Alexander Varney

Muhammad Safdari
Washington School, Peoria

Charles A. Lindbergh (left) is pictured with Phil R. Love. The two pilots flew the first air mail on the Springfield-Peoria-Chicago route on April 15, 1926.

"The Illinois River angles in from the west. Lights are blinking on in the city of Peoria-long lines of them for streets; single spots for house and office windows," so documented Charles Lindbergh while observing Peoria as he flew into the city. In the early twentieth century people nationwide were discovering the joy of flying. On the local front one man brought air transportation to the Peoria area. Specifically, the owner of Peoria's early air fields, Alexander Varney, was crucial to the development of Peoria's aviation industry.

Throughout his life, Varney devoted himself to the study and further development of the aviation industry. Varney, a native of Delavan, Illinois, attended a flying school in the Iowa capital of Des Moines. Soon after he graduated, Varney found a job at Curtis Aeroplane and Engine Company of Buffalo, New York. Next, he joined a flying circus, which was touring central Illinois at the time. He caught the eyes of four Peoria businessmen, who then proceeded to attempt to lure Varney into the market. Varney agreed to base his operations in Peoria; moreover, he set up his flying school and took control of Peoria's sole airfield. Peoria's aviation industry, under Varney's leadership, thrived in Peoria for many years after. Varney passed away at age sixty-six leaving behind his legacy for subsequent generations of air transport enthusiasts and revolutionaries.

The first field owned and operated by Alexander Varney was known as Kellar Field. Also known as Brown Field, Kellar Field was located where High Point subdivision of Peoria is today. Before Varney brought his practice to Peoria, the Peoria Aircraft Club controlled the airfield. Varney accepted the club's offer to lease the field in 1922. Varney began and staged his revolutionary school and flying service there for four years. Due to many complaints about the field being small and unsafe, including

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Lindbergh was honored by the Peoria American Legion Post No. 2,
when he flew a special consignment of air mail in February 1928.

those voiced by Lindbergh and the federal government, Varney's crew all but abandoned the field in the summer of 1926. They chose to erect an entirely new field.

Varney's Big Hollow airport, as most preferred to call it, was built on the western side of Route 30. To construct the newer and significantly larger field required much dedication by Varney and his right hand men, Tony AmRhein, "Slim Carson," and Ken Ringel. Henceforth, these men leveled terrain, performed carpenter work, and secured the old corrugated metal hangar that was hauled over from Kellar Field. The maverick Varney added revolving airway beacons—which were then a technological breakthrough—to the field in 1927. This state-of-the-art facility, to which he lovingly referred as field number two, served Varney until the end of his days as an aviator. Eventually, the field gave way to Greater Peoria and Mount Hawley airports, which would further expand and harbor safer, more advanced aircraft than those of Varney.

Alexander Varney operated one of the ten largest flying schools in the nation. Furthermore, this school was the first to offer pilot instruction of both seaplanes and airplanes. Since H.E. Cumerford helped lure Varney into Peoria, he sold his Aero Marine Seaplane business to Varney and thus aided his premier school. At the time the concept of flying was revolutionary; however, one must realize that, in the past, planes were simply engineered machines, with only a single control stick and a compass. Trainers instructed students to use streets and railroads below to guide them. Due to poor navigational systems, these planes often had to be grounded during bad weather. Varney's school eventually merged with National Air King of Lomax, Illinois, which allowed them to produce even more star pupils.

Varney's school played host to a remarkable cast of emerging pilots. Flying appealed to many, because it was relatively easy to learn. Furthermore, the prospect of soaring through the heavens gave many students profound enjoyment. Students journeyed to Peoria from varying countries, including Canada and Switzerland, just to attend the classes, which have provided an advantage for the local economy as much as it benefited the reputation of Varney's world-renowned school. At times, there was not a single student from central Illinois. Certain individual pupils also added an important part to the history of Varney's school. For example, there was Tony AmRhein of Hopedale who graduated from the school in 1923, helped on the field, and eventually became an instructor. Then, there was Ken Ringel who went from student to instructor in less than a year. Clarence Brown was the first air crash casualty; in addition, Shorty Uptigrove was one of Varney's most daring and energetic products. Because Miss Alberta Cable was the first female pupil, she attracted a large amount of attention while she conducted her lessons. Varney's school proved to be a melting pot of varying backgrounds and personalities.

Flying in and out of Peoria was made possible by

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Varney also had Peoria's airfields on U.S. airmail contract number two, which was the second air mail route established in America. Moreover, Robertson Aircraft Co. of Lambert Field in St. Louis operated this route that spanned from St. Louis to Chicago via Springfield and Peoria. To send mail by air required much less time; as a result, the residents of Central Illinois were fascinated to find their mail going to and from its destination in a mere fraction of the former delivery span. Before Charles Lindbergh became a legend, he had taken his first job as lead pilot of this route, which was rapidly connecting the nation as a whole. He flew the mail in a DeHaviland biplane known as the Spirit of St. Louis. In fact, Lindbergh received his inspiration to make a transatlantic flight, while soaring over Peoria. During his tenure on the mail route, he became renowned for delivering the mail under any circumstances. He even salvaged stashes of mail from his burning airplane and immediately phoned Varney to advise him to send a truck. After Lindbergh flew to Paris, Varney's crew stated they would have gotten to know him better had they known his fate. "He was just another boy that made good," explained AmRhein.

Alexander Varney and his airfields were quite accustomed to the media. Since they were the main story in the news at the time, a representative from the media was almost always on sight. Due to the media's constant presence, personnel were constantly bombarded with interviews. Female student Alberta Cable provided a constant allure for the reporters. Female pilots were a novelty then, so many wanted to hear her story. The fact that she eventually married her flight instructor further interested the media. For many years to follow, Alberta, her husband Tony AmRhein, and other personnel made headlines across central Illinois.

Lindbergh loads a plane with mail.

Varney, in hopes of gaining more business, was unceasingly engaged in publicity stunts. For one, he reorganized the Peoria Aero Club in hopes of gaining recognition for his work. He then allowed AmRhein, who loved stunts, to perform airplane antics in order to boost public interest in aviation. He also hosted an annual dance competition, which took place in the hangars. Winning the "Hangar Dance" required much stamina, as one had to be the last remaining dancer to win. The victor of this event earned a free scholarship to Varney's school. Once, Alex Varney permitted the Peoria Aero Club to host an air show at field number two. On June 10, 1928, thirty thousand spectators and a number of media representatives filed into Varney field. Varney once again attracted potential customers and fortified public interest in aviation as he had so often done before.

The owner of the city's initial air fields, Alexander Varney, was vital to the rise of aviation in metropolitan Peoria. Locally, this man provided the grounds for Peorians to benefit from aviation. Nationally, in the early part of the twentieth century, many Americans were reaping the benefits of a thriving and diversifying aviation industry. As a result of advances in aviation, pilots such as Charles Lindbergh could roam the friendly skies.—[From Bill Adams, Yester Days; Marge Fanning, "Oh, Those Barnstorming Days!" Peoria Journal Star, Aug. 28, 1977; Jerry Klein, Peoria; Bell Little, "Daybook," Peoria Journal Star, Jan. 6, 1958; Ruth Robertson, "Peoria and Her People," Peoria Journal Star, Dec. 10, 1939; "Senior Citizens News and Views," Peoria Journal Star, Oct. 1987; David Thomas, "Stories From the Flight School of Alexander Varney," Peoria Journal Star, Apr. 15, 1936.]

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