In any case, aviation has a long history on the high plains, particularly in Cheyenne County in far Northwest Kansas. The town of St. Francis hosted the first visit of an airplane to the area in the summer of 1916. A Curtiss pusher bi-plane from Lincoln, Nebraska, arrived by rail in a number of piano crates. The pilot and local helpers assembled the machine in a pasture north of town near the baseball diamond. The plane made an initial flight that thrilled all the spectators. The following day the onlooker attendance picked up along with the wind, and the flight was cut short when the plane stalled, went into a spin and crashed, killing the pilot.
This sobering end to a holiday event did not long deter the 'daring young men in their flying machines' who flew the barnstormer circuit. In Northwest Kansas in the early 1920s, pilots would appear at county fairs and Chatauqua tent shows, exhibiting feats of daring and offering rides to anyone in the crowd who had twenty-five dollars to spend on a 10-minute flight of fancy that would be remembered for a lifetime. One of the early day daredevils had a famous future ahead of him, although at the time Charles Lindbergh was a relative unknown living in Bird City.
After World War II the aviation industry boomed, as many believed the airplane would replace the automobile. During this time any veteran could take flight training under the Veterans Administration program, and many young men from small towns with few other options for federal aid learned the basics of flying. This led to careers in crop-dusting in the early 1950s, as the business of aerial application of herbicides developed.
The love of flying in St. Francis has been apparent for almost a century, and is still very much a part of the community. Early day fliers landed their planes on a grassy pasture south of town, which ultimately became the Cheyenne County Airport, eventually sporting both sod and paved runways. The width and length of the grass landing strips are ideal for landing the historical Stearman bi-planes that have made an appearance for 28 years at an annual event called the Stearman Fly-In.
In 1933, a baby boy was born in St. Francis who carried on the area’s fascination with flying. Ronald Evans spent his youth in the Northwest Kansas town before attending the University of Kansas and then the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School where he received a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Flying jet aircraft was a preliminary for this Kansas farm boy before being selected to join an elite group known as U.S. astronauts. Ron Evans became the most famous aviator to date to come out of St. Francis, Kansas, when he flew to the moon and back on the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
Thanks to the Cheyenne County Historical Society and to Robert Grace for providing information used in the writing of this story.
For High Plains Public Radio, I’m Lynn Boitano
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High Plains History is a production of High Plains Public Radio.
