The MANCHESTER Times Saturday, May 6, 2017 • Vol. 23 - No. 3
Your FREE Weekly Hometown Newspaper for Manchester, Lakehurst & Whiting
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REMEMBERING
HINDENBURG
UNCOVERING THE MYSTERY OF THE HINDENBURG’S SOLE GROUND CREW CASUALTY
By Jennifer Peacock LAKEHURST – Sarah Hurley was a private woman, who rarely spoke about her father and his place in history. She was born January 21, 1920 to Allen O. and Anna Moore Hagaman, their only child. Sarah Hurley’s son, Allen Hurley, said she
used to say of her father that he never used foul language, never drank or smoke, and never spanked her. Aside from a few passing comments over the years, that’s about all Allen Hagaman’s grandson knew about him. What Hagaman even looked like remained a mystery until very recently, when long
buried photos, which passed from family member to family member, were finally discovered. Allen Hurley remembers some family saying he looked a bit like his grandfather. His daughter, Courtney Hurley, said her grandmother Sarah looked (Mystery - See Page 20)
–Photos courtesy Hurley Family Allen Hagaman and Anna Moore on their wedding day in 1914. They would have one child, Sarah, in 1920. The Hurley family has copies of old newspaper clippings about the Hindenburg tragedy. The news source is unknown, but shows the procession outside the Cedar Street house where Allen Hagaman had his funeral service.
SON OF HINDENBURG ENGINEER RECALLS HISTORY
By Chris Lundy LAKEHURST – Dr. Horst Schirmer still remembers when he lifted the entire Hindenburg with his bare hands. Schirmer’s father, Max, had been with the Zeppelin Company from 1923 to 1945. He designed a new propeller that was tested on that fateful flight. He would take his son into the hangar on weekly trips.
Schirmer’s father let him fly on it, too, once. But he remembers vividly seeing the Hindenburg at rest in the hangar, stretching 803 feet long. Following his father’s instructions, he put his hands on it. “Now, lift it up,” his father had said. Incredibly, it began to rise. “I raised it with my hand. I couldn’t believe it! It was like a balloon,” he said.
Now 80 years later, Schirmer is still very pleased with his - and his father’s - place in airship history. Schirmer speaks with technical knowledge of the inner workings of the airships. Indeed, his father had wanted him to study physics. He, instead, opted for medicine, against his father’s wishes. He practiced as a urologist in Maryland.
Now, at 85, he is retired from surgery, but still teaches and does cancer research at Johns Hopkins University. He will be visiting Lakehurst this weekend as part of the Hindenburg anniversary events. His talk was scheduled for May 5th at a banquet, and for May 6th at a remembrance ceremony. (Engineer - See Page 21)