In 1930 an effort was started by the Bristol Vermont Chamber of Commerce under the leadership of Van Patnode to locate a landing field on private land to the north of the Recreation Field. After considerable work was done on the land that would eventually become the North-South runway pilots began taking advantage of this landing field.
On Jan. 3, 1934, members of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce met to discuss securing an airport for Bristol. An offer had been made to town and village officials through the office of Walter Cleveland of Montpelier, Assistant Director of Airways, to construct an airfield in Bristol. This was part of a projected program to build airports all over the country by the federal government through the Public Works Administration (PWA).
It all began in 1934
In early January 1934, a group of citizens presented the Selectboard of Bristol with a petition for a special meeting to authorize the purchase of a suitable site for an airport in Bristol. At a special meeting held on Jan. 25, 1934, it was “... voted to appropriate what money is necessary to purchase land required for use as an airport and that the selectmen make as good a bargain as possible with land owners.” This included the land that had been cleared earlier. The eventual total was approximately 55 acres.
This new PWA. project was one of the larger ones undertaken by the Selectmen, not necessarily because they wanted an airport, but men could walk to the site. For most other projects the men had to be transported at the town’s expense.
In February 1934, the project was approved. In April surveying was done and 12 men working three days a week at 40 cents an hour started work on the East-West runway on approximately 4.2 acres purchased from the Recreation Club. Improvements were also started on the North-South runway that had been started in 1930.
In April of 1935 the PWA. ended and was replaced by the Works Progress (Projects) Administration (WPA). Work continued on the airport with funds from the WPA through 1941. Work was done with a crew averaging between 16 and 18 men working mostly with picks, shovels and wheel-barrows.
On Nov. 30, 1935 the Vermont Motor Vehicle Department approved the Bristol Airport to be operated by the town of Bristol as a flying field for commercial purposes.
In 1936, the Bristol Airport Commission was established with George Lathrop as chairman and Ridley Norton, George Smith, Foster Whitcomb, Arthur Gove, Lee Landon and William DeCoursey as inaugural members.
Official opening in 1936
On May 30, 31 1936, the official opening of the Bristol Airport was celebrated with an Air Meet sponsored by the Bristol American Legion. Included was an aerial acrobatics and stunt flying show. Passenger flights were available for $1.50.
Rock’s Flying Service was started in July 1936 after George Lathrop contacted Joe Rock, who was flying for the city of Rutland at the time. Joe and his wife Cora were persuaded to come to Bristol to operate the new airport. Cora recalled they “… proceeded to Bristol with a little 37 H.P. Cub Trainer airplane, their Chevrolet and a lot of courage”
Cora set up office in the back seat of their car and Joe’s shop was the open field with the plane tied to the barbed-wire fence. Later that first summer the town put up a shack about 9 feet by 8 feet for a shop and office. Soon after this George Lathrop and Ridley Norton constructed a 40 feet by 50 feet wood and steel hanga,r which the Rocks rented. The Rocks also agreed to pay the Airport commission 10 percent of their gross income which they paid weekly. The first winter Cora continued to teach in White River commuting to Bristol on weekends to do the bookkeeping and check that the students kept their logbooks up to date.
Probably no one realized at this point what an important part this field would play in the future training of hundreds of pilots who participated in World War II.
By 1937 Joe had traded in his Cub trainer and Cora had cashed in her Teachers Retirement Fund. They became owners of larger airplanes, both side-by-side and tandem trainers. In 1937 reports show that eighty-five students had enrolled for training. Thirty-one had soloed and three had received their private pilots licenses. Students came from all over Vermont as well as Massachusetts.
In 1939, Bristol received the first group of students under the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) Training Program. These were 20 Middlebury College students and included two girls. Cora noted that as this was a new program for the college “…they sent these poor kids up to Bristol at daylight to fly without any breakfast.” She took coffee and doughnuts to the field every morning so that they could have something to eat before flying.
In 1939, an estimated 63,000 miles of flying originated from the Bristol Airport. This included two emergency trips to the Veterans Hospital in White River Junction. The Commission also erected an 8 feet by 18 feet addition to the office building for the benefit of the public as well as the students.
By 1940, the Rocks were paying $250 to rent the airfield. They now had five planes but with a group of CAA students in the spring and another in the fall another plane was added to handle the increasing number of students. The third runway in the Northwest – Southeast direction was also completed.
In 1941 the new Administration Building was constructed and moved into on Pearl Harbor Day. After Pearl Harbor Day all airports had to have an armed guard. The Rocks furnished one for the 12 daytime hours and the town furnished a night guard. Because a guard had to be armed, Cora Rock, with a .38 Smith & Wesson strapped around her waist took her turn as a guard.
One of the last classes of pilots before the war consisted of 10 college and 10 non-college students. Among the non-college students were James Bouvier, Lawrence Bouvier, Tom Cushman, Fredrick Eddy, John Smith, Robert Willey, John Cragen from Bristol, Bill Adams Jr. from Vergennes and Ray Gero from Middlebury.
Army, Navy students trained
In 1942 the airport was designated under the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) War Training Service to train reserve Army and Navy students. The Navy students were trained in conjunction with Middlebury College. That year 120 students completed the flying course. Pilots continued to be trained under this program until 1944. During that time the airport had about eleven people working as instructors and mechanics.
Between 1941 and 1946 two ‘T’ hangars were added to the airfield and in 1949 the Rocks moved a 97ft. x 26ft. hangar from Lebanon, New Hampshire to Bristol.
In 1946 pilot training continued with 30 veterans receiving flight training under the G.I. Bill of Rights. The Middlebury College Flying Club was also taking flight training here. Classes were also being held nightly at the airport including Ground School, Civil Air Regulations, Navigation and Meteorology. Improvements were made to the Administration Building and colored landing lights were installed. According to the 1946 Bristol Town report it was estimated there were approximately 6844 takeoffs and landings during 1946.
In 1949 the Town of Bristol purchased both the large wood and steel hangar from Lathrop and Norton they had erected in 1936 and one of Rock’s “T” hangars. Bristol’s Ezra Dike purchased the second ‘T’ hangar from the Rocks.
After 1950 business and flights at the airport started to decline. In 1951 Cora Rock returned to teaching, taking a job in Monkton. Because the east-west runway was no longer being used the land that had been purchased from the Recreation Club in 1934 was sold back to the Club in December 1956 for the original purchase price.
In 1958 voters authorized the use of the Administration Building as a Youth Center. The Youth Center continued to operate until May 1962.
On October 22, 1960 while flying for Robert A. Schless & Co of Elizabethtown, N.Y. Joseph Rock was killed at the age 61 along with Robert Schless when their plane crashed near Westport, N.Y. Joe’s ashes were later spread over the hills surrounding Bristol.
From 1961 until 1964 the Town of Bristol continued to maintain the airport while they searched for an operator for the airfield. In 1961 a new Airport Commission was authorized consisting of Dewees Brown, William Cardell and James Bouvier.
Levi W. Sturtevent Jr. took over the operation of the airport in September 1963. By 1964 the Bristol Airport was listed as open and operating year round with approximately 100 charter trips and over 300 parachute jumps. The buildings and runways were cleaned up and about 12 students received flight instruction in 1964.
By 1966 use of the airport had again declined and on Nov. 29, 1966, the town of Bristol sold the land for $38,000 to the newly formed Addison Northeast Union School District for the location of their new high school.
In the fall of 1968, Mount Abraham Union High School opened on the site where thousands of airplane landings and takeoffs had occurred for more than 30 years.
On Nov. 13, 1988, Cora Rock the other half of Rock’s Flying Service died at the age of 90 after many years of teaching in Monkton and Vergennes.
Information for this article obtained from Town of Bristol Annual Reports-1934 – 1967, Bristol Airport Commission Reports, Town of Bristol land records and special meeting records, Archived Bristol Herald Newspapers, ‘A History of the Short Life of Bristol Airport’ by Cora Rock, Numerous Bristol Historical Society documents.
For more information on the Bristol Historical Society contact Gerald Heffernan gerry60@gmavt.net or Reg Dearborn dear4@gmavt.net.
Story and photos: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com
No comments:
Post a Comment