Barnstormer

In the mid 20’s, there were lot of barnstormers around the country who had been pilots in World War I. The only one to come to Live Oak landed in our field one day. My dad didn’t have anything planted there and there was plenty of room between our house and Highway 99. The pilot came over the house and asked my dad if he could use the field to sell rides to town’s people who started to arrive in cars or walking to see what was going on. We lived about a half mile from downtown.

His plane was an old two seated biplane like a “Jenny”. The pilot was handsome in his goggles with a sheep skinned leather jacket. People lined up with their $5 in their hands for the 20 minute ride over the town and surrounding area.

Later in the afternoon, when he was about to leave, he asked my brother, Donald, if he would like to go up and, naturally, he accepted. Donald got into the front seat and they got going. The motor roared, the dust blew and after bouncing over the field, they were air borne.

They climbed up pretty high and the pilot who had worn the sheep skinned leather coat earlier, decided to take it off. He put his “Joystick” between his knees to control the plane. He almost had it off when he hit an “air pocket”. He lost control of the plane struggling to get rid of the coat. The plane wobbled, lost elevation and it was a terrifying moment for Donald until control was re-established.

Donald, of course, had told me this story since I wasn’t born until 1930. My other brother and sisters had seen it happen but I could only listen to the story.