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| | Joseph H. Thomas |
 | | Joe Thomas, the famous Northwest Speed King who battled deep-holed dirt tracks and splintery boards in race cars, is one of our early pioneers in the air. |
 | | Thomas, now 70 years old and a resident of Pacific Beach, Calif., first soloed on July 4, 1911, and was at the controls, briefly, for the last time while aboard a Convair 440 enroute to Helsinki, Finland, on Sept. 15, 1958. |
 | | Interestingly, Thomas turned down a chance to remain with Romano and accepted what appeared to be a more lucrative offer with the Mercer driving team of $50 a week and 50 percent of the prize money. |
| www.earlyaviators.com /ethomas.htm (320 words) |
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