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The Priest Who Saved A Journalist By Shooting Him Out Of the Sky With A Rifle
A photography stunt gone wrong in New England was saved by a man of the cloth
Just when we think we have seen it all when it comes to headlines in the news, something else comes along that takes the cake. It doesn’t help when journalists are the ones making the news themselves. That’s what happened nearly a century ago when an overly curious photographer decided to take to the skies while tethered to weather balloons to take captivating pictures. Unfortunately, his line snapped and his life had to be saved by a sharpshooting priest with a rifle who popped enough balloons that the terrified man was able to safely drift to earth.
In 1937, photojournalist Al Mingalone was in Orchard Beach, Maine. He was tasked with taking photos of the picturesque scenery from the perspective of a balloonist. Specifically, his assignment called for “house hopping with weather balloons.” Accordingly, he harnessed himself to 27 hydrogen-filled weather balloons that were tethered to a car bumper and designed to lift him into the air.
Unfortunately, he was only able to achieve heights of about 25 feet, no matter how hard they tried. As the day grew long and his harness bit into his skin, Mingalone decided to go for broke. He and his…
