GLENN ARTHUR "June" QUINN, Jr.

Missouri -> Oklahoma -> Delaware -> California -> Texas -> Peru -> West

June Quinn, 1924 Yearbook Photo (Source: ancestry.com)

 

Glenn Quinn was born March 8, 1906 and raised in West Bend, Missouri. "June" was a common contraction for "Junior." According to the 1910 U.S. Census, he was four years old and lived at 1613 West Main Street, West Bend, MO with his father and mother and three siblings. His father was a traveling salesman.

The 1920 Census placed him at 5001 Olive Street, Kansas City, MO (KC). lHe lived with his parents and his family that now included three brothers and a sister. His father was a "commercial traveler" for an "auto accessory" company. His older brother Allen was coded as an "office manager" for the "Associated Press." The Census taker got Glenn's age wrong, listing him as two years old when he was nearly 14.

The KC Central High School yearbook for 1924 pictured him, left. While fellow students had lists of extracurricular activities after their names, Quinn had none. But, he had other interests.

The Kansas City Star, May 30,1924, below, describes a Kansas City air meet held for visiting Shriners. It describes a miniature aircaft built by Quinn and two of his brothers. Surely the brothers worked on designing and building their airplane long before June graduated high school.

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The Kansas City Star, May 30,1924 (Source: newspapers.com)

Their airplane could have been anything. In 1924, federal regulations governing the quality, structure or airworthiness of aircraft did not exist. Neither did guidelines or rules for pilot age or competence. These kinds of regulations were not promulgated until the Air Commerce Act (ACA) of 1926. That Act was written under the guidance, coincidentally, of fellow Register pilot Hiram Bingham. I do not know the design of their diminutive aircraft, or if it actually raced as described in the article.

Another early, but brief, article in the Sapulpa (OK) Herald, July 14, 1925, below, reported an unusual accident involving two aviators, their aircraft and a team of mules. Note the location of the accident, Richards Field, is the same as referenced at right.

Sapulpa (OK) Herald, July 14, 1925 (Source: newspapers.com)

I am not exactly sure when Quinn officially learned to fly. Somewhere between 1924-25 is probably a good guess. He did come into compliance with the ACA, however, because, according to this 1928 REFERENCE, page 162, Quinn lived at 5001 Olive Street and had earned Transport pilot certificate T767. If you have any information about these activities, please let me KNOW.

Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune, July 22, 1929 (Source: newspapers.com)

 

 

Meanwhile, the Chillicothe (OH) Constitution-Tribune, July 22, 1929, left, reported on a barnstormer stunt that earned Quinn a quick $500. That he was judge, jury and sole competitor was unusual.

 

The St. Louis Globe- Democrat, August 18, 1929 (Source: newspapers.com)

 

By at least August 1929 he was a pilot for Universal Air Lines, and he was based in Kansas City, MO. The St. Louis Globe- Democrat, August 18, 1929 reported on the Air Line's personnel assignments, right.

Universal was founded in 1928, but a fire at its Chicago-based hangar resulted in the loss of 80% of the company's aircraft and a serious disruption of business. Universal was dissolved into American Airlines in 1934.

The 1930 Census placed Quinn (age 23) in a rented home in Kansas City at 3425 Locust St. He lived as head of the household with his younger sister and brother, Elizabeth (21) and John (18). All were single. They rented their home for $60/month. Elizabeth worked as a bakery clerk and John was unemployed. Glenn's occupation was coded as "Pilot" in the "Aviation Industry."

June Quinn landed once at Clover Field, on Sunday, July 27, 1930. He carried four unidentified passengers in the Bellanca CH-300 (S/N 153) he identified as NC250M. The owner of the Bellanca was entered in the Register as "June Quinn Aircraft Corporation." They arrived from Kansas City, MO and did not identify a departure time or destination.

However, we can infer part of his itinerary by examining the Davis-Monthan Register. Quinn landed there with NC250M on July 26th at 3:30PM. He carried three unidentified passengers into Tucson. They probably remained overnight, perhaps at the Pioneer Hotel, and departed for Phoenix, AZ (and thence to Santa Monica) the next day, picking up one more passenger along the way to Clover Field. At some point in the early 1930s NC250M made its way to the Empresa Dean hangar at Tegucigalpa, Honduras. probably to serve with Empresa Nacional de Transportes Aereos, S.A., ENTA for short, co-owned and operated by fellow Register pilot C.N. Shelton. With the ENTA fleet, NC250M was re-registered XH-TAF.

Information on Quinn during the 1930s was sparse. It's clear that he stayed with aviation in a combination of ways through the Great Depression. His preference for Bellanca aircraft and the name of his company suggest he might have been a dealer, distributor or contract delivery pilot for the company.

Wilmington (DE) News-Journal, June 22, 1931 (Source: newspapers.com)

Flies to Tulsa, Okla. June Quinn, of the June Quinn Aircraft Corporation, left the Bellanca Field Sunday morning for Tulsa, Okla., in a new Skyrocket Bellanca monoplane, which he recently purchased.

 

About a year after his landings at Santa Monica and Tucson, The Wilmington (DE) News-Journal, June 22, 1931, left, reported Quinn's purchase of a new Bellanca at the Delaware factory. A possibly related entry in the Parks Airport Register documented Quinn's landing at East St. Louis, IL on Friday, July 31, 1931 at 10:00AM flying the Bellanca CH-400 he identified as NC10794 (S/N 621). He cited his destination as St. Louis.

He made his way to California again in 1933. An immigration form documented his flight from Aqua Caliente, Mexico to San Diego on Sunday, May 21, 1933, below. He carried four passengers in NC13187, a Bellanca E Pacemaker (S/N 218). Prohibition (18th Amendment) was still the law of the land in May, only to be repealed in December that year (21st Amendment). Before that many well-to-do citizens made their way south of the border during the 1920s and 30s where liquor was abundant. This Sunday flight was probably a return from a weekend of good times for Archer, McCampbell, Bailey and Krogstad.

U.S. Immigration Form, Sunday, May 21, 1933. (Source: ancestry.com)

As far as I know, Quinn never married. I found a single news entry in the New Haven (MO) Leader, April 30, 1936 that reported a marriage license issued to one Glenn Quinn and Josephine Boeckers in St. Louis. However, another news source gave a different name for Boeckers' soon-to-be husband. Neither were there any articles describing a wedding, children or other adventures associated with a marriage for Quinn.

He was registered for the draft on October 16, 1940. His registration card is below. The other side of the card described him as having brown hair, brown eyes and dark complexion. He stood 5'5" and weighed 125 pounds.

June Quinn, 1940 Draft Registration (Source: ancestry.com)

 

The Kansas City Star, May 30,1924 (Source: newspapers.com)

 

 

 

Note that Quinn worked in Arkansas at the time of his registration and was self-employed at the airport in Pine Bluff. He gave a Kansas City address as his residence.

Glenn Quinn flew West while engaging in aviation in January 5, 1941. The McAllen Daily Press, January 7, 1941 published a brief obituary, right, that reported his death in Peru while dusting cotton fields. Several sources published variations on this story. The January date of his passing explains his absence in the 1940 Census.

 

 

 

June Quinn, 1941 Grave Marker (Source: findagrave.com)

 

 

 

His grave marker is at left. He is buried in Kansas City. He was 34 years old. He traveled with Tranport pilot certificate T767 in his pocket.

 

 

 

 

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