley.
The planes at this time were unreliable and many of these single-engine( single-pilot) flights would end with a crash.
Most of these crashes were in the SF Bay or unpopulated areas. This was a very tense time for the leaders of the military and of the local government officials. Inevitably, disaster would strike downtown Mountain View. The crashes in the 1950s would quickly change the course of Moffett Field’ s mission. These crashes were debated in the local newspapers.
At the next MVHA event, we will focus on the crash of February 1, 1957, and its effects on Mountain View history. This crash took the life of a pilot, damaged many downtown homes, and made a permanent impact on the quality of life in Mountain View for decades.
The family of Capt. Robert Mulvehill Jr., who lost his life when his plane exploded over downtown Mountain View.— Mountain View Register Leader
Fire— An Ever Present Danger
— Pamela Baird
Ever since man began living in dwellings constructed from flammable materials, fires have been a concern of both inhabitants and people living nearby. Since the rise of large cities around the world, many have been partially destroyed by fires that burned for days before they could be extinguished.
Even though Mountain View has been a relatively small community, it has had its share of fires, some very large in size but each one had an impact on the participants. Fires have been started by children playing with matches, overheated wood stove pipes, incorrect electrical wiring or unknown causes.
Arson has played a part in numerous fires. In 1928 St. Joseph’ s Church was burned to the ground by a fire that was intentionally set. Oil soaked rags and cans of gasoline were found under a side stairwell. In 1947 four large barn fires around Mountain View caused significant damage, evidently due to incendiary devices. A firebomb was thrown through the window of the U. S. Army recruiting office in 1972. The bomb set fire to the interior of the office.
Severe fires have challenged the livelihood of businesses. A fire caused extensive damage to the box factory owned by the Minton family in 1928. It’ s not known if the business was restarted. In 1906 a fire that may have started in the engraving department destroyed the Pacific Press facility on Villa Street. The facility was rebuilt, and the company remained in Mountain View until 1983 when it moved to Idaho.
Local people have acted heroically in saving people from burning buildings. In 1971 three separate incidents occurred. In January a neighbor saved a two year old girl from a flaming apartment. Gene Nicolas twice charged into the apartment looking for the child. Despite the heavy smoke, he was able to locate the child and take her to safety.
Two months later a women rescued her family members from their burning house on Villa Street. Dana Price led her three daughters, and one grandchild outside and then went back in to rouse her sleeping husband. In December Ronald Parker pulled a neighbor, 11 year old Mathew Null, to safety through a window. Mr. Parker later received a commendation from the Fire Department for his heroic effort.
Learn more about these and other fires at the August 3 History Event. It will be held at the Adobe Building. Register online: http:// mvhistory. eventbrite. com
Research assistance from Yufei Song
1928 St. Joseph’ s Church burned to the ground.
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