On Sept. 2, 1918, Lt. T.C.M. Bloodworth flew 266 miles in a highly publicized trip from Memphis to the Warren County Red Cross Fair.

Thousands of people were estimated to have been following his progress from Memphis to Bowling Green. The flight took two hours and 45 minutes.

While the community celebrated, a tragedy was unfolding: A student at the Bowling Green Business University fell through a skylight to his death while observing the airman’s flight from a roof on campus at what is now Western Kentucky University.

– “Way Back When in Warren County” is compiled by researchers at the Warren County Public Library and appears twice weekly in the Bowling Green Daily News. For more information about the library, visit warrenpl.org.