From Celina to the Clouds: The Remarkable Life of Frank A. Petrie, Journalist and Airship Pioneer

Prologue: A Stroll Above the Gale

On a blustery November day in 1931, the wind howled over the Eastern Seaboard. According to a detailed account Frank A. Petrie later gave to the Piqua Daily Call, small airplanes tasked with following the U.S.S. Akron were “bobbing about in the heavy wind like so many corks.” Yet inside the cavernous hull of the Navy’s new dirigible—the largest and most advanced airship in the world—the ride was as smooth “as a motor car on a smooth asphalt pavement.”

Petrie, an executive with the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation that built the Akron, was aboard as a guest of the Navy for an eleven-hour test flight. For a man who had already spent countless hours aloft, this was different; he called it the “greatest thrill” of his life. The scale was breathtaking. The noon meal was a “regular course dinner, from soup to nuts,” served to fifty people with more ease than on a moving train. Afterwards, he did something unimaginable on any other form of transport: he went for a walk. He enjoyed a “two block stroll down the ‘runway’ (his term for the immense walkway built into the airship’s internal keel) on one side of the ship,” a space so vast he could have circumnavigated the interior for a distance of nearly five city blocks.

He was a long way from the ink-stained press rooms of his youth. Just four years earlier, he had been a celebrated writer on the editorial staff of the Columbus Dispatch.¹ Before that, he was a student at Ohio State University,² and before that, a linotype operator for newspapers in Celina,³ Greenville,⁴ and, as a boy, in Piqua.⁵

How did a man who began his career setting type find himself at the pinnacle of aviation technology, a guest of the U.S. Navy on its newest and greatest airship? His journey from the print shop to the flight deck was a remarkable reflection of a changing America, a life lived at the intersection of words, war, and the wind.

Part I: The Man of Words

Frank Alphus Petrie was born in Celina, Ohio, on July 31, 1898, to George A. and Amelia (Hoerath) Petrie.⁶ Though he was their only biological child, the family was later completed by his foster sister, Betty (Holloway) Elsas, whom George and Amelia raised from the time she was a toddler. Frank’s story began not in the sky, but in the noisy, ink-scented press rooms of western Ohio, where he learned the highly skilled trade of a linotype operator. His early career was spent at local papers that formed the backbone of their communities, including Celina’s Daily Standard, Greenville’s Daily Advocate, and, as a boy, the Piqua Daily Call.

His career as a linotype operator was redirected by the Great War. According to a later newspaper account, he “left Celina to join the Canadian Air Force” in 1917.⁸ His path to enlistment, however, was not immediate. By the spring of 1918, his journey had led him to Detroit, strategically located across the river from the Canadian recruiting stations. From his listed residence there, the 19-year-old Petrie traveled to Windsor, Ontario, and enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on May 11.⁷ His determination was clear, especially as this move came after he had reportedly “failed to pass the entrance requirements of the fledgling American Air Corps.”⁸ The reason for that initial rejection remains a mystery, as his Canadian medical examination reveals a man in peak physical condition with 20/20 vision and normal hearing.⁹

His Canadian service records paint a clear picture of his determination. After enlisting, he was sent to England, arriving in August 1918. There, his ambition was realized when he was officially transferred to the Royal Air Force (RAF) to train as a cadet. He served in England until the demobilization, returning to North America and receiving his discharge in Montreal on September 19, 1919, with the rank of Sergeant.¹⁰ While he was overseas, his family made a pivotal move, relocating from Celina to Piqua, where his father began a long career with the Third Savings & Loan Co. This move, documented in his military pay records, would cement Frank’s lifelong ties to both communities.

Sergeant Petrie returned to Ohio, trading his uniform for the life of a student at Ohio State University. While pursuing a degree in journalism, he worked as a linotype operator at the Columbus Dispatch, his skill with the mechanics of words soon translating into a mastery of their art.¹¹ Upon graduating in 1925, his talent was already being recognized—he was the recipient of the university’s highest award for journalism. He joined the paper’s news staff and quickly carved out a niche as a premier voice on the burgeoning field of aviation.

His coverage of Charles Lindbergh was particularly noteworthy, as he was not just an observer but an active participant. When Lindbergh flew over Columbus in June 1927, Petrie was in an Army plane escorting him. “Columbus welcomed Lindbergh with whistles, shouting and waving flags and hats,” he wrote in a thrilling first-person account. “But Lindbergh didn’t hear the whistles or the shouting, nor did he see the waving flags or hats. I was up in the air with him, out in another plane.”¹²

It was his writing on Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight, however, that cemented his reputation. On Sunday, May 22, 1927, the day after Lindbergh’s historic landing in Paris, the Columbus Dispatch published Petrie’s editorial with his name signed at the bottom. Titled “INDOMITABLE YOUTH WINS,” the piece framed Lindbergh not merely as an aviator, but as the embodiment of the American pioneer spirit. The publication of this signed editorial was an extraordinary honor. As the Piqua Daily Call noted, it was the first signed editorial the Dispatch had printed in twelve years. The last person to receive this distinction had been the paper’s late editor, Robert Wolfe, the very man for whom Petrie’s university journalism award was named.¹³

By 1928, he was the paper’s aviation editor. His time in Columbus was transformative not just professionally, but personally. It was here he met Kathryn C. Dunn, and on November 9, 1928, the couple married in Franklin County. The marriage license itself captured the pivotal moment of his career transition, listing his residence not as Columbus, but as Akron, and his occupation as “Manager of Airship Co.”¹⁴ Though he had already begun his new life, the formal announcement of his departure in the Columbus Dispatch four months later served as a public farewell to the city where he had become both a celebrated journalist and a husband.

Part II: The Man of the Air

Frank Petrie’s new role in Akron immediately thrust him into the national aviation scene. He was no longer reporting on the “Who’s Who” of aviation; he was on the guest list with them. In April 1929, he was in charge of Goodyear’s display at the All-American Aircraft show in Detroit.¹⁵ By June, he was listed alongside Amelia Earhart and Eddie Rickenbacker as an official invitee to the dedication of Port Columbus.¹⁶

His ascent was swift. By 1930, newspapers identified him as the “Operations Manager,” directing experimental blimp operations in Florida.¹⁷ He was on the official reception committee for Dr. Hugo Eckener, the famed commander of the Graf Zeppelin, riding in the same car with him during a New York City parade. His work involved high-level public relations, once recounting how he invited former President Calvin Coolidge for a blimp ride. “He hemmed and hawed for two days,” Petrie wrote, “and finally told me it would be ‘unethical’ in view of the stand taken on aviation risks by the New York Life Insurance Co., of which he is a director.”¹⁸

By 1931, he commanded a fleet of Goodyear’s “Baby Blimps” and airplanes.¹⁹ But the glamour was matched by real danger. In February 1932, Petrie was aboard the Goodyear blimp “Columbia” when it crashed in a forced landing in Queens, New York, tragically killing a mechanic. Petrie survived, a stark reminder of the perils of pioneering a new technology.²⁰

The dangers of this era were underscored less than a year later in a national tragedy that directly involved the pride of the Goodyear-Zeppelin fleet. On April 4, 1933, the USS Akron, the very airship on which Petrie had experienced his “greatest thrill,” was caught in a violent storm and crashed into the Atlantic. The disaster killed 73 men, including Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, the Navy’s staunchest advocate for the airship program. The loss of the Akron was a devastating blow to the company and the future of rigid airships in America. Yet, in the face of this catastrophe, Frank Petrie did not leave the industry. He remained with Goodyear, continuing in his challenging role as the public face of a technology now facing intense scrutiny and doubt.

By 1938, he was the company’s Director of Public Relations.²¹ In less than a decade, Frank Petrie had gone from writing about great events to being an integral part of them.

Part III: The Man of War

The twilight of the great airships gave way to the dawn of a new global conflict, and Frank A. Petrie was once again called back to the skies. Now in his forties, the veteran of the First World War answered the call to service, bringing with him a decade of invaluable, almost unique, expertise in lighter-than-air craft. He joined the U.S. Navy’s air arm. By July 1942, he was a lieutenant and an “authority on blimps, the big sausages which patrol our coastal waterways hunting for U-boats.”²²

His service was part of a profound family commitment. His wife, Kathryn, was a member of the Woman’s Volunteer Motor Corps. Contemporary newspaper accounts stated that his daughter was a WAVE,²³ though no other evidence of a daughter has been found. Given that his foster sister, Betty Petrie,²⁴ a young woman raised by his parents since toddlerhood, was much younger than him and did enlist in the WAVES that same year, this may have been a mix-up in reporting.

In a 1942 letter home, Petrie revealed the mindset of a man at war, expressing frustration with civilian complaints about rationing. “When you consider the boys, at Bataan, at Corregidor or on the tankers carrying oil past the submarines, or even our own boys who fly 20 to 24 hour stretches in storms and at night, risking their lives all the time,” he wrote. “Those guys aren’t worrying about a little thing like gasoline rationing or whether they can get sugar.”²⁵

His expertise was put to high use. He rose steadily through the ranks to the rank of Commander by December 1945.²⁶ He was stationed at the U.S. Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey, the nerve center of the Navy’s blimp operation, serving on the staff of Rear Admiral Charles E. Rosendahl, the Chief of the Naval Airship Training and Experimental Command.²⁷ The boy from Celina who had once set type for the local paper was now helping to lead a crucial part of America’s war in the Atlantic.

Part IV: A New Chapter

With the end of World War II, Commander Frank A. Petrie began the transition back to civilian life. In late 1945, he and his wife, the former Kathryn C. Dunn of Columbus, located to Detroit, Michigan.²⁸ The 1950 U.S. Census provides a clear snapshot of this new life: Frank, now 52, worked as a copywriter for a commercial advertising company. It was a logical career step from his background in journalism and public relations.²⁹

Throughout the 1950s, Frank and Kathryn made frequent trips from their home in Detroit to visit his parents, who had moved back to Celina in 1945.³⁰ Social notices documented these visits, and one in 1952 mentioned their son, confirming he had a son in addition to the possible daughter mentioned during the war.³¹ Though a civilian, Petrie’s commitment to the Navy continued. By 1952, he was the commanding officer of a Naval Reserve unit in Detroit, his leadership recognized on a national level.³²

While Frank was building his post-war life, his foster sister, Betty, was embarking on a journey so remarkable that she chose to tell the story herself. Her obituary, written in a powerful first-person voice, reveals the incredible arc of her life. Born Betty Holloway in Detroit, she was the sixth of seven children. After her mother died, she explained, her father was unable to care for the entire family. At age two, she “went to live with the Petries in Piqua,” becoming the daughter of George and Amelia’s middle age, as their “only biological child, a son, Frank, was already grown.”

Betty graduated from Piqua Central High School and attended Miami University for two years before the war called her to a different path. In her own words, it was “partly due to the influence of my brother, Frank, I proudly enlisted in the United States Navy as a WAVE in 1943.” She served for three and a half years doing administrative work in Washington D.C., rising to the rank of Lieutenant. While in the capital, friends arranged a blind date with Robert Elsas, a Captain in the Army. It led, as she perfectly described it, to a “whirlwind courtship at record speed,” and they were married on January 4, 1946.³³

The mentions in the 1950s of a “Frank Petrie” working for the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) in Washington D.C. initially seemed like a possible continuation of our subject’s career. However, the definitive 1950 census record of his private-sector advertising career in Detroit makes it highly improbable that this was the same man.

Epilogue

The final chapter of Frank A. Petrie’s documented life shows a quiet shift back to Ohio. When his mother, Amelia, passed away in August 1964, her obituary listed her survivors as including her “son and daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Petrie, Celina.”³⁴ After decades spent in Akron, Detroit, and on military bases across the country, it appears Frank Petrie had returned, at least for a brief time, to the same small Ohio town where his parents had spent their final years.

His return to his Ohio roots, however, was not his final chapter. Sometime between 1964 and 1968, Frank and Kathryn made one last move, relocating to the sunnier climate of Southern California. City directories from 1968 onward place them in San Diego, where they would live out their retirement, residing for much of the 1970s in the seaside community of La Jolla.³⁵

It was here, in San Diego, that Frank Alphus Petrie’s long and remarkable journey came to an end. He passed away on December 6, 1986, at the age of 88.³⁶

Frank Petrie left behind a legacy pieced together from the fading pages of local newspapers and official records: a skilled linotype operator who became an award-winning journalist; a writer who pivoted to become a pioneering executive in the age of the airship; a civilian who twice answered the call to serve in uniform, rising to the rank of Commander. His life was a remarkable journey through the technological and social transformations of the 20th century, a story of a man who continually adapted, excelled, and quietly moved on to the next chapter.

Endnotes

1. “HONOR IS GIVEN TO FRANK PETRIE,” Piqua Daily Call And Piqua Press Dispatch (Piqua, Ohio), May 25, 1927, p. 2.
2. “DAYTONIANS IN ALPHA EPSILON,” Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio), October 28, 1922, p. 2.
3. “Family In Uniform,” The Daily Standard (Celina, Ohio), October 1, 1943, p. 1.
4. “FORMER LOCAL MAN IS BLIMP FIRM DIRECTOR,” The Daily Advocate (Greenville, Ohio), June 5, 1930, p. 1.
5. “FORMER PIQUAD ON RECENT AIR TRIP ON BOARD ‘AKRON’,” Piqua Daily Call (Piqua, Ohio), November 9, 1931, p. 2.
6. “Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003”, FamilySearch, Entry for Frank Alphus Petrie, 1898.
7. Library and Archives Canada, “Personnel Records of the First World War,” Petrie, Frank Alphus, Regimental Number 2356805.
8. “THINK OF NATION FIRST, FORMER CELINAN URGES,” The Daily Standard (Celina, Ohio), July 21, 1942, p. 1.
9. Library and Archives Canada, “Personnel Records of the First World War.”
10. Library and Archives Canada, “Personnel Records of the First World War.”
11. “HONOR IS GIVEN TO FRANK PETRIE,” Piqua Daily Call And Piqua Press Dispatch, May 25, 1927, p. 2.
12. Frank A. Petrie, “Columbus Cheered But Lindy Failed to Hear a Word,” Columbus Evening Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio), June 17, 1927, p. 1.
13. “HONOR IS GIVEN TO FRANK PETRIE,” Piqua Daily Call And Piqua Press Dispatch, May 25, 1927, p. 2.
14. “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016”, FamilySearch, Entry for Frank A. Petrie and Kathryn C. Dunn, November 9, 1928.
15. “AKRON INDUSTRY IS REPRESENTED AT DETROIT SHOW,” The Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio), April 8, 1929, p. 13.
16. “Aviation,” Columbus Evening Dispatch, June 19, 1929, p. 27.
17. “FORMER LOCAL MAN IS BLIMP FIRM DIRECTOR,” The Daily Advocate, June 5, 1930, p. 1.
18. Lionel W. Zwick, “Aviation,” Columbus Evening Dispatch, January 27, 1930, p. 23.
19. “FORMER PIQUAO ON RECENT AIR TRIP ON BOARD ‘AKRON’,” Piqua Daily Call, November 9, 1931, p. 2.
20. “Goodyear Blimp ‘Columbia’ Crashes In Forced Landing,” Janesville Daily Gazette (Janesville, Wisconsin), February 13, 1932, p. 1.
21. “BABY BLIMP IS SOUGHT FOR CELEBRATION HERE,” The Crescent News (Defiance, Ohio), June 16, 1938.
22. “THINK OF NATION FIRST, FORMER CELINAN URGES,” The Daily Standard, July 21, 1942, p. 1.
23. “Family In Uniform,” The Daily Standard, October 1, 1943, p. 1.
24. Cress Funeral & Cremation Service, “Betty Elsas,” Obituary, published June 2022.
25. “THINK OF NATION FIRST, FORMER CELINAN URGES,” The Daily Standard, July 21, 1942, p. 1.
26. “Family To Have Happy Reunion,” The Daily Standard, December 20, 1945, Society Page.
27. “Family To Have Happy Reunion,” The Daily Standard, December 20, 1945, Society Page.
28. “Family To Have Happy Reunion,” The Daily Standard, December 20, 1945, Society Page.
29. “United States, Census, 1950”, FamilySearch, Entry for Frank A Petrie and Kathryn C Petrie, April 10, 1950.
30. “Mr. And Mrs. Petrie Locate In Celina,” The Daily Standard, July 30, 1945, p. 1.
31. “Mr. and Mrs. Frank Petrie and son…,” The Daily Standard, July 12, 1952.
32. “Men In Service,” The Daily Standard, April 11, 1952.
33. Cress Funeral & Cremation Service, “Betty Elsas,” Obituary, published June 2022.
34. “Petrie Rites Set Monday,” The Daily Standard, August 29, 1964, p. 1.
35. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995. San Diego, California, City Directory, 1968-1980 (Sourced via Ancestry.com).
36. “California, Death Index, 1940-1997”, FamilySearch, Entry for Frank Alphus Petrie, December 6, 1986.

Bibliography

Newspapers

The Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio)
“AKRON INDUSTRY IS REPRESENTED AT DETROIT SHOW.” The Akron Beacon Journal, 8 April 1929, p. 13.

The Crescent News (Defiance, Ohio)
“BABY BLIMP IS SOUGHT FOR CELEBRATION HERE.” The Crescent News, 16 June 1938.

The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio)
Petrie, Frank A. “MORE DAUGHTERS OF STARS PLANNED.” The Columbus Sunday Dispatch, 27 September 1925, p. 76.
Petrie, Frank A. “INDOMITABLE YOUTH WINS.” The Columbus Sunday Dispatch, 22 May 1927, p. 4.
Petrie, Frank A. “Columbus Cheered But Lindy Failed to Hear a Word.” Columbus Evening Dispatch, 17 June 1927, p. 1.
“THAT did it.” Columbus Evening Dispatch, 30 March 1928, p. 37.
Petrie, Frank A. “Lindbergh Stops in Columbus to Inspect Airport for Trans-Continental Line.” Columbus Evening Dispatch, 29 May 1928, p. 1.
Petrie, Frank A. “Instrument Not Considered Innovation; Developed More Than Year Ago by Army Men.” Columbus Evening Dispatch, [Undated, circa May/June 1928].
“AMPHIBIAN ON WAY TO N. Y.” Columbus Evening Dispatch, 11 December 1928, p. 2.
“FRANE PETRIE…” The Columbus Sunday Dispatch, 31 March 1929, p. 41.
“Aviation.” Columbus Evening Dispatch, 19 June 1929, p. 27.
Zwick, Lionel W. “Aviation.” Columbus Evening Dispatch, 27 January 1930, p. 23.

The Daily Advocate (Greenville, Ohio)
“WINS COVETED SCHOLARSHIP AT OHIO STATE.” The Daily Advocate, 17 June 1926, p. 1.
“FORMER LOCAL MAN IS BLIMP FIRM DIRECTOR.” The Daily Advocate, 5 June 1930, p. 1.

The Daily Standard (Celina, Ohio)
“THINK OF NATION FIRST, FORMER CELINAN URGES.” 21 July 1942, p. 1.
“Family In Uniform.” 1 October 1943, p. 1.
“Family To Have Happy Reunion.” 20 December 1945, Society Page.
“Mr. and Mrs. George Petrie returned…” 7 August 1946.
“Mr. And Mrs. Petrie Locate In Celina.” 30 July 1945, p. 1.
“Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Elsas…” 20 September 1947, p. 1.
“Mr. and Mrs. Frank Petrie of Detroit…” 28 May 1949.
“Christmas Guests.” 24 December 1951.
“Men In Service.” 11 April 1952.
“Mr. and Mrs. Frank Petrie and son…” 12 July 1952.
“Two Fined $20, Costs.” 20 July 1953.
“Mr. and Mrs. Frank Petrie returned…” 28 December 1953.
“Mr. and Mrs. Frank Petrie have returned…” 15 June 1954.
“Geo. A. Petrie Passes Away Friday Night.” 11 December 1954, p. 1.
Drew, Pearson. “The Washington Merry-Go-Round.” 12 September 1955.
“Returns Home.” 21 January 1958.
“Mrs. Anna Petrie has returned home…” 9 January 1961.
“Mr. and Mrs. Frank Petrie of Detroit…” 22 November 1961.
“Mr. and Mrs. Frank Petrie of Detroit…” 15 April 1963.
“Petrie Rites Set Monday.” 29 August 1964, p. 1.
Gray, Gladys. “1930: Mendon makes improvements, Celinan pilots dirigible plan.” 31 December 1999.

Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio)
“DAYTONIANS IN ALPHA EPSILON.” Dayton Daily News, 28 October 1922, p. 2.

Janesville Daily Gazette (Janesville, Wisconsin)
“Goodyear Blimp ‘Columbia’ Crashes In Forced Landing.” Janesville Daily Gazette, 13 February 1932, p. 1.

The Lima News (Lima, Ohio)
Obituary for George A. Petrie. The Lima News, 11 December 1954. (Sourced via Find a Grave).

The Piqua Daily Call (Piqua, Ohio)
“HONOR IS GIVEN TO FRANK PETRIE.” Piqua Daily Call And Piqua Press Dispatch, 25 May 1927, p. 2.
“FRANK PETRIE AND WIFE VISIT HERE.” 3 June 1930, p. 9.
“FORMER PIQUAO ON RECENT AIR TRIP ON BOARD ‘AKRON’.” 9 November 1931, p. 2.
“1927—Ten Year Ago Today.” 25 May 1937, p. 4.

Magazines and Internal Publications
“MTS Milestone.” FAA WORLD, vol. 4, no. 5, May 1974, p. 8.

Online Sources and Government Records
“California, Death Index, 1940-1997”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPVM-JGP), Entry for Frank Alphus Petrie, 06 Dec 1986.
Cress Funeral & Cremation Service. “Betty Elsas.” Obituary, published June 2022. Accessed 2024. https://www.cressfuneralservice.com/obituaries/betty-elsas
Find a Grave. “George A Petrie.” Memorial ID 36554102. Accessed 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36554102/george_a-petrie
Library and Archives Canada. “Personnel Records of the First World War.” Petrie, Frank Alphus, Regimental Number 2356805.
“Ohio, County Births, 1841-2003”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X62R-R77), Entry for Frank Alphus Petrie, 1898.
“Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016”, FamilySearch, Entry for Frank A. Petrie and Kathryn C. Dunn, 9 Nov 1928.
“United States, Census, 1900”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MM6M-2Y9), Entry for George A Petrie and Amelia D Petrie, 1900.
“United States, Census, 1920”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDRW-P7N), Entry for George A Petrie and Hoerath D Petrie, 1920.
“United States, Census, 1950”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6FSD-GQ1Y), Entry for Frank A Petrie and Kathryn C Petrie, 10 April 1950.
“United States, Social Security Death Index,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VS1G-L4H), Frank Petrie, Dec 1986.
U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995. San Diego, California, City Directory, 1968-1980. (Sourced via Ancestry.com).