LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - SEPTEMBER 29, 2019 by Lynne Belluscio Last year we had a little par- ty out onAsbury Road at the DW Airport hangar to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the opening of this historic airport. Everyone had a good time. And of course there was the “first annual Best Wings in LeRoy” contest. So mark your calendar for Sunday October 6 and plan to come out to the LeRoy Highway De- partment and see who will win this year’s chicken wing con- test and take home the “Golden Wing” trophy. Laura Williams is putting together a group of expert judges who “know their wings!” If there’s wind, we hope to have some kites flying. And there will be plenty of little bal- sa wood gliders. I’m looking for someone to help with help- ing kids fold paper airplanes. So give me a call if you can help. And don’t forget to have your picture taken with this year’s Amelia Earhart, Carley Stauffer. If you don’t have a copy of Brian Duddy’s book “Wings Over Le- Roy,” we will have some for sale at the Historical Society’s table. I talked with Bob Stefani this week, and he’s going to help paint the “shadow” of Amelia Earhart’s airplane, the “Friend- ship” on the tarmac in front of the hangar. I’m sure he’ll do a better job than I did last year. The tri-motor Fokker Friend- ship had a wingspan of 72 feet and was 53 feet long from nose to tail. Don Woodward bought the plane and shipped it across the Atlantic after it became the plane that Amelia Earhart flew in and she became the first wom- an to fly across the Atlantic. The Friendship was here in LeRoy for almost a year, before it was sold to a South American cartel. A full-sized model of it was con- structed for the movie “Amelia.” The model was featured in the movie and although it never had an engine, it became part of the collection of the Canadian Bush Pilot’s Museum. This year, there will be live music all afternoon provided by the Batavia Genesee Jazz Col- lective. Bring a lawn chair and enjoy the music. You might even want to bring your dancing shoes. The local Genesee ra- dio-control model airplane club is coming back with their great planes. They were a big hit last year. And there will be a display about the DW Airport and the Friendship in the original flight office on the first level of the tower. The Batavia Zonta Club wanted to make sure they were invited to come back this year, because they are celebrating their 100th anniversary. Just in case you’ve never heard of Zonta, it was founded in Buffa- lo in 1919 by a group of busi- nesswomen under the leader- ship of Marian de Forest. (The organization’s name is derived from the Lakota word, “zonta,” meaning honest or trustworthy.) Amelia Earhart was a member of Zonta. On July 2, 1928, as Amelia Earhart returned to the United States, after her famous flight across the Atlantic in the Friendship, she was handed a radiogram: “Boston Zonta Club is proud to welcome you as a member. Signed Alice Bradley, President.” A few weeks lat- er, she was inducted into Zonta International and served as an active member, first in the Bos- ton Club and then in the New York club, until her disappear- ance in 1937. Each year Zonta celebrates January 11 as Amelia Earhart Day, remembering her contributions to the aerospace industry, as well as the empow- erment of women in science. Today, Zonta is a world-wide service club for women. One of Zonta International’s projects is to award fellowships to women in the aerospace field. Thirty women, pursuing Ph.D/doctoral degrees in aerospace-related sci- ences or engineering are granted fellowships. The 2019 winners included Martina Baggio, from Italy, studying at the Universi- ty of Stuttgart; Katherine Bretl, from the University of Colorado; Rishita Das, from India, studying at Texas A&M; Ketherine Kok- manian from Canada studying at Princeton; Paula do ValePereira from Brazil, studying at MIT. So, plan to spend an hour or two at LeRoy’s historical Wood- ward airport on Sunday October 6. Bring the kids. Rain or shine. Everything will be inside the hangar. A big thank you to Eric Stauffer and the Town Highway crew that are cleaning out the hangar and making room for the event. A special thank you to the LeRoy Rotary Club and the Le- Roy Historical Society for their sponsorship. It’s 1928 Again – Wings Over LeRoy