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Dirigibles were a popular form of air travel in the 1930s. This photo was taken at the Akron, Ohio, home of the Goody ear Blimp. Monmouth citizens were treated to a view of the blimp when it made a stop there in 1931.
Monmouth's Flying Field
Michael O'Neal In 1921 a small flying field opened on Sixth Street at the edge of town, beginning seventy-four years of service to Monmouth, Illinois, and the surrounding communities. It now has the distinction of being the oldest continually operated airport in Illinois. The airport was founded by an adventurous group of aviators known as the Aero Club, most of whose officers were not pilots. Their financial support came from the aircraft manufacturer Iowa Curtiss. The airport started with a small fleet of aircraft: A Curtiss Jenny, two Curtiss Orioles, and a brequet. To raise money the airport held an air meet from June 15 to 17, 1922. More than ten thousand people attended, including the mayor, who was an avid aviation enthusiast. One of the famous types of planes there was the Fokker, made famous by the Red Baron in World War I. In October 1922 the Iowa Curtiss company disbanded. Shortly afterward, on November 1, the Aero Club reformed as the Midwest Airway Company. To help fund the new company, it started offering airplane rides for one dollar. These were immensely popular, with more than 110 people riding the first year. When the new company took over, several people left the airport to travel abroad, including Harry G. Stine, who later became chief aviation advisor for Chiang Kai Shek. During this time, the airport suffered its first crash. Wibson Craig was flying over a party in a building near the hangars when he hooked a wing and crashed. He was not hurt, but the airplane was demolished. In 1931 the Goodyear Blimp made a stop at the airport. It was the largest flying vehicle to land at the airport. The airport proved its usefulness to the community by airlifting a doctor to a patient in a nearby rural community. Later that year Midwest Airways was disbanded. On August 11, 1932, I. F. Dains, who was the father of aviation in Monmouth, died of a heart attack in Dallas at age 56. Women also played an important part in the history of the airport. Esther Ray was the first female pilot to earn her license in Monmouth, in 1930. Esther Edwards was involved in an amazing accident. While on final approach, the plane's engine stopped. Keeping a cool head, she set the plane down on a narrow road in the cemetery. The landing gear struck the former police chief's headstone, tearing the left wheel from the plane. She climbed out, shaken but unhurt. In 1967 the mayor and city council authorized the lengthening of the runway to its modern dimensions, which are now 2,900 feet long and 60 feet wide. Ten years later on January 26, a fire broke out in the office. The fire was quickly extinguished, but the office, a hangar, two aircraft, student logs, and veterans records were destroyed. The origin of the fire was never determined. Nine years later, airport manager Cleo Stahl died in St. Francis hospital; he had taken off too steeply, and his plane stalled. It crashed into the ground at the end of the runway. This was eventually one of several fatal accidents at the airport. The airport provides a safe haven for pilots who might be lost or low on fuel. Landing is free, and gas is sold to anyone. Flying lessons are also given. Today the airport is rather quiet. Every year there is a fly-in and pancake breakfast in July. They also have a very active flying club. It is hard to imagine that all this started seventy-four years ago as a small grass strip.—[From James Haynes, Flying Field; Jeff Rankin, ed.. Born of the Prairie.]
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