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INDEX/SECTION B - r/lwt * ^ ..,w......... ' **:'•> V*' * * TRENDS Thursday, September 19,1985 Section B Herald photo* by Scott J. Brooks Columnist Diek Peterson writes of a Page2B Crystal Lake's Tom Lowe, above, takes his recently-renovated 1931 Stearman C3R for a spin in the skies over Harvard. Below, flight Lowe stands between the C3R on his left and a Stearman N2S-3, Antique plane is reborn By Steve Metsch • Herald staff writer Present an obstacle to the Lowe family of Crystal Lake, and the clan will fly over it -- literally. Six years to finish a job estimated to require three? No problem. Take a demolished airplane and turn it into a working,' flying machine? Sure. Store parts of that plane in the living room all winter? Well... OK. The airplane which has been "adopted" by the Lowes as a family member is a 1931 Stearman C3R "Business Speedster. It's a biplane with an open cockpit and room for three passengers: two in the front and one in the rear. Planes that are 54 years old aren't seen often, and are considered antiques. This is the story of an antique's rebirth. Tom Lowe, father of the family and a United Airlines pilot, decided to take a chance six Septembers ago, when he found the plane in a New Hampshire hangar. The plane, having barely endured an accident, was in awful shape. The prop, engine and tubing in the fuselage were bent. The landing gear was nonexistent, having been shoved through the left wing after a round loop accident brought the plane spiraling to the ground. Even the fabric covering the plane was 35 years old. But Tom was determined. "I have been interested in airplanes since I was a kid. I was always interested in history, aviation history especially. After I got my pilot's license, I naturally gravitated toward airplanes," he said in his home's living room. •-- -- luiiM'pinilRIll U1 R'BffHlll&irCItft, had been 4fore of tin m i l until his death in 1972. After his death, two separate antique airplane enthusiasts owned the aircraft. After obtaining the disabled plane, Tom and Dave Dacy of Harvard moved it to Illinois in a U-Haul truck. Six years later, Tom flew the plane to Iowa. The success, however, wasn't easy. "We started disassembling the pieces we had and started renovation work. I estimated three-years and it took us six. I guess that shows how good an estimator I am," Tom laughed. V Tom took the plane to Dacy Airport near Harvard. Once there, John Dacy, father of Dave and Phil, acted as supervisor of the restoration process. He oversaw and inspected the work, which was mainly done by Tom and his wife, Nancy. "My wife helped a tremendous amount. She worked on it as much as I did. Without her help, assistance and support, it would not be possible. Besides that, she can paint with the best of them," Tom said. The plane is basically silver overall, with yellow on the wings. A red stripe, bordered in gold, runs along the side of the fuselage and sweeps up on the rudder. Nancy didn't even mind storing a wing and outer section in her living room one winter. "Well, I guess my main interest was to see it fly, because you can tell we need paint inside and out," Nancy laughed. Their 12-year-old son, Mike, also helped whenever he could. "We tore it apart, cleaned it and put it back together again," Tom said of the family's pet project. Some metal pieces had to be re-i blueprints were available 1 Although fije original parts. wfactured. Fortunately, the original i FAA Archives in Kansas City. (Imaged, it pll had many of the 1U8 for the Lowes. Jeff Robinson, la friend of Tom's who owns a publication company in Los Angeles, had purchased another Stearman, one which preceded the plane for some time. He finally tracked it down when it belonged to its third owner. t ' ' ' T h e p l a n e w a s o r i g i n a l l y u s e d a s a f a c t o r y demonstrator by the Stearman Co. in Wichita, v Kansas, from January to August 1931. It was then bought by Ellyn C. Heiden- reich, a businessman from Buffa- lo, N.Y. He used it in his busi­ ng ness travels as well as for personal use, and owned the plane Lowes' in the factory. "He had a full-time mechanic, Garth Carrier. They had the same type of airplane, but theirs was used as a crop duster and was all cut and scarred and had some parts missing. I told him we had PLANE -- Page 3B Dundee Township churches to be toured on Saturday A Historic Church Walk will be held from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, in Dundee Township. - Sponsored by the Dundee Town­ ship Historical Society, the tour will cover eight churches in the Carpen- tersville and Dundee areas. There Will be no admission charge, but donations will be accepted. There will be a guide in each church and refreshments will be served in some. The churches which will be toured are: Zion United Church of Christ, Carpentersville; First Congrega­ tional Church of Carpentersville, Washington Street; Immanuel Lu­ theran Church, Main Street, East Dundee; Bethlehem Lutheran Church, West Dundee; United Meth­ odist Church, West Dundee; First Congregational Church, Main Street, West Dundee; St. James Episcopal Church, Washington Street, West Dundee; and St. Cath­ erine of Siena Catholic Church, Rt. 31 and 72, West Dundee. Some of the churches are over 100 years old and have had an active part in the community. Dundee Township is celebrating its sesqulcentennial and the church tour is part of the celebration. For information call (312) 428- 1764. Crime of the Week In early August, Crystal Lake Po­ lice began receiving reports of crim­ inal damage to property incidents. where windows in cars, homes and[ businesses were being shot out by ary air rifle or high-powered sling shots. Since that time, reports have contin­ ued to come in, and more than 20 separate incidents have occurred. The damage has occurred throughout Crystal Lake, and recent targets have even included several churches. To make matters worse, the suspects have begun using a .22 caliber firearm to do some of the damage. In addition to the thou- Lower rates for electricity in effect Commonwealth Edison reminds its residential customers that lower non-summer electricity rates are being phased back into effect. In 1979, the Illinois Commence Commission directed Edison to create a two-tier rate structure for the summer and non-summer months to more accurately reflect Edison's cost of providing elec­ tricity during the two seasons and to encourage conservation during the peak summer months. The non-summer rate is 7.282 cents per kilowatthour for the first 400 kilowatthours of use in each month. The non-summer rate is reduced to 4.32 cents pe£ kilowat­ thour for usage over the 400 kilowatthour level. Additional usage over the 400 kilowatthour level is now a comparative bargain for the next eight months. The residential rate is 10.561 cents per kilowatthour for all kilowatthours used during the summer months. Non-summer rates begin as ear­ ly as Sept. 15 or as late as Oct. 15, depending upon when the customer's meter is read. A customer can determine the ap­ proximate beginning of his or her non-summer rate period by look­ ing at the time covered by the August bill. If the' period ends Aug 15 or later, that ending date will mark the start of the first month of the non-summer rate billing. For ex­ ample, if the ending date is Aug. 25, the non-summer rate would be effective on or about Sept. 25. If the ending date of the August bill was prior to the 15th, the non- summer rates would begin on or about the corresponding day in October. All residential customers will)>e billed at the lower non summer rate for eight full billing months. The first full weekend in September traditionally ntarks the end of summer in many peoples' minds. However, very warm weather can continue. Into September as happened this year. Edison set a record Saturday peak of 12,600 megawatts on Sept. 7 as temperatures soared to 99*. Edison reminds its residential customers that electricity used during that period will be billed under the summer rate. Learn to manage stress at Good Shepherd Hospital 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. In the Conference Room of the Doctor's Office Building North, adjacent to the hospital. The emphasis of this program is on Intervention -- what to do about stress and how to do it. This in­ cludes time management Issues, conflict resolution techniques, and r e l a x a t i o n m e t h o d s . T h e workshop is lead by a psychologist from the Family Care Network. Fee for the program Is $50. Reservations are required and can be completed by calling the hospital at (312) 381-9353. The American Academy of Family Physicians estimates that two-thirds of office visits to family doctors are prompted by stress- related symptoms. Stress Is believed to be a major contributor to coronary heart disease, hypertension, ulcers and cancer. Stress plays a major role in ag­ gravating conditions such as diabetes, asthma, kidney disease, thyroid disease and more. Learn to manage stress at Good S h e p h e r d H o s p i t a l ' s S t r e s s Management Workshop. The next two-session workshop will be held Mondays, Sept. 23 and 30, from PEOPLI TALK Stick-to-it attitude The new Miss America, Susan Akin, says she got a grip on herself by using a spray-on adhesive to keep her swlmsult from creeping up on her buttocks. Akin appeared on a New York radio show Tuesday and also said she saw nothing wrong with contestants enhancing their figures with tape or padding. "The closest thing I did was put 'Firm Grip' on my behind so when I walked, my swlmsult wouldn't ride up," she said. Akin's sticky substance is like that athletes use to improve their grip and that bald men use to keep their toupees in place. Albert Marks Jr., the director of the Miss America pageant, says he sees nothing wrong with the stick-on approach. "It seems reasonable enough," he said. "When you're walking down that runway with a swlmsult that rides up, it could be difficult. I think It's kind of funny. After all, they straighten their teeth and polish their nails." Memphis rocks again Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Roy Orblson are gathering at the Sun Records Studio to recreate the Memphis spirit they had in the 1950s when they were helping invent rock 'n'roll. Hut, should anyone forget this is not 1955, Chips Moman, who will produce their collaborative album, says it probably will be accompanied by a video. "We're not here to recapture that sound," Cash said "We're here to recapture the spirit back then." It was inevitable that another early Sun Records star, Elvli Presley, would come up at their news conference. "Elvis is not with us, God rest his soul," Lewis said. "He's the onlytme missing." "His spirit will be there," Cash said. The album, as yet untitled, will feature collaborations as well as solo efforts and should be available in early 1986. Wait for the late review It's not so much what critics say but what they don't see that IxHhers actress Glenn Close, star of such films as "The Big Chill" and "The Natural" and a Tony winner for her role In "The Heal Thing" on Broadway. Close, in Boston to promote her two new films, "Maxlc" and "The Jagged Edge," says that stage actors develop their roles king after the critics are gone. "It's always bothered me that critics come on opening night and never come back," she said. "The best work is often done later in the run after you've done a lot of experimenting But once the critics have written their notices, that's It. They 'the reviews) stay the same, and the performance doesn't. The terrifying thing is that in film everything is permanent. For better or worse, the performance never changes." - Grand Poobah shows off Jackie Gleason, noble member of the Royal Order of Raccoons, checked out Chicago's Raccoon Club recently, but didn't find any guys in fur hats. Ralph Kramden probably would have felt out of place at the pink and black '30s-style nightclub, where the men drink martinis and the women wear veils, but Gleason apparently had a bail inviting himself to lead the band, the Footwarmers. Bandleader Mike Walbrklge says Gleason, wearing a red carnation, asked, "Can you guys play something sort of ricky-ticky?" They launched into "You're Going To Lose Your Gal," circa 1934, with Gleason putting plenty of body English on his conducting and the audience in stitches sands of dollars worth of damage being done, this switch in weapons has escalated the danger of these incidents. Crime Stoppers wants to help catch these dangerous criminals be­ fore someone gets hurt. Crime Stop­ pers pays cash rewards of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and filing of criminal charges against offenders. Persons having any Information about these criminal damage inci­ dents, or information about any oth­ er crimes, should call Crime Stop­ pers at 1-800-762-STQP. Glimpses Choreographer Twyla Tharp told Glamour magazine that she started her first Job at 8, selling tickets at her parents' Los Angeles drive in. "I learned everything 1 know about theater from that job - how people respond to visuals, how to set up a program arid the importance of advertising," she said ... Dolly Parton may appear before trie Pigeon Forge, Tenn., City Commission again next week to find out whether the city will help her turn an amusement park into her very own Dolly wood She wants to open the theme park next spring, but first wants a pledge from the commission to improve roads and utilities serving the area Karl Maiden took a break from filming a PBS movie In Boston to visit with patients at University Hospital The hospital is among some 15 Boston locations being used for "Billy Galvin," an American Playhouse Theater production scheduledjor broadcast next spring