Welcome to The First Hurrah, a Boston-focused look at how history informs the news. I'm Roberto, and I place the seat trays in their upright position on this here flight. This week, we're talking about the weather quote everyone screws up, kilted bigamy, and the aerobatics of a killer.



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This week in history: The killer who flew a plane under the Tobin Bridge There was a bit of a buzz this week when people spotted—and heard—helicopters flying super low over Boston. How low? They were buzzing between buildings and around the Custom House.



The whole thing was a joint Department of Defense-law enforcement exercise, so there was nothing to worry about, though they could have done a better job of telling people. After the initial freakout was over, people just shared the videos online.



In 1989, however, a small plane weaved its way between Boston's skyscrapers, dived at Logan's tower, and even flew under the Tobin Bridge. But this was a story that was far from harmless. The pilot had murdered his ex-wife earlier in the night, and was firing an AK-47 while he dived toward several buildings.



During the day of May 9, 1989, Alfred J. Hunter was sentenced to two years probation for beating his estranged wife, Elvira Hunter. Sometime before 9:45 p.m. that night, he drove to her Danvers apartment and shot her to death in front of their 5-year-old son. Hunter left, and his terrified son ran to a neighbor to tell him what happened.



Back out on the road, Hunter carjacked a couple of people along Route 1, eventually making his way to Beverly airport. He stormed into a building at the private field and stuck his gun in the face of Robert Golder, demanding he be given a plane. Golder took him to a half-fueled Cessna, and Hunter, who had flying experience, took off, heading toward New Hampshire.



He meandered in the air, turning from the Granite State back down to the South Shore, then turning again and heading into Boston. Air traffic controllers hailed the stray aircraft, but Hunter ignored them as he powered toward the city.



Until this point, these were all seemingly separate incidents. Air traffic controllers had no idea who was flying the plane, or what he had done. Similarly, Danvers police were at the scene of the murder, and had no idea their suspect had stolen a plane in Beverly. It wasn't until after 11 p.m. that Danvers Police put it all together and started alerting the FAA and other agencies. The word went out to airports all over the northeast: A killer with a machine gun was up in the air, and no one knew where he was going.



Soon, Hunter was slipping between Boston's tallest buildings, and opened fire on the Prudential skywalk and other locations. A tugboat operator said a hot shell smacked him in the face.



Over on Newbury Street, bystander Andrew Smith saw the low flying plane. Then he saw the shell casings bouncing off the street. He ran to a patrolman and told him what he thought was going on.



"Nobody believed me at first. I didn't believe it at first," he later said in an NBC news broadcast.



After the alert went out across the region, frustrated police struggled to get ahead of the situation. They had no way to know where Hunter would fly next, but reasoned that the postal worker would crash into the Post Office Annex, where he worked. He had dived toward the waterfront building several times. Workers were led into the basement and ambulances screamed toward the site.



Hunter also took aim at Logan Airport's iconic tower, buzzing the structure four times, often coming so close that workers inside were sent running to lower levels. A terminal window was struck with a bullet, and airport officials made the call: All air traffic going in and out of Logan was halted for almost an hour.



Hunters aerobatics took him to the Tobin Bridge, where he first buzzed over the upper deck before spinning around and flying below the bridge, threading the needle between the lower deck supports and the Mystic River's surface 135 feet below.



He landed once at Logan, but taxied back to the runways and lifted skyward once again. By 1:15 a.m., however, Hunter was nearly out of fuel and had to land for good. State Police grabbed him on the Logan tarmac and placed him in custody.



In four hours, Hunter had murdered his wife in front of their son, carjacked two people, stolen an airplane, shot up Boston, and dove toward buildings with reckless abandon. It's no wonder the rampage made national headlines and broadcasts.



It took two trials, but Hunter was eventually convicted of first-degree murder in 1995 and sentenced to life in prison.





More history headlines U-Boats off of Cape Cod! (Boston.com): Remember way back in the first edition of The First Hurrah, when we mentioned the nets Boston strung in the harbor to protect from U-Boats? Turns out that was a good idea. Nik DeCosta-Klipa gets into the submarine battle that waged off the shores of Chatham in 1918.



The night Red Sox nation was born (The Boston Globe): The Globe continues its excellent Boston '67 series with a tale of how the Red Sox, once the laughingstock of the Boston sporting world, claimed its iron grip on the the city and region. It all started with a 10-game winning streak and a mob scene at Logan Airport.



The Great Blue Hill's working bit of history (WGBH): There's a great bit of history buried in a WGBH story this week. After explaining why Boston's official temperature is measured at Logan Airport, Edgar B. Hurwick goes on to talk about the area's other famed weather outpost, on Milton's Great Blue Hill. Check out the photo of the no-kidding, not-lying, they-really-use-it crystal ball at the site.



What was Boston doing 100 years ago this week?

Snickering about a kilt-wearing bigamist.







Here's a story about James C. Cameron, a famed "Kiltie," or military band member who wore full Scottish regalia. In July of 1917, he admitted to marrying two women—one from Mattapan and one from Connecticut. He pleaded guilty, but the judge held sentencing for a week to give his first wife time to come and testify in court. That led to the unsurprising headline and subhed combination you see above.



This week's quote of dubious provenance "If you don’t like the weather in New England, just wait a few minutes." —Mark Twain, or so sayeth Snopes, though the lack of primary sources online makes me a little suspicious.





OK, that's all this week. Expect the newsletter to evolve as we go. And don't forget to email me if you have an article to suggest, a hot history tip or otherwise want to bug me. Thanks for reading!