The Time Capsule | Roy Marshall

The caller on Sunday afternoon identified himself as Frederick Lewis of White Plains, New York, and said he’d like to buy my July, 1937, issue of “Liberty” magazine.

I had no idea what he was talking about. He said it was the one in which the cover depicted a scene from the feature article, which was written by Gordon Enders. The fog began to lift, but slowly. 

 A few years ago I encountered a 1937 headline in our paper which said a former area resident was making plans to fly thousands of pounds of gold out of Tibet. The accompanying article left questions unanswered, including the obvious — did he do it? 

While delving into this it occurred to me that an unusually high number of noteworthy aviators had roots in Montgomery County. To make the point, I went out on a limb and compiled a list of our “top 10 fliers” and wrote a column about each. Clyde Cessna, Jack Longstreet, and Clifford Burnham were included, as was Gordon Enders. (The list needs updated, as we now have a Guinness record holder to consider.) 

Of all our pioneer aviators Gordon Enders was perhaps the most diverse—and colorful.    

The Enders family came to this area when Gordon was five or six years old. They left in about 1910 when his father, a teacher, accepted a position instructing English at locations in China and Tibet. Gordon learned the languages. Later, when WWI began, he went to France and joined the resistance. He drove a Red Cross ambulance before learning to fly, after which he became a fighter pilot in the famed “Lafayette Escadrille.” 

In the 1920s we find him traveling frequently from New York City to Europe, where he sold airplanes and lessons. His knowledge of aeronautics and the Chinese language led him to that country, eventually dealing with a regime that wanted to establish a Chinese air force. 

In about 1930, Enders visited Tibet and met the Dali Lama. He then met him again, and again. According to Enders’ first book, “Nowhere Else in the World,” the Dali Lama feared his country would be absorbed by Communist China. He sought strength and security by establishing a system of transportation and technology comparable to that of the United States. A plan evolved. America’s capitalistic entrepreneurs were light years ahead of Communist countries, knew how to build roads and machines, harness and generate electricity, organize a work force. The Dali Lama envisioned something comparable. Private contractors would do the hands-on work, but a project of the scale contemplated required co-ordination by the governments of both countries. It would also be incredibly expensive, but Tibet was incredibly rich. Enders described tons of gold that had been amassed over several centuries. The gold was doing Tibet no good, and there was fear that an aggressive nation might seize it. 

According to Enders’ account, a deal was struck; he would return to the U.S. and, acting on behalf of the Dali Lama, broker the deal and handle the transfer of gold. 

It was a grand scheme, potentially giving this country a powerful ally in a sensitive location. Enders felt part of convincing the federal government was to gain public support. A speaking tour, books, magazine and newspaper articles followed. Enders was all over the news, and at times made reference to his boyhood home in southwest Iowa. 

The world changed when Hitler invaded Poland. Enders served in his second World War, Chinese communists gained control of Tibet and their wealth, destroyed Tibetan monasteries, and established communist-approved schools. 

I wrote the Enders column in 2008. Last week’s caller is doing a college thesis on Enders and has obtained most of his published work. The 1937 Liberty magazine, though, is rare and contains an article in a series that Lewis does not have. He found the column online, saw the magazine reference, and called. 

I hate to give it up — a few pages removed from the Enders article is a Pabst Blue Ribbon ad which advocates drinking beer at work. We don’t see that sort of advertisement anymore. I suppose, though, Mr. Lewis has a better use for the magazine and I’ve agreed to send it to him. 

 Roy Marshall is a local historian and columnist for the Red Oak Express. He can be contacted at news@redoakexpress.com.