Tales O.O.B.

BY COLIN W. SARGENT

The Sexy Saboteur

June 13, 1929. Twentytwo-year-old singer Arthur Schreiber had a plan. Disguised in his brother’s World War I aviator togs, he headed to Old Orchard Beach for the launch of a trans-Atlantic plane race.

Skipping the crowd preoccupied by America’s Green Flash, he slipped aboard the French Yellow Bird (L’Oiseau Canari) and hid behind a cache of furs, foodstu s, and liquor.

Well over the Atlantic, ight leader Armeno Lotti “noticed a pair of shoes poking from the rear fuselage,” according to Bill Dantini inAviation History Magazine. “’Here I am.’”

Instant Celebrity

“ e pilots considered tossing him into the ocean but magnanimously let him join the crew, hoping for the best,” writes Laurie Gwen Shapiro for e Wire in “ e Stowaway’s Story Chimes With e Explorer in Us All.” eir fuel gauge dropped in spite of dumping the whiskey and provisions into the ocean to cover for their secret sharer’s mass. e crew landed the plane in Spain. “’I had not calculated for the extra weight in the amount of gasoline carried,”’ said pilot Jean Assollant, according to Shapiro. Far from being mi ed at the stowaway, Shapiro quotes Assollant as saying, “He shared our risks and he is one of us now. We will see that he sees all there is in Paris.”

Gotta Dance

Dantini writes, “ e locals signed the Yellow Bird’s wings and the mayor showed up with the town orchestra...With the Bay of Biscay as backdrop, the Spaniards danced on the sand, coaxing the aviators to join in. e best dancer...was Schreiber...and the locals couldn’t get enough of him.” e French press called him an imbecile. Instead of gracefully letting that one go, he traded barbs with the journos, o ering exaggerated gratitude to ‘his’ crew, but sharing a desire to return home by steamship. e publicity hound!

According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency Archive, “Schreiber’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Morris R. Schreiber of [526 Washington Avenue]Portland, Maine, sent a cablegram of thanks to Lotti expressing their thanks for the kindness and tolerance shown their son.” ough his misadventure caused the Yellow Bird to forfeit the race, the airship has since been identi ed as carrying the rst transatlantic air passenger in history. And for Arthur, Vaudeville came calling.

Steel Music

The Old Orchard Beach Pier was once the largest steel pier in the world. Built in 1898, it measured a staggering 1,825 feet in length, and had a width of 80 feet, making it an impressive feat of engineering for its time. As a yardstick, the Ei el Tower, built in 1887, is 1,083 feet. e pier was costructed by Berlin Iron Bridge Co. and was built to accommodate the growing number of tourists who ocked to the beach during the summer months. It featured a range of attractions, including a ballroom, a roller-skating rink, an amusement park, and even a casino that was able to accommodate a whopping 5,000 dancers. e construction of the pier was not without its challenges, and it took over two years to complete. However, the e ort was worth it, as it quickly became a popular destination for visitors from all over the world. In its heyday, the pier was a bustling hub of activity, with people coming from far and wide to enjoy its many attrac-

Rudy Valle

Musical Legends Of The Old Orchard Beach Pier

Jo Stafford

Benny Goodman

The Clooney Sisters

Duke Ellington

Louis Armstrong

Billie Holiday

Glenn Miller

The Beach Boys

Lena Horne

Abbe Lane

The Doors

Johnny Cash

Peggy Lee

Patsy Cline

Helen O’Connell

Cab Calloway

Tommy Dorsey

Keely Smith

Count Basie

Kay Starr

Margaret Whiting Woody Herman

Guy Lombardo Lawrence Welk

The Temptations

Rudy Vallee Jane Russell Dinah Shore tions. Unfortunately, the pier su ered several setbacks over the years, including damage from storms and res. In 1970, it was signi cantly shortened to 448 feet. Nevertheless, it remains a popular tourist attraction and a testament to the ingenuity of its builders. n

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