Author-to-be seeking pictures and memories from local residents
On February 27, 1935, Fowler native Clem Sohn jumped out of an airplane over Daytona Beach, Florida – and flew. Donning a pair of home-made canvas wings stretched between his legs and his arms and body, Sohn stunned the world by gliding, looping, and turning through the sky before opening a parachute and drifting back to earth.
Another Fowler native, Jim Thelen, a 43-year-old attorney living in DeWitt with his law professor wife and 5 children, plans to write a full-length biography on Sohn.
“I think it’s fair to say that Clem Sohn captured the world’s imagination with his bird-like flying and parachute jumping performances,” Thelen said. “And I think someone from Fowler, like he was, should be the one to tell his story,” he continued.
Sohn, who was born in December 1910 on a family farm just west of present-day Fowler to Gottlieb Sohn and Rosa Kramer, died tragically at an air show in France in April 1937 when both his main and reserve parachutes failed to open after one of his performances. He was just 26 years old.
Thelen notes that Sohn’s family roots run deep, and he hopes to collect personal recollections, family pictures, and stories about Sohn and his time in the area.
“Rosa Kramer, who was Clem’s mother,” Thelen explained, “came from a large family; and when she died before Clem was 10 years old, Clem spent his remaining years growing up with relatives in the Fowler and St. Johns area, including the John and Christine (Kramer) Motz and Bill and Margaret (Kramer) Kissane families.”
Thelen says he is hopeful that relatives of these families or others who knew Sohn will be willing to share their personal recollections with him.
“I want to bring Clem Sohn back to life, in a way, by filling out his life story with real-life events – funny, serious, and everything in between.”
Thelen points to a story recounted in noted author Jeffrey Zaslow’s 2011 book “The Magic Room, about Fowler’s Becker’s Bridal shop, that Sohn caused a stir at the August 1935 wedding reception of Earl Frechen and Helen Miller, a neighbor of Sohn’s, when he was talked into putting on his wings and jumping from the barn roof – to the delight of the wedding goers.
“Stories like Sohn jumping off a barn at Helen Miller’s 1935 wedding reception will breathe life into my book,” Thelen said, “and I hope to track down several more like it.”
Thelen has already researched Sohn’s air performances extensively, but won’t begin writing until he’s gathered more recollections, stories, and pictures about Sohn’s youth.
Family and friends with recollections of Clem Sohn can email Thelen at thelenjb@gmail.com to share their information. Emails should include “Clem Sohn” in the subject line.