Did You Know Dumbo Originally Took Flight in Syracuse

Did you know Dumbo took flight in Central New York? The story, made famous by Disney more than 80 years ago, was written by Helen Aberson who was born in Syracuse in 1907.

Aberson sold her story of the flying elephant to Disney Productions in 1939 and even went to Hollywood to consult on the film that was released in 1941, according to the Smithsonian.

The story was published by Little Golden Books and Aberson was credited as the author until 1968, when the original copyright expired.

According to her family, Aberson may have written more children's books into the 1960s, but none of them were published.

Aberson died on April 3, 1999, at age 91. According to her obituary in the New York Times, Aberson received her bachelor's degree from Syracuse University in 1929 and went on to host a talk radio program in Syracuse in the late 1930s. She even painted two murals for the cafeteria of Percy Hughes School on Jamesville Avenue in Syracuse, according to the Syracuse University Library.

Tim Burton recreated the classic Disney tale four years ago that starred Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, and Colin Farrell.