I’ve had a chance to research more about the 1931 plane crash than I wrote about two weeks ago. To borrow a line from Paul Harvey, here is ‘the rest of the story.’

Arthur Wright, the pilot of the crashed plane, died two weeks after the accident. His obituary, from the Oct. 22, 1931, Mower County News, has many details of his story:

“In the passing of Arthur Wright which occurred about midnight Saturday at the St. Olaf hospital, there culminated a triple tragedy of the airplane accident in this city on Sunday, Oct. 4. Mr. Wright, pilot of the ill-fated plane, who suffered serious injuries… made a valiant fight for recovery. He suffered a compound fracture of the left leg … infection set in Friday morning.

Arthur Wright was born in Cass City, Mich., May 4, 1890. When 12 years of age, he accompanied his parents … to Hinsdale, Mont., where the family operated a ranch for a number of years. …

Mr. Wright married one of Austin’s popular and loved young women, when on Sept. 17, 1918, Florence Crane, daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Frank Crane, became his bride. … To this union were born four children, all of whom survive. They are: Sylvia, 12; William, 10; Stephen, 9; and Frank, 5.

… Everything that could alleviate human suffering was done for him by his devoted wife and faithful friends, several of whom offered their blood for transfusion that he might gain strength, among them his fellow workers at the Hormel plant.

Arthur Wright loved the mechanical trend of things, of invention, of the soaring spirit of the motor of the air. … The children along Bridge Street will miss him … a mender of their broken toys and often a healer of their troubled hearts. …

And we who knew Arthur Wright are very, very sure that he found ‘Happy Landings.’”

His widow, Florence, lived to age 102. According to her 1994 obituary, she never remarried.

Next week, I’ll share a story about a different Arthur Wright in Austin history.

This week at the HHH

Monday-Friday: Circle of Friends Day Camp; closed to tours

Wednesday: Free outdoor concert by Bob Bovee and Gail Heil, 7 p.m. in the Peace Garden. Bring your own lawn chair.