THIS week we have a story from another forgotten pulp writer—James Albert Allen. I could only find this one aviation themed story by Allen who seemed to usually write westerns—although there only seems to be a handful of them from 1928 to 1930 from the pages of Western Trails, The Golden West Magazine, Quick Trigger Westerns, Western Outlaws and Western Rangers.

I could find a lot more information about Jimmie Allen in his hometown paper, the Medford Mail Tribune in Medford, Oregon. They’d seemed to have a write up in the paper any time he sold a story. (see below for notice of “The Flying Fool”) And there was a big write-up about Jimmie in the feature column “Oregon Folks” in the big city paper the Oregon Journal in 1932. Here’s what he said:

    “I was born near Medford on March 20. 1906.” said Mr. Allen. “I attended grammar school at Medford for three years and attended high school for four years, after which I put In a fifth year in high school to do a little extra work. Though my name is Albert C. Allen, I have always been called Jim. My friends consider me a crank along the lines of conversation, for I hate to see waste of any sort and it absolutely hurts me to see the needless destruction of our natural resources, for man, in spite of all hl- ingenuity, cannot replace nature. My father. Albert Cooper Allen, is the author of a number of books and of numerous stories. My father was born In Nashville, Tenn in 1875, served in the Spanish-American war and came to Oregon in the spring of 1904. Like my father. I enjoy writing. I write under the name of James Albert Allen. You may have noticed some of my short stories in the national magazines. Right now and for as long as I can remember, my hobby has been gasoline engines. I not only enjoy driving a car. but I like to care for one. I have a yen for motorboats, but I lack the wherewithal to acquire a racing motorboat. I enjoy the thrill of hearing the roar of a powerful engine, but my Interest in airplanes is confined to their motive power. I am having too much fun on the ground to go up into the air Just yet. For years I played basketball in the high school. The out-of-door life is not a hobby with me—it’s my life and my religion. About the first regular Job I ever held down was that of boatman at the Rocky Point resort in Klamath county. I was paid $35 a month and tips.

    “On July 10. 1929. I was married to Eva Mae Jester at Harriman Lodge, on Klamath lake. We have named our son Albert C. Allen 111.”

Jimmie’s first—and most likely only—aviation story is “The Flying Fool” from the June 1929 Sky Birds! It features Casey Mack, mail pilot for Benning Pacific Airways. Mack is more familiarly known as “Bugs” because he was supposed to take apparently insane chances when it came to flying. But the flying fraternity misjudged him. It dubbed him Bugs because it misunderstood him and it construed his ability as luck. Mack switches routes with another pilot who has the mountain route when he complains about how treacherous it is in the bad weather.

When an ace puts his crate through the reckless, daredevil stunts that Lucky Bugs Mack did, and always comes out O.K., he’s got to have something more than luck on his side. This one did!

• Download “The Flying Fool” (June 1929, Sky Birds)

The newspaper reading citizens of Medford, Oregon are notified of Jimmie’s latest published story page 3 of the June 9th, 1929 edition of the Medford Mail Tribune: