Flight Dreams: Minnesota Family's Love of Aviation Spans Generations

This is the story of flight and how it came to one Minnesota family: my family. It’s a tale of inspiration and dreams, but also one of tragedy.

Our story began in the 1930s in the fields and pastures of the southwestern part of the state in the little town of Springfield. The town’s population of 2000 is about the same as it is today. The fertile black soil encouraged farming. Dry winds blew off the prairie, carrying songs of meadowlarks. The roads ran straight as sticks, forming squares across the landscape. The Cottonwood River flowed on the town’s eastern edge. It offered swimming holes for...