Diane of the Green Van was awarded the $10,000.00 prize in a novel contest in which over five hundred manuscripts were submitted. $10,000 was real money, back in the day -- pretty darned huge, in fact.

Diane of the green van

Diane of the Green Van by Leona Dalrymple is a lovely, romantic tale about Diane Westfall, a young farmer in town who meets a man who has crash-landed his airplane in the lake nearby. Excerpt: "Are you aware," inquired the girl, biting her lip, "that you're trespassing?" "Lord, no!" exclaimed the aviator. "You don't mean it. Have you by any chance a reputable rope anywhere about you?" "No," said Diane maliciously, "I haven't. As a rule, I do go about equipped with ropes and hooks and things to—rescue trespassing hydro-aviators, but—" she regarded him thoughtfully. "Do you like to float about and smoke?"