H96.1.1863A

Photograph shows three men posing together, with their arms looped around each others shoulders, standing in front of a plane. Handwritten on the back, "L.V. Knope, navigator for 'Miss Doran' plane; Ralph C. Lowes, navigator for 'City of Peoria'; Kenneth Hawkins, navigator for 'El Encanto' (He cracked up on takeoff)." Knope on the left is wearing a light jacket over his shirt and tie. Lowes, in the middle, has his arms resting on the shoulders of the two men beside him. He is wearing a leather jacket over his shirt and bow tie, and a pair of aviator goggles is hanging around his neck. Hawkins, on the right, has his right arm on Lowes shoulder and is looking to his left and has his eyes closed and appears to be talking. He is wearing his button-up shirt tucked into tweed pants and his necktie tucked into the buttons of his shirt. The Dole Race or Dole Derby which was an air race from Oakland to Hawaii from August 16-18, 1927. There were fifteen original entries but due to various accidents and mechanical problems only eight planes actually took off and only two ever reached Hawaii. The race was sponsered by James Dole of Dole Hawaiian Pineapple. First place was $25,000 and second, $10,000. Vilas Knope went down with the biplane the "Miss Doran" somewhere between Oakland and Hawaii. Also lost were the pilot Augy Pedlar, and the passanger and namesake of the plane, Mildred Doran. Lowes' plane "City of Peoria" was disqualified upon examination by the Race Committee due to lack of fuel capacity. Hawkins, and his pilot Norm Goddard, in the plane "El Encanto" crashed on their takeoff on August 16th. Neither Hawkins nor Goddard were injured but the plane was wrecked. The men appear to be posing in front of the "El Encanto." Part of the planes numbers on the underside of the wings are visible "X 507," the numbers for the "El Encanto" were "NX 5074."

Used: Oakland Tribune