JOE LAKE LITTLEJOHN

Lake Littlejohn (he signed his name this way in each Register he signed, see below) was born April 11, 1895 in Marshall, TX. Littlejohn and his family enjoy good coverage by ancestry.com, which is explored below.

He landed at least three times at Glendale. His first landing was Monday, March 23, 1931 at 5:44PM. He carried one unidentified passenger in Fokker F-10A NC535E. On Friday, April 24, 1931 at 11:55AM and the next morning, Saturday, April 25, 1931 at 9:25AM he was solo in Stinson SM-8A Junior NC209W, S/N 4004.

He cited neither home base nor destination for any of his flights. He identified the owner of the Stinson and the Fokker as the Rio Grande Oil Company (see Census information below).

The 1900 U.S. Census cites him living at age five in Marshall, TX with his father, Robert (age 48, 1851-1943), mother, Annie (44, 1855-1941), three brothers and a sister. His father was an "Insurance Agent." In 1910, he was fifteen and with his family living at 514 West Burleson Street, Marshall, TX. This address is now a vacant lot. Brother Frank, now age 26, was a practicing physician living with them. Parenthetically, a long line of physicians emerged from the Littlejohn lineage that persists to this day.

Littlejohn registered for the draft on May 30, 1917. He cited no exemptions that would keep him from military service. His physical characteristics were recorded as light hair, blue eyes, medium build, and stature 5' 3.5" tall. He was 22 years old at the time of his registration and was employed as a bookkeeper in his father's insurance business. He was enlisted December 13, 1917 and released December 12, 1918. I have no information about the nature of his military experience or branch of service, and none of the Register or Census data alludes to it.

The 1920 Census records him living in Los Angeles, single and renting an apartment at 1100 West 7th Street. That address today is an apartment building that might be of 1920s vintage. He applied for a U.S. passport on June 14, 1920 for the expressed reason that he wanted to travel from San Francisco to Peru aboard the San Juan on June 20, 1920. The object of his travel was indicated as, "Aviator for Peruvian Government." I have no details of his responsibilities with the Peruvian government, or if he actually made the trip. If you can help fill in the blanks, please let me KNOW.

Lake Littlejohn, Sr., Center, with Sons Dan, Left, and Lake, Jr., Date Unknown (Source: FindaGrave)

 

According to findagrave.com, he married Frances Louise Gretchen Daniels Littlejohn (1900 - 1937) on July 14, 1925. They had two sons, Joe Lake Littlejohn, Jr. (1926-2015) and Robert Daniels "Dan" Littlejohn (1929-2011). The photograph of Littlejohn and his sons, left, courtesy of Find a Grave. The date is unidentified, but the photo was probably taken in the late 1940s or early 1950s.

The 1930 Census places Littlejohn in Pasadena, CA at 421 South Santa Anita (described as a $75/month rented, three-story duplex) living with his wife, Louise, two young sons and a servant. His occupation was given as "Aviator" for an "Oil Co." The oil company was probably the Rio Grande Oil Company, for whom he flew the Stinson and the Fokker, above.

Interestingly, he lived in two cities in 1935 A city directory places him living in Littlerock, AR and Shreveport, LA. His occupation was identified as "inspr," an inspector. Littlejohn was a Department of Commerce inspector in the late 30s and he was probably posted in the central Gulf states for that job.

His wife passed away in November 12, 1937 and we find him in the 1940 Census living in Marshall, TX again with his two boys, now aged 13 and 11. His occupation was identified as "Aeronautical" with the "Bureau of Air Commerce." We can imagine how difficult it must have been for him to be a relatively recent widower with two young sons, and working for the government on the eve of WWII. And, in 1941 his mother passed away, followed by his elderly father two years later.

On April 27, 1942, he completed a draft registration for WWII. At the time he was described as 47 years old, gray hair, ruddy complexion and with a small blue scar over his left eye. He weighed 130 pounds. At this time he was living in the Herring Hotel in Amarillo, TX and was still working for the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), based at English Field, Amarillo. His day-to-day work tasks for the CAA were not described.

On November 19, 1947 we find Littlejohn arriving at the Port of New York on the U.S. Army Transport ship Henry Gibbins from Bremerhaven, Germany. At some point he must have been transported to Europe for some job related to his experiences with the CAA since the 1930s. Again, if you have any information about the details of this voyage, please let me KNOW.

Littlejohn worked and traveled for the CAA at least into the 1950s. An article referenced at his Davis-Monthan biography page (below) described his work as, "...a consultant and participant in a program to establish a standardized air transport infrastructure in Indonesia."

J.L. Littlejohn, Headstone, 1972 (Source: FindaGrave)

 

Littlejohn also landed three times and is signed in the Davis-Monthan Airfield Register at the link. He landed twice in 1929 and once in 1931. All his landings at Tucson were in the Fokker F-10 NC535E, owned by Rio Grande Oil Company.

Lake Littlejohn passed away May 20, 1972 at Marshall, TX. His headstone from the local Algoma cemetery is at right. His wife is buried there, too.

Dossier 2.1.185

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