 family news family news osarep tue 3232010 2011  christopher b bellande and proud parents at the vanderbilt university commencement exercises on may 9 2008   christopher bruce bellande christopher b bellande son of bruce j bellande and mary betsy bryant formerly of vestavia hills alabama and now carmel indiana was awarded the founder s medal for the school of engineering he graduated with a triple major a bachelor of science in computer science a bachelor of arts in mathematics and a bachelor of arts in spanish bellande is an academic achievement honor scholar and a member of the phi beta kappa honor society the tau beta pi engineering honor society and the sigma delta pi spanish honor society bellande served as president of the vanderbilt math club for four years and organized the first vanderbilt high school mathematics competition he used his skills as a teaching assistant for the math department and volunteered as a language mentor to hispanic immigrants new to nashville bellande also cochaired the student government association s athletics affairs committee and was a tour guide for the office of admissions christopher completed the master s program in computer science at vanderbilt in december 2008 and became employed as a software engineer with blackbaud inc on daniel island in burkeley county south carolina christopher b bellande married laura cohen robbins on may 2 2015 at charleston south carolina  henry robert bellande henry robert bellande  first child of christoper and laura robbins bellande was born 23 novemeber 2019 at washington d c   austin blake smith and betsy bellande smith  mary elizabeth betsy bellande married austin blake smith  an accountant in little rock arkansas on march 7 2009 she is a clothing designer with dilliards incorporated at little rock arkansas and resides at maumelle arkansas betsy gave birth to austin bryant smith at little rock on june 22 2011 he was 20 inches long and weighed 8 pounds and 4 ounces bruce j bellande grandfather said of young austin  he has that bellande nose        austin bryant smith  b june 22 2011 and dylan james smith  b june 19 2014 with grandmother mary betsy bryant bellande  betsy bellande smith and austin blake smith had their second son  dylan james smith  born at little rock arkansas on june 19 2014   austin and dylan smith in july 2016   roy a bellande continues erecting his home and workshop at silva wayne county missouri roy and nancy arthur bellande sold their missouri aceage and home and relocated to lucedale george county mississippi in november 2010  roy a bellande missouri house image by ray l bellande july 2009  alton jason bellande roy and diane lost their eldest child alton jason bellande 19742019 who expired on june 29 2019 for many years he was called jason but in recent times he elected to use his first name alton since i remember him from childhood as jason i will use that nomenclature jason was born on november 11 1974 at biloxi mississippi the bellandes were domiciled in d iberville at the time jason was a rough and tumble child who seem to have no corporal fear i could see him as a future line penetrating running back daring opposing defenses to stop him as i recall jason graduated from d iberville high school in 1992 and worked the remainder of his life in menial tasks busboy waiter landscaper he was enamored with marijuana which precluded him finding a more financially rewarding occupation jason was affable gregarious and intelligent he had many friends who loved him dearly jason had a child elina bellande the daughter of   maria ida bellande 18741948   maria ida bellande was born february 26 1874 at north biloxi she was known as ida at the wedding of her cousin marie erma harvey to victor ougatte of new orleans on april 20 1892 in biloxi she was described by the biloxi herald  reporter as   one of biloxi s favorite belles who was also exquisitely robed as became the first bridesmaid of so charming a bride   young ida bellande appears to have been quite a social person in the spring of 1893 she was honored at the home of captain e castanera in pascagoula with a dance party her mother attended her to this function  the pascagoula democratstar april 2 1893   ida bellande married edward emile gossow  18691897 of st louis on december 5 1893 in the roman catholic church of the nativity bvm at biloxi father blanc was their priest mr gossow was a wellknown druggist from st louis missouri and the newly weds left after the wedding ceremony by train for st louis ida was residing in st louis when her mother marie harvey bellande died in 1894 as previously discussed the gossows initiated forced heirship litigation against her father captain antoine v bellande and her brothers for her share of her mother s estate harco ms mrb 10 p 145 lepre 1991 p 21 and  the biloxi herald december 9 1893 p 8   edward e gossow 18691897 expired at st peter s missouri on october 22 1897 at the age of 28 years and 2 months the biloxi herald october 30 1897 p 1 in october 1898 ida b gossow departed her native biloxi for new orleans she aspired to be a nurse and planned to enter the touro infirmary to achieve this vocation  the biloxi daily herald october 4 1898 p 8   it appears that ida b gassow returned to biloxi by the summer of 1899 as she was the proprietor of the bay view cottage a hostelry on the beach road at biloxi the bay view cottage was a twostory edifice on the northeast corner of delauney street now ge ohr and beach boulevard  the biloxi daily herald july 22 1899 p 5    bay view hotel on the beach biloxi miss  mrs ida b gassow prop  regular or transient guests furnished with first class accommodations at moderate rates open summer and winter  the biloxi daily herald july 22 1899 p 5   at new orleans she met native new orleanian  clarence a galle sr  18791931 the son of louis joseph galle b 1845 and martha m mueller although they are kin the galle family of new orleans and ocean springs pronounce their name as guyull not the gallay as that of the biloxi clan larry galle july 26 2001 on october 10 1901 ida bellande gossow married clarence galle sr in the crescent city in november 1912 the galles who had once lived in biloxi were relocating from new orleans to montgomery alabama where dorothy was born in 1913 in his later life the mr galle had worked for the veterans bureau and resided at alexandria louisiana  the biloxi daily herald october 11 1901 p 8 and the daily herald november 25 1912 p 8 and may 4 1931 p 2   ida and clarence a galle were the parents of clarence a galle ii 19041944 lillian galle 19051948 m lyle smedley 19071988 a native of traverse city michigan evelyn galle 19081948 loretta galle 19121948 m arthur mauret and dorothy galle 19131991 m carlo lucia 19121930 in 1920 the family was domiciled on st roch street in the crescent city 1920 orleans parish louisiana t 625621 p 2b ed 134 according to ivy lizana fowler 19212000 ida bellande galle would come to biloxi to visit ivy s grandmother maggie mccabe at 427 lameuse street ivy describes ida as   about five feet five inches tall weighed about 180 pounds and love to eat especially sweets   her father louie lizana put some grasshoppers in a brown bag and told ida it was candy when she opened the bag the hoppers jumped out and shook her up a bit ivy l fowler november 1996 ida bellande galle s obituary in  the times picayune  of august 26 1948 read as follows    at the residence 2351 north roman st on tuesday august 24 1948 at 345 o clock am ida mary bellande wife of clarence a galle sr beloved mother of mrs arthur mauret mrs lyle smedley mrs cario sic lucia and the late clarence galle jr and evelyn galle sister of august and joseph bellande and the late anthony newt and peter bellande also survived by nine grandchildren and two greatgrandchildren a native of biloxi mississippi and resident of this city for the past 50 years funeral took place at lumanopannofallo funeral home wednesday august 25 services at our lady of the stars and the sea church roch and prieuir streets burial in the st roch cemetery   auguste frank bellande 18761953   auguste frank bellande was born january 3 1876 on harvey hill in north biloxi he was known as gus man and judge bellande he is known to have left biloxi for st louis missouri in 1895 it would appear that man went to st louis as his sister ida b gossow was a resident there at this time he returned to biloxi for a visit in late july 1897  the biloxi herald july 31 1897 p 8   in the us census of 1900 auguste f bellande is listed as a boarder with his brother joseph at 714 julia street in new orleans at new orleans auguste worked for the l n railroad as a switchman and in the baggage department it is known that he lost two fingers on one hand as the result of a timber handling accident or other event while with the railroad while a resident of new orleans he may have worked as a policeman for a brief period of time the biloxi daily herald september 26 1901 p 8  stella hernandez in new orleans auguste f bellande married estella stella amelia hernandez  18791928 on september 18 1900 she was the born at nola on april 16 1879 the daughter of louis hernandez 18511907 and philippina schilling hernandez 18521923 philippina schilling had immigrated to the united states in 1852 from the rhine province of germany louis hernandez was a nola native and made his livelihood as a retail grocery on the corner of south rampart and felicity in the crescent city and for a short time in gulfport mississippi he and phillippina were the parents of nine children of which seven survived into the 20th century lula hernandez 18781900 stella hernandez 18791928 m august f bellande 18761953 blanche hernandez 18841900 m joseph russo winoma veronice hernandez 18881942 m william h gillen louis j hernandez 18901938 m corrine reggio lydia philippina hernandez 18911941 m george m elder 18911947 and may ernestine hernandez 18941969 m henry e duffel 1900 orleans parish louisiana federal census 1920 harrison co mississippi federal census t625 and the daily picayune january 24 1907 p 15 phillippina s hernandez owned a home on copp street at biloxi mississippi she died at nola on february 211923 louis hernandez her spouse expired at nola in january 1907 their corporal remains were interred in the greenwood cemetery at new orleans the daily picayune january 24 1907 p 15 the timespicayune february 22 1923 p 2 and the daily herald february 23 1923 p 3 estella hernandez bellande was the mother of august frank bellande jr 19021952 louis bellande 19041977 and harold bellande 19051983 family lore relates that estella hernandez bellande became ill with the flu or some other malady and had to be kept in a sanitarium she expired on january 18 1928 at nola and her corporal remians were interred in the greenwood cemetery the timespicayune january 20 1928 p 2  politician auguste bellande and his young family returned to the mississippi coast settling in the gulfport area in 1906 here he worked for the gulf ship island railroad as engine foreman until about 1916 gus bellande was a politician and is known to have sought the office of constable in beat 2 harrison county mississippi as early as august 1911 after this loss he announced that he would seek the office of police chief for gulport and again in 1915 he served as a justice of the peace in beat 2 for a number of years prior to 1923 and through this position acquired the title judge bellande  the daily herald august 23 1911 p 8 september 20 1911 p5     1915 campaign gus bellande announced his candidacy for constable of beat 2 in february 1915 he was defeated in this race by dh king  the gulfport advocate february 27 1915 and the daily herald april 22 1919 p 2    1919 election in the spring of 1919 august f bellande began his campaign for the office of justice of the peace for harrison county mississippi he placed second in the democratic primary held on august 5 1919 polling 356 votes to sp moorman s 412 mr moorman was the winner in the second primary held on august 26 1919  the daily herald april 22 1919 p 2 and august 28 1919 p 4    1926 campaign in 1926 major gr kemp expired in his beat no 2 justice of the peace office judge bellande made a run for this position basing his candidacy on his prior four years experience as the local jp  the daily herald september 1 1926 p 1    1928 campaign  in january 1928 he ran a political announcement in  the daily herald   which gave some insight into his character  in announcing his candidacy again for the place mr bellande stated that he felt that the knowledge and experience of his former term qualified him the record he made while holding the justiceship speaks for itself said mr bellande and is open for the public inspection if he is chosen by the electorate of the district to again sit as their justice of the peace he will endeavor to see no one persecuted but believed in the prosecution of all who were charged with the violation of the law friend and enemy would be treated alike in his court and he would know no favoritism he declared   january 27 1928 on december 30 1914 auguste f bellande married mary ellen christovich wagatha 18751946 of mississippi city at st john s catholic church in gulfport harco ms mrb 27 p 224 she was the daughter of antonio christovich 1835circa 1879 a slavic immigrant from dubrovnik croatia her mother was mary ann nicholson b 1833 mary ellen christovich was the widow of george o wagatha 18781902 whom she had married in harrison county mississippi on november 22 1899 they had a son george adam wagatha 19001991 george resided in metairie louisiana and was in good health and spirits when i visited him in 1989 he remained close to his stepson dr dan lehon of new orleans in the 1927 coast cities directory auguste f bellande was listed as a realtor residing at 1911 19th avenue in gulfport with wife mary ellen residents of this address also were his sons august jr a salesman for swift co harold a salesman for his father and louis a sailor he later founded the city paper company 1935 and was involved in the grocery and motor oil businesses as well auguste f bellande attempted a political comeback in 1943 when he ran for justice of the peace in district no 2 in a political announcement the following was related  while he was justice of the peace a number of years ago he was instrumental in cleaning out the slot machines closing gambling houses suppressing prostitution and getting working girls shorter hours at that time they worked 16 to 18 hours per day succeeded in getting it reduced to 60 hours per week of 7 days   he has previously conducted a clean square administration with a square deal to all parties without regard to who they are and he has guaranteed that no shake down will be permitted so far as he is able to prevent by anybody  the daily herald july 31 1943 p 8   obviously the voters of harrison county beat no 2 were displease with judge bellande s prior term in office as in the tenman race for jp in 1943 he ran eighth he garnered only 328 votes of the 7873 ballots cast or does his rejection by the electorate give credence that it is difficult for an honest man to succeed in politics   the daily herald august 5 1943 p 1   the life of auguste frank bellande ended instantly as the result of an automobile accident on us highway 90 at texas street in mississippi city on november 18 1953 judge bellande was east bound on us 90 when his twodoor austin sedan turned north into the path of a 1953 oldsmobile driven by paul skrmetti of biloxi mrs skremetti suffered a fractured knee  the daily herald november 18 1953 p 1   auguste f bellande is interred next to his wife mary ellen christovich who passed on september 28 1946 they rest peacefully for eternity in the st james cemetery at handsboro mississippi  the daily herald november 18 1953    august frank bellande jr august f bellande jr 19021952 was born at new orleans on july 23 1902 he may have worked for wells fargo and possibly was drafted for world war i august was known as little gus and later as gus he attended perkinston junior college and worked for a time as a meat salesman for swift company gus joined his father at the city paper company and eventually bought the company they were engaged in wholesaling paper products from about 1935 to 1948 when the business was sold gus owned and operated a tavern for a short time on the corner of pass road and court house street in handsboro now gulfport at gulfport on july 14 1926 gus bellande married  ellen laney  18961973 from birmingham alabama at the home of mr and mrs george wagatha in mississippi city ellen was born november 23 1896 the daughter of dr marcus w laney and mollie blair ellen laney received her nursing training at king daughter s hospital in shreveport louisiana she was employed as a nurse supervisor at the veterans hospital in gulfport when she met and married gus bellande the bellande s resided at 1910 19th avenue in gulfport near his father from this marriage two children  william laney bellande  19292002 and  mary blair   bellande  b 1932 were born the daily herald july 15 1926 p 6 and harco ms circuit court mrb 38 p 284 august f bellande jr and ellen laney bellande divorced at gulfport in november 1947 ellen moved to birmingham alabama she died there on february 21 1973 harco ms chancery court cause no 25415  betty travis bellande in 1950 august f bellande jr married  mrs betty  travis nobles pare 19201973 mrs pare was the daughter of john e travis 18941985 and pearl baucum 18921973 of hattiesburg mississippi harco ms circuit court mrb 83 p 491 after the demise of gus bellande betty married louis weekly in december 1952 harco ms circuit court mrb 92 p 88 at the time of her demise in july 1973 betty travis was married to robert c suber 19031977 she had two daughters frances nobles recore curet anderson 19372002 and janie taylor mrs suber s corporal remains were interred in the glendale cemetery at hattiesburg mississippi  the daily herald july 15 1973 p a2    william l bellande 19292002    william laney bellande  19292002 called billye was born october 2 1929 at gulfport mississipi he graduated from the high school division of perkinston junior college and joined the navy upon leaving the military he went to perkinston junior college where he was a classmate of joseph e bellande ii of arabi louisiana billye graduated from the university of alabama at tuscaloosa with a biology degree and later the university of alabama dental school in birmingham 1954 billye was in private practice at the norwood clinic for 45 years he served his community and profession as president of the following organizations birmingham junior chamber of commerce mountain brook exchange club birmingham district dental society birmingham society for advanced dentistry alabama implant study group alabama academy of general dentists and international association for orthodontics his most prestigious honor was to be elected regent of the american college of dentists he was also a flight instructor and member of the quiet birdmen of america  wl bellande image made december 1967 william l bellande expired at birmingham alabama on august 18 2002 he was survived by his wife  ethelyn jones bellande  his four children  lynne bellande  b 1959 m steve autry  leigh anne bellande  b 1961 m frank ambrose  william laney bud bellande ii  b 1964 m marna bellande and sharon blair bellande  b 1977 as well as seven grandchildren anne elizabeth autry stephen craig autry catherine grace autry allison laney ambrose elisa blair ambrose burton luke bellande and william jones bellande and his sister mary blair bellande the birmingham news august 19 2002 p 3b  mary blair bellande    image made 1951  mary blair bellande  b 1932 also graduated from the high school division of perkinston junior college she them matriculated to bob jones university at greenville south carolina mary blair has graduate credits at the university of alabama cal state fullerton and pepperdine university at malibu where she was awarded the certificate to teach on the secondary level in california as a teacher she has worked with students in the fields of speech drama and english her summertime travels abroad have allowed her to teach also in japan venezuela and guatemala 198788 where she worked in a missionary school in 1960 mary blair met and married hank kleyn in the state of washington a daughter rebecca blair was born in 1963 the kleyns transferred to southern california with the insurance industry hank kleyn died of a heart attack in 1977 since her early retirement from teaching mary blair enjoys world traveling holy land and kenya in 1990 and watching her grandson breman david buchan develop rebecca blair her daughter is married to david buchan a native of scotland who practices dentistry in san clemente california rebecca graduated cum laude from pepperdine and worked as a media planner and account executive until the birth of breman on march 27 1990 she is now a homemaker and is active in church and social activities in the community  louis bellande   louis bellande  19041977 was born january 23 1904 in new orleans it is believed he enlisted in the navy after ww i circa 1920 when he was only about 16 years old he later became a marine and was sent to china to guard mail shipments to that country his marine unit served in nicaragua in the late 1920s and it is believed he fought against rebels led by general sandino the present day sandinista party of nicaragua derives its name from this early central american patriot louis returned to new orleans and married florence flossie bourg  19131992 from bourg louisiana at new orleans on november 5 1929 they honeymooned at biloxi staying at the alvarez hotel their first child thomas louis was born in new orleans in 1931 at this time louis worked as a police officer owned a restaurant and drove a taxi from 19341944 he and flossie moved often as he was employed in the steel construction business daughter stella was born at lake charles louisiana in 1935 the bellandes also resided in baton rouge and joliet illinois before settling in richland washington in 1944 at richland ralph a son was born in 1945 louis was employed at the hanford nuclear reservation as a construction superintendent after retirement he moved to yakima washington where he died in january 1977 of a heart attack his wife florence bellande passed at yakima in may 1992  thomas louis bellande  19311995    thomas louis bellande  19311995 was born march 25 1931 he went to central washington university in ellensburg to study psychology but got involved in the office supply business he sold the business in 1982 and resided in seattle with his wife elizabeth ann where in semiretirement they managed an apartment complex their children are david thomas bellande b 1959 stephan paul b 1960 michael william b 1961 catherine ann b 1962 susan elizabeth b 1964 and jean marie b 1965 thomas l bellande died at morriston florida on february 1 1995  estelle bellande  b 1935   image made may 9 1943 at st raymond s catholic churchjoliet illinois  estelle bellande  called stella resides in stanwood washington with her husband  george browning  they were married about 1952 and have three children vicky browning b 1953 george browning b 1958 and lynda browning b 1961  ralph harold bellande  b 1945  ralph h bellande is a real estate developer whose business operates on a national scale he specializes in developing senior living centers ralph and his wife katherine reside in gig harbor with their children amber b 1976 tyler b 1978 and brooke b 1980 relocated to prospect kentucky in 199 amber bellande residing at lexington kentucky in 2001 teaching pe at the woodford county middle school versailles kentucky she is also the coach of the volleyball team  harold louis bellande harold louis bellande  19051983 was born in new orleans on december 23 1905 in 1920 he was living in biloxi mississippi on copp street with his widowed grandmother philippina hernandez 18521923 an 1852 germany immigrant harold was a delivery boy in a grocery store at the time later he worked for his father auguste f bellande as a real estate salesman harold lived in new orleans most of his life and was an engineer in the merchant marine service he was married to may breckenridge until her death in april 1962 harold bellande died in gulfport at 405 texas avenue on april 15 1983 he is buried in the southern memorial park cemetery at biloxi mississippi at the time of his death harold l bellande was married to phyllis frances smith markopoulos  19151985 who died at gulfport mississippi on december 1 1985 she was born at new orleans on september 28 1915 to frederick smith and frances ann hearty circa 1948 phyllis married william peter markopoulos 18981955 a 1945 greek immigrant to nola she and william had a son william p markopoulos jr who was born circa 1952 the corporal remains of phyllis frances smith are also interred in the southern memorial park cemetery at biloxi mississippi adjacent to those of harold l bellande her estate was probated as harco ms chancery court cause no p1162 the timespicayune december 3 1985 harold l bellande had no children with either wife  edward antoine bellande  18971976   edward antoine bellande was born on jackson avenue in ocean springs mississippi on december 19 1897 he was the sole child of captain antoine victor bellande 18291918 and mary catchot 18601931 captain bellande was 68 years of age at the time of edward s birth at the time he was very active as a bar pilot at ship island and biloxi  the pascagoula democratstar  announced his nativity as   on december 19 th a fine bouncing baby boy arrived at the home of mr and mrs a bellande   the pascagoula democratstar january 7 1898 p 3   edward was known to all as eddie he was a sickly child and in a letter dated december 21 1908 his father wrote   he eddie is always sick he cannot go to school like any other boy   eddie suffered from asthma in his youth by age forty eddie had grown to a height of fivefeet six inches and weighed close to one hundred and eight pounds he began balding as a young man and was totally bald by middle age as a lad he developed a strong interest in the new field of aviation ruth bellande ragusin and emmett bellande jr have both commented on the many model airplanes that eddie built and exhibited in the bellande home on jackson avenue in ocean springs in 1915 after completing his high school education at ocean springs eddie went to buffalo new york and spent three months at the curtiss exhibition company where he began the course in aviation it was owned by glenn h curtiss 18781930 the famous aircraft manufacturer who built the popular jn4 or jenny young bellande then went to the atlantic coast aeroplane station at newport news virginia he was the youngest member of the graduating class and received his license no 639 from the aero club of america which was affiliated with the french federation aeronatique internationale when he was eighteen years old  the jackson county times september 21 1918   eddie bellande returned to ocean springs in late december of 1916 his picture appeared on the front page of the new orleans times picayune  of december 2 1916  biloxi visit in early july 1917 eddie bellande took the l n from ocean springs for a day visit at biloxi he was interviewed or went by the office of  the daily herald  as they related that    mr bellande has been flying for eight months and qualified for a commission at 19 years he says that he could be flying for the government service but his age prevents him he is anxious to go across to europe mr bellande has an altitude of 2000 feet and has traveled at the rate of 125 miles an hour he use a curtis sic military machine during his flights   the daily herald july 7 1917 p 5    flight instructor in september 1917 he left ocean springs and went to georgia school of technology at atlanta where he was an instructor in motors and planes at the government ground aviation school later during the first world war he served in the united states marine corps as a naval reserves aviator from august 18 1918 until february 24 1919 his initial assignment was at the naval training center in charleston south carolina later he was a naval flight instructor at the pensacola naval air station it is known that he attended his father s funeral in ocean springs in june 1918 and was awaiting orders to report for flying duty in regards world war i  the jackson county times august 24 1918 and september 21 1918   after the great war in may 1920 eddie bellande was employed with curtiss aircraft at buffalo new york in the motor department on weekends he flew passengers over niagara falls robert e morris 19021970 of ocean springs joined the company in june 1920  the jackson county times may 29 1920 p 5  in october 1920 eddie relocated to cleveland ohio where he worked for the logan aviation company  the jackson county times october 2 1920 p 3   in may 1921 eddie bellande as a member of the aero club performed aerials stunts at the 1921 opening of the aviation season at curtiss field in buffalo new york he was accompanied in the air by em ronne and roland rohlfs  the jackson county times may 28 1921 p 3   lr  unknown edward a bellande 18971978 charles lindbergh 19021974 unknown   photo from ea bellande  southern california  in early june 1921 bellande returned to ocean springs from buffalo to visit with his mother he departed ocean springs in early july 1921 for southern california where he expected to be employed by one of the large movie companies as an aviator he flew as a test pilot for lockheed in 1926 piloting the first lockheed vega he checked out wiley post in the famed winnie mae and copiloted charles lindberg on the first twa transcontinental run in 1929 his career in aviation nearly equaled the history of the industry as it is known today he was a navy pilot world war i barnstormer skywriter crop duster movie stunt artist and an airline pilot while working in the fledgling hollywood movie industry he flew for movie moguls jack l warner and darryl f zanuck old family photographs show eddie with al jolson and rin tin tin the movie dog lr  rin tin tin and edward a bellande 18971978 on movie setlos angeles circa 1925  photo from ea bellande  rin tin tin rin tin tin  often billed as rintintin in the  1920s  and  1930s  was the name given to several  german shepherds  of  film  and  television  the first of the line c  september 5   1918   august 10   1932  was a shellshocked pup found by  american   serviceman  lee duncan in a bombedout dog kennel in  lorraine   france  less than two months before the end of  world war i  named for a puppet called rintintin that french children gave to the american soldiers for good luck at war s end duncan took the dog back to his home in  los angeles   california  nicknamed rinty by his owner the dog was taught tricks and could leap more than 13 feet he was seen performing at a dog show by film producer  darryl f zanuck  who paid lee duncan to film him duncan became convinced that rin tin tin could become the next  strongheart  the dog s big break came when he stepped in for a recalcitrant  wolf  in the man from hell s river  1922  rin tin tin would be cast as a wolf or wolfhybrid many times in his career despite looking little to nothing like one his first starring role  1923  s where the north begins was a huge success often credited with saving  warner brothers  from bankruptcy it was followed by shadows of the north 1923  clash of the wolves   1925  a dog of the regiment  1927  tiger rose  1929  and the lightning warrior  1931  the dog also had his own radio show in  1930  called the wonder dog on which he did his own sound effects true to his french birthright to the sounds of  classical music  being played the dog dined each day on a choice cut of  tenderloin   steak  specially prepared by a private chef following rin tin tin s death in 1932 in  los angeles   california  in the arms of actress  jean harlow  according to hollywood legend his owner arranged to have the dog returned to his country of birth for burial in the cimetiere des chiens  the renowned  pet cemetery  in the  parisian  suburb of  asnieressurseine   mothers visit as early as may 1930 mrs bellande was living with eddie in los angeles she came home in may 1930 to visit with mrs aj catchot  the daily herald may 31 1930 p 5  mary catchot bellande 18601931 expired at california on may 26 1931 her remains were interred in the evergreen cemetery at ocean springs mississippi  the daily herald may 28 1931 p 2    air mail medal of honor among his many honors as a pilot is the congressional air mail medal of honor presented to him by president franklin delano roosevelt in 1935 it was awarded to eddie bellande for an act of heroism following his only crash at bakersfield california he safely landed a transcontinental and western air trimotor aircraft which was in flames and helped all of his passengers to reach safety before the plane was totally destroyed by the fire see  the los angeles times   as one of the pioneers of the aerospace industry eddie bellande was one of the original organizers and board members of the northrop aircraft company he served as vicepresident and director of the houston company and hw houston company eddie helped organize maddux air lines which later evolved into twa at the time of his retirement from twa in january 1943 he was the number 2 pilot in seniority eddie had logged more than 23000 flying hours and flew 3100000 miles without injury to passengers or mail cargo he joined the garrett corporation in 1943 as an assistant to the president was elected to the board in 1948 and named chairman of the board in july 1963 his first challenge as leader of garrett was to fight a takeover attempt by curtisswright which was seeking to buy 47 of garrett s stock during his tenure at garrett the pressurization of production aircraft developed the b29 superfortress and after world war ii the corporation turned its talents to highflying civilian transports and spacecraft in december 1965 he retired but served as a consultant with garrett edward bellande belonged to approximately 30 civic and fraternal organizations including humanistic groups as well as aerospaceoriented ones in the field of aviation they include international club of washington sky club new york wings club new york aviation hall of fame dayton national defense transportation association ox5 club quiet birdmen early birds of aviation and honorary fellow of the society of experimental test pilots he served as general chairman of the hope chest campaign in 1964 was a member of the president s council of loyola university in los angeles and was on the board of the bates foundation in support of harvey mudd college mary bellande went to los angeles in january 1925 and considered living there with eddie  pacific fleet photos 1924 in september 1924 eddie flew from roger s airport at los angeles in strong headwinds and heavy fog to crissy field in san francisco his plane had been chartered by cornelius vanderbilt jr proprietor of  the illustrated daily herald  to fly gus thornrose his staff photographer to photograph the us navy s pacific fleet as it was arriving in san francisco  the jackson county times september 20 1924 p 1    aviation record in 1925 eddie bellande flew more than 50000 miles in 797 hours which was considered a record for its time most of his flight were to bring breaking news events to california newspapers readers bellande flew images of the santa barbara temblor to los angeles and san francisco soon after the natural disaster he took aerial photographs of the large tia juana mexico conflagration from his aircraft early in the morning as the fire raced through the resort border community  the daily herald january 20 1926 p 1    mae west and the 1935 kansas city article in 1935 a newspaper article appeared in a kansas city journal titled   a mistake when he moved next door to mae west  because of its human interest and biographical nature as pertaining to eddie bellande i will submit it as copied from  the jackson county times  of march 2 1935 virginia t lee reprinted it in her column appropriately named the column   it s the little personal touch that counts commented the man as he accepted a loan from a friend so if such things count for anything permit the application of a personal touch or tow of the chunky form of eddie bellande who has been flying airplanes since 1915 part of whose airline flying now is carried on a kansas city and who in his more than 10000 hours of aviating ha made one great mistake  bellande s mistake was when he moved into a hollywood apartment house and found he was living next to mae west this is why it was a mistake    a 10000hour man his own individuality which once was adequate not to say copious now has been lost because today he is referred to not as one of air transport s few 10000hour men but invariably and simply as the guy who lives next door to mae west no matter how long and honorable his flying record and it is plenty of each it all is submerged beneath the sea of whatever it is that causes him to be referred to thus     oh yes eddie bellande i ve heard of him he s the guy who lives next door to mae west  only a few days ago at the kansas city airport a stranger stopped the veteran airline pilot as he was leaving the restaurant excuse me the stranger apologized will you let me have your autograph   what for   well i understand you re the pilot who lives next door   aw nerts was bellande s interrupting comment as he walked away  now if you ask him about that incident he probably would deny it he s that retiring many persons are like that regardless of whom they live next door to for instance there was the fellow who lived next door to poverty he never admitted he had so much as a dime     this story was corroborated by marion illing moran 19011993 of ocean springs who remembered eddie bellande as a young man in ocean springs they were good friends at school and she visited him in los angeles circa 1937 she told me that at that time eddie lived on the second floor of an apartment house a few doors down from mae west the great movie star  marion illing moran october 1991    marriage marjorie edith lamont  19112001 whose stage and screen name was molly lamont  the daily illinois state journal march 26 1937 p 4 on march 30 1937 eddie married  molly lamont  19112001 at santa barbara california  the daily herald march 30 1937 p 3   eddie and molly bellande resided at 361 fordyce road in the affluent los angeles suburb of bel air he could boast of having joan fontaine the actress as his neighbor eddie was a bachelor for more than half of his life bellande was a senior pilot flying for transcontinentalwestern at the time   molly lamont the movie actress took her first airplane ride with newlywed hubby eddie bellande senior transcontinentalwestern airline pilot eddie was making his regular flight and molly took the ride rather than be parted from him soon after their wedding photo shows eddie making his bride comfortable   the times picayune april 3 1937    1939 flights and flyers  documentary blackhawk films 30m three newsreel shorts about jimmy walker corrigan  costa bellande  earhart hughes the mollisons post gatty rickenbacker et al  1940 testimony of eugene gerow twa pilot as a 1940 graduate of twa s first officer school eugene gerow 19072000 flew right seat with eddie in dc3 aircraft and claimed to be bellande s last copilot at twa the following excerpt from gerow s memoir  the umpteenth voyage a san joaquin valley farm boy s struggle to become an air line pilot  provides an interesting personal look at eddie bellande the man and insight into what it was like flying with him as the story opens circa 1941 gene is a young copilot relaxing in the lobby of the hilton hotel in albuquerque nm a twa crewchange stop after dick colburn twa instructor at kansas city left i sat alone in the lobby and pondered my dilemma i certainly wanted to check out as captain but i certainly didn t want to face that exacting involvement with as little actual flying time as i had accumulated at the controls of the dc3 under the random flight crew paring principle which the company now followed just then i observed a senior burbank captain approaching the captain was quite solemn as he stopped in front of me and looked me right in the eye i began to wonder if i had done something to offend him but he started talking rather jokingly i thought about what a poor crop of copilots they were sending out for replacements these days he went on to say that he thought i might  do  and asked do you want to fly regularly with me i was so astounded i stammered y y yes uh sir abruptly he started to turn away saying okay then tell corron i said you are to be paired with me from now on the captain who told me to have myself scheduled with him was eddie bellande he was one of the old ones to borrow a phrase from the navajo but  old  as applied here meant in experience not chronological age he was also one of the great ones i remembered him even then years before we used to fly across to rosamond dry lake and watch him and other famous pilots of that era testing new airplane designs we saw him fly the first lockheed twin there his name was a household word in flying communities up our way i had already learned what his reputation was among copilots on twa he had left a trail of welltrained copilots with whom he had been paired buddy hagins grant nichols and others before me were forever grateful for what he had done for them and they had said so burbank dispatch followed eddie bellande s directive to have me fly with him but it wasn t all peaches and cream eddie apparently had something on his mind to which i will refer later and during this early period of our flying together he just sat there in the left seat trip after trip and flew the airplane both ways it wasn t much different from the random scheduling i had been experiencing previously i was becoming quite discouraged and decided one day as we were shuttled over to the twa hangar at lockheed air terminal to taxi our airplane to the airline passenger ramp that i was determined to say something about it if he sat in the left seat again without offering me some stick time he did sit down in the left seat but suddenly jumped up laughing and told me to sit there after i had taxied the dc3 across the field he asked me why i hadn t protested my nonpilotage status and i explained to him just how close we had come to my telling him off about it eddie laughed uproariously at my illconcealed discomfort but what he then told me rang true naturally he wanted me to fly his airplane his way and thought the easiest way to put this across was to fly a few trips by way of demonstration rather than talking about it this gave him more time to think and as i said previously more about that later what a switch for many weeks i flew the airplane from the left seat day and night fair weather or foul after it became apparent that my handling of the dc3 had improved eddie handed me the logsheet clipboard one day and said here you can do it all now i had never experienced so much flying joy in my whole life but then as weeks passed and my glow began to subside i noticed that eddie was awfully quiet just sitting there and staring out of the right front cockpit window for hours on end saying little or nothing during this time interval i began to really worry now because i had come to think a great deal of him and i would have been horrorstricken to find that i had offended him somehow one day i abruptly asked eddie what was wrong he came out of it with a smile and said can you keep a secret if you can i ll tell you something that is very important to my future but i don t want anyone on the airline to know about it right now i promised and then he asked you know who jack northrop is i nodded and he went on to say that jack had been in some financial straits in his airplane design business and thought he might have to give it up eddie added jack is probably my best friend and i told myself that i couldn t just let him go down the drain eddie related how he went to night clubs where many big time people hung out and by staying cold sober himself but buying expensive drinks for these people and talking to them as they waxed  affluent  under the mellowing influence of a good drink he had accumulated a promising list of potential backers for jack northrop s brilliant undertakings the only problem for him was that these people wanted him to take over and run the company he had organized it may be too good to pass up said eddie it was a fascinating story as eddie had detailed it to me and subsequent events proved that every word he had spoken was true it was some time before eddie finally made up his mind to make the change he loved to fly so very much but in the meantime his last twa copilot was having a ball flying the dc3 from the left seat eddie bellande was quite busy during his last days on twa trying to make sure before he announced his voluntary retirement that his contemplated move wasn t going to be a bad one as i had previously stated he had schooled me thoroughly on his idea of how a flight should be conducted and then turned the whole thing over to me one of my nonstandard copilot duties became a trip into the terminal building at intermediate stops to pick up the new weather the captain was supposed to sign for the weather sheet and i had learned how to render what i thought was a fair imitation of eddie s signature quite often people who were involved financially in an airline and airplane industry dealings would ride along on the jumpseat with us and at stoppingpoints along the route eddie would stay on board to discuss important items with these individuals my most vivid memory of this phase was of leaving eddie and lamott cohu in the cockpit after a night landing at winslow where i went in to get the weather cohu was destined to be a president of twa and was quite interested in all facets of the airline operation when i came back up to the cockpit i advised eddie that we had been recleared with a second alternate for abq handing him the new release form cohu asked doesn t a new release have to be signed for by the captain eddie laughed and said it s been signed by the captain alright the financial wizard took the release from him and looked at the signature remarking by gosh it looks more like eddie s signature than if he had signed it himself years later when twa captain bill harrison and i signed in at the garrett corporation executive suite at los angeles international airport to visit eddie we had to write down the name of the person we wanted to see and i wrote the name of the chairman of the board ea bellande the secretary gasped when she looked at the handwritten name and said you must have known him quite well it looks exactly like his signature and very few people seem to have known that his middle initial is a they always write down  eddie  note eugene gerow 19072000 retired in 1972 as a senior twa captain with 32 years service and 27000 hours flying time if he ever flew into davismonthan during his long aviation career he failed to sign the register however early in his professional career he flew copilot with at least one other dm signer walter l si seiler chief pilot of wilmingtoncatalina airline ltd gene was a younger brother of russell t gerow whose photograph and document collection may be accessed  here  another anecdote from this book can be found at pilot  al gilhousen   1942retirement from twa capt edward a bcllandc veteran twa pilot who is well known in albuquerque and is credited by the airline with having flown 3100000 miles without injury to passengers or mail cargo retired tuesday in los angeles the associated press reported for more years than twa employees here could recall captain bellande who was taught to fly by glenn curtis in 1915 has been piloting passengers and mail over the western division as albuquerque is a crewchange point capt bellande frequently stopped overnight here in command of a stratoliner since twa put the big fourmotored boeings into service the veteran pilot s last flight through here was several weeks ago he then left on a vacation at the end of which he retired captain bellande will become vicepresident of a company manufacturing p h o t o g r a p h i c equipment for the u s army aircorps the associated press said he served as a navy instructor at pensacola fla during the first world war  the albuquerque journal    january 28 1942 p 10    biloxi visit during mardi gras of 1950 eddie and molly bellande came to biloxi from los angeles and visited with esther catchot chamblee who resided at 438 delauney street he was with air research aviation at the time they flew to biloxi  the daily herald february 20 1950 p 8    molly lamont marjorie edith lamont known by her stage name molly lamont  19112001 was born at boksburg natal south africa on may 22 1911 in 1930 she was a dance teacher in natal and won the outspan film candidate competition the prize was a holiday in england and a screen test with the elstree studios it launched her into an international movie career in which she made more than fifty films  the sunday times june 21 1998   they and the character that she played follow   the wife s family   1931 sally   what a night  nora livingstone 1931   uneasy virtue   1931 ada   shadows   1931 jill dexter   the house opposite   1931 doris   strictly business   1932 maureen   the strangler  frances marsden 1932   old soldiers never die   1932 ada   lucky girl   1932 lady moira 1932   lord camber s ladies   1932 actress   the last coupon   1932 betty carter   josser on the river   1932 julia kaye   his wife s mother   1932 cynthia   brothr alfred   1932 stella   paris plane   1933   letting in the sunshine   1933 lady anne   leave it to me   1933 eve halliday   norah o neale   1934 nurse otway   white ensign   1934 consul s daughter   the third clue   1934 helen arnold   no escape   1934 helen arnold  murder at monte carlo   1934 margaret becker   another face aka two faces   1935 mary mccall   rolling home   1935 ann  oh what a night   1935 pat   jalna   1935 pheasant   handle with care   1935 patricia   alibi inn   1935 mary talbot   muss em up   1936 nancy harding   mary of scotland   1936 mary livingstone   the jungle princess   1936 ava   a woman rebels   1936 young girl   doctor s diary   1937 mrs fielding   fury and the woman   1937 june mccrae   the awful truth   1937 barbara vance   somewhere i ll find you   1942 nurse winifred   the moon and sixpence   1942 mrs amy strickland   a gentle gangster   1943 ann hallit   thumbs up   1943 welfare supervisor   follow the boys aka three cheers for the boys   1944 miss hartford secretary   white cliffs of dover   1944 helen   mr skeffington   1944 miss morris a secretary   the suspect   1944 edith simmons   minstrel man   1944 caroline mother   devil bat s daughter   1946 ellen   so goes my love   1946 cousin garnet   the dark corner   1946 lucy wilding   scared to death   1947 laura van ee   christmas eve aka sinners holiday   1947 harriett   ivy   1947 bella crail   south sea sinner aka east of java   1949 kay williams and   the first legion   1951 mrs gilmartin many of these films can be seen on television and vhs tape eddie and molly had no children the bellande s enjoyed many visits to ocean springs and the mississippi gulf coast to visit eddie s mother who lived until 1931 she sold her residence on jackson avenue to frederick c gay in december 1924 and moved in with her relatives at biloxi mrs bellande expected to relocate to los angeles to reside with eddie bellande mary catchot bellande expired in california on may 22 1931 her corporal remains were interred in the catchot family area of the evergreen cemetery on old fort bayou at ocean springs  the jackson county times december 11 1924 p 5 and may 28 1931 p 2   eddie bellande died in the century city hospital on november 17 1976 at the age of 78 years he had a remarkable life and contributed greatly in the development of american aviation and aerospace technology it is notable that the lives of edward and captain antoine bellande his father spanned 147 years of time of which much was filled with adventure and discovery molly lamont expired at los angeles on july 7 2001  more eddie bellande  from general aviation news december 4 2009 edward bellande pioneering pilot posted by  dennis parks  november 24 2009 bellande in 1916  air speed record to los angeles broken was a headline in the oakland california tribune on jan 28 1932 the story reported that a new coastal speed record for trimotored planes was made on the oaklandlos angeles airway when a transcontinental and western airplane made the 360mile hop in 1 hour and 52 minutes the craft a ford trimotor piloted by eddie bellande and erwin lewis left the bay airdrome in alameda at 10 am and arrived at the grand central air terminal in glendale at 1152 am nine passengers were carried on the recordsetting flight that was just one of the many highlights of edward a eddie bellande s career in aviation which spanned nearly 60 years his career was as diversified and active as the industry itself during those years he participated with other contemporary pilots like charles lindbergh in some of the benchmark flights and activities of this dynamic era he flew as a test pilot for lockheed piloting the first lockheed vega he checked out wiley post in the famed winnie mae and copiloted charles lindbergh on the first twa transcontinental run in 1929 in addition he either organized or directed some of the aviation industry s largest business organizations bellande was born dec 19 1897 in ocean springs miss in 1915 after completing high school he went to buffalo ny where he spent three months taking flying lessons at the curtiss company he was the youngest member of the graduating class when he received his license no 639 from the aero club of america he then went to the atlantic coast aeroplane station at newport news va during world war i he was at the georgia school of technology at atlanta where he was an instructor in motors and planes at the government ground aviation school he also served in the united states marine corps as a naval reserves aviator from aug 18 1918 until feb 24 1919 ending his service as a flight instructor at the pensacola naval air station early in 1921 he left for southern california to work for one of the large movie companies as an aviator while working in hollywood he flew for movie studios headed by jack l warner and darryl f zanuck besides being a movie stunt pilot he kept busy as a flight instructor and barnstormer shortly after arriving in los angeles he flew for demille s mercury aviation co at its wilshire boulevard airport from 1922 to 1927 he was a freelance pilot flying for motion pictures skywriting crop dusting and barnstorming  eddie bellande in the cockpit of an avion with  its designer jack northrop on the left during 19271929 he was in great demand as test pilot by airplane manufacturers he made the test flights on most of the lockheed airplanes including the first vega and the golden eagle he also did all test flights on northrop s first flying wing later bellande would join northrop as a sales pilot and corporate director  tat pilots fred richardson and edward a bellande  courtesy of derek hugheyhorizon air seattle washingtonjuly 2011 during this same time he joined maddux airlines flying ford trimotors he continued flying for the fledgling airline through the mergers of maddux and transcontinental air transport  tat and the later transcontinental and western air merger which would eventually become trans world airlines or twa by midyear 1929 tat commenced a 48hour combination rail and air service across the united states between new york and los angeles the first westtoeast flight was made july 8 1929 aboard the ford trimotor city of los angeles piloted by lindbergh and bellande the first eastbound leg was from glendale calif to clovis n m the next day bellande and lindbergh picked up passengers for the last leg of the transcontinental trip to los angeles among the passengers on this trip was amelia earhart who had been hired by tat to help market the service  preparing for the first eastbound tat airmail coasttocoast service is pilot charles lindbergh  second from right  and copilot eddie belland e on lindbergh s right the advent of this service so captured the public imagination that six weeks before the service commenced tat reported receiving more than 1000 applications for tickets for the first trip one of the most remarkable events in bellande s career was the result of an inflight fire on feb 10 1933 on a night flight in a twa ford trimotor from san francisco to los angeles via fresno and bakersfield the airplane caught fire about 10 miles out from bakersfield apparently the floor heater which operated from an exhaust stack on the nose engine caught fire bellande managed to make it to the airport land and safely evacuate the passengers the fuselage of the plane was completely burned through a close call used by some to tout the benefits of allmetal construction because of his heroic actions during the emergency bellande was one of seven mail pilots who earned the air mail flyers medal of honor from president roosevelt bellande flew for twa another 10 years at the time of his retirement in january 1943 he was the number 2 pilot in seniority he had logged more than 23000 hours and flew an impressive 31 million miles without injury to passengers or mail cargo he joined the garrett corp in 1943 as an assistant to the president he was elected to the board of directors in 1948 and named chairman of the board in july 1963 the early days of aviation in california were rich in flying excitement against a background of aircraft and airline development edward bellande was an integral part of many of these developments  dennis parks is curator emeritus of seattle s museum of flight he can be reached at dennis generalaviationnewscom   318 views  