“Geniuses are regular people doing what they love.”
will hang in the stairwell leading to the stardeck
of the tower at Wizard Academy.
Want to donate $100.00 to help fund it?
The names of the donors will appear on framed parchment
near the flyer, along with the following passages from
the journal of Orville and Wilbur Wright:
Father brought home to us a small toy actuated by
a rubber string which would lift itself into the air.
We built a number of copies of this toy,
which flew successfully.”
– Orville Wright
June 1, 1900, from Dayton Ohio
“For the present, I have but little time for my aeronautical investigations, in fact I try to keep my mind off the subject during the bicycle season as I find that business is neglected otherwise.”
– Wilbur
September 23, 1900 from Kitty Hawk
“I have not taken up the problem with the expectation of financial profit. Neither do I have any strong expectation of achieving the solution at the present time or possibly any time. My trip would be no great disappointment if I accomplish practically nothing.”
– Wilbur
Friday, September 26, 1902, from Kitty Hawk
“I put in part of the day constructing a death trap for a poor mouse that has been annoying us by prowling about our kitchen shelves at nights. We are now anxious
ly awaiting the arrival of the ‘victim’.”
– Orville
Saturday, September 27, 1902, from Kitty Hawk
“At 11 o’clock last night I was awakened by the mouse crawling over my face. Will had advised me that I had better get something to cover my head, or I would have it “chawed” off
like Guillaume Mona had by the bear. I found on getting up that the little fellow had only come to tell me to put another piece of corn bread in the trap. He had disposed of the first piece. I have sworn “vengeance” on the little fellow for this impudence and insult…”
– Orville
October 18, 1903, from Kitty Hawk
“The wopper flying machine is coming on all right and will probably be done about November 1.”
– Wilbur
November 20, 1903, from Kitty Hawk
“While in the bicycle business we had become well acquainted with the use of hard tire cement for fastening tires on the rims. We had once used it successfully for repairing a stop watch after several watchsmiths had told us it could not be repaired. If tire cement was good for fastening the hands on a stop watch, why should it not be good for fastening the sprockets on the propeller shaft of a flying machine?”
– Orville
In a Western Union Telegraph to their father,
December 17, 1903
“success four flights thursday morning all against twenty one mile wind started from level with engine power alone average speed through air thirty one miles longest 57 seconds inform press. home Christmas. Orville”
“When Columbus discovered America he did not know what the outcome would be, and no one at that time knew; and I doubt if the wildest enthusiast caught a glimpse of what really did come from his discovery. In a like manner these two brothers have probably not even a faint glimpse of what their discovery is going to bring to the children of men.”
– Amos I. Root, January 1, 1905