This blog is called “Life in a Flyover State.” You must have known, at some point, a posting would appear about airplanes. Growing up, we lived not far from Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. In fact, the elementary school I attended -- New Hope School -- was torn down when the land on which it was sitting was purchased by the FAA Administration. Airplanes have been a big part of my life. Airplanes are what put food on the table for my family. My dad worked at FAA. There once was a hill where people would go to watch the airplanes land and take off. What can I say? It was a simpler time and we were easily amused.
We now live in a time of brightly digitized colors. I still remember when our neighbors got a color TV. They were the first ones that I knew to have a color television set. It was the year that one of President Johnson’s daughters, either Lynda Bird or Luci, got married. We were invited over to view the hoopla surrounding the wedding in color. Oh, and the Wizard of Oz? I never knew that when Dorothy, Toto and the house slammed down in the Land of Oz, everything turned to beautiful colors when she opened the door until we bought our own color television set. The color film used in the 1960s now seems garish and dated.
When I think of my ancestors I think of them growing up in black and white or sepia tones, but, of course, I know that isn’t true which brings me to this little piece. All the pictures in the film are real, either taken by me or in my possession, it’s just how they are used that is the fiction.
Airplanes were a curiosity at the turn of the 20th century. Birds and kites, and maybe the occasional hot air balloon were the only things that were flying high in the sky during that time. Now we are accustomed to satellites, airplanes, jets, helicopters and space shuttles leaving earth’s surface. In fact we are so accustomed to flying that I will always remember the eerie quiet that filled the skies in the three days following Sep. 11, 2001.
Old photographs have been passed down to me from both sides of my family tree. The lightning shots and single shot of an airport (ca 1916) were taken by my maternal grandfather while he lived in Omaha, Nebraska. He dearly loved his camera.
The picture of the group of people standing around an airplane in a pasture is from my paternal side of the family tree. The picture includes my great grandfather. This picture was taken close to Grand Summit, Cowley County, KS. The house shot is of my great grandfather’s house in Grand Summit.
The motion shots were filmed by me in the 21st century in Oklahoma. The strange light photographs are actually of the moon and Venus taken by me last year (2009). I didn’t realize I had my camera on an incorrect setting, but I liked the outcome anyway!
The song, “Come Take a Trip in my Airship” by J. W. Myers was recorded on a wax cylinder in 1904. It is in the public domain and can be found at www.archive.org.
Airplanes flying overhead were so rare between 1900 and 1920 that a sighting of one would be written about in newspapers. The article clip shown in the film is from the July 2, 1919 Emporia Gazette which can be found at www.genealogybank.com. In full, it reads:
“Airplane Flew Over Emporia. An airplane flew over town about 8 o’clock yesterday evening. It came from the east and was seen over Melvern before it came to Emporia, according to Santa Fe officials. The pilot flew near the ground while he went over Emporia but did not stop.”
When researching my family tree, I actively try to imagine what it must have been like for my ancestors when they walked this earth. This little film is a result of my imaginings.
No comments:
Post a Comment