In 1932 we were still living on our farm 5 miles NE of Moose Jaw, SK.
One of the post-WWI novelties was “barnstorming” – that is, pilots from the Great War travelled back and forth across the country in their wood and doped-clothed biplanes. They would generally put on modest flying displays – the sort of aerobatics they had flown when in action – and regularly took locals up for short rides.
I was five years old. It became a favourite Saturday pastime to go to the Moose Jaw Airport to watch the planes.
One summer day I was invited by a friend to take a flight in his Bellanca biplane.
What an experience for a youngster!
We flew over Moose Jaw and then out to the countryside to see our farm from the air.
Two years later, in 1935, the famous pilot, Wiley Post, and his even more famous friend and passenger, Will Rogers, crashed and were killed in that plane in Alaska!
SEP