1911 balloon story not hot air

From the notebook:

-- The recent “balloon boy” incident caught the country’s attention, leading some to wonder how a real balloon accident near Omaha would have been covered if cable TV were around.

Roger Jones of Council Bluffs knows the story well — his grandfather, Ransom Jones, got his foot caught in a rope loop as a hot-air balloon was rising. He was carried aloft for a few miles before he and the balloon landed safely.

“A lot of older people remember my grandfather,” said Roger, 61. “They’ll say, ‘So you’re related to the Jones who went up in the balloon?’ ”

The occasion was the June 29, 1911, dedication of the short-lived Shortline Railroad between Council Bluffs and Treynor, Iowa. A history of Treynor says men held ropes before the balloon’s ascension, and let go when signaled — but a half-hitch knot caught Ransom by the foot, making him “an unscheduled passenger.”

Fortunately, Roger said, the knot apparently tightened and Ransom’s shoe didn’t come off. Neither did his hat. For years, the hat and shoe — with rope burns — were displayed in the Nishna Heritage Museum in Oakland, Iowa.

Ransom didn’t dangle upside down for long. Roger said he was able to pull himself up and hang on to the rope for the ride of three or four miles. People chased in pursuit.

The mother of a Colorado boy feared to be aboard a homemade balloon on Oct. 15 has admitted it was a hoax, according a court document. But the southwest Iowa incident of long ago was no hot air — it was real.

-- Katie Potthoff, a fourth-grade teacher at St. Wenceslaus Elementary School in Omaha, was called to meet with the principal last week — a ruse to distract her.

When she returned to her classroom, she was shocked to see her pupils holding up cards, each with one letter, that spelled out: “MISS POTTHOFF, WILL YOU MARRY ME?”

Her boyfriend, Kelly Zach, a third-year medical student at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, appeared and dropped to one knee. He presented a ring, which she happily accepted.

Bill Huben, the principal, announced over the intercom system that everyone could congratulate Miss Potthoff, who had been engaged for all of two minutes.

Katie and Kelly are planning a June 4, 2011, wedding, after he graduates from medical school.

-- At their daughters’ urging, Jo and John Martig of Omaha stopped briefly at the Brazen Head Lounge after a meeting at their longtime church, Dundee Presbyterian.

A contest had been going on, daughter Jann Glenn explained, in which one’s name was entered for every beer purchased. Jann was excited because the drawing for a trip for two to Ireland would be held that night.

Her parents arrived 15 minutes before the drawing in March. Jann recalled her father saying, “If we’re standing here, we should at least buy a beer.” Jo drank half a beer. You can see this punch line coming — her name was picked.

She and John decided to pay for Jann and daughters Jill Erdman and Julie Mohlman to join them. This month, they made the trip, which included a visit to the hometown of Jo’s grandmother.

-- Across the state, 60 personalized license plates root for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. One, for example, says GOHSKERS.

The state? No, not the state of Nebraska. According to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, those Husker plates are in the state of South Dakota.

Contact the writer:

444-1132, michael.kelly@owh.com