LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - OCTOBER 30, 2022 by Lynne Belluscio The biggest event ever to take place in LeRoy occurred ninetyfour years ago, over the weekend of October 12. It was reported that over 60,000 people crowded the roads leading to the new D.W. Airport on Asbury Road. In anticipation of the crowd, the Town of LeRoy paved the road from Route 5 to the airport and the entire Wiss Hotel was reserved for visiting pilots. Donald Woodward, the youngest son of Orator Woodward who had made Jell-O a million-dollar business, had built one of the finest airports in the United States and he had acquired one of the most famous airplanes of the day - -a tri-motor Fokker, known as the Friendship. It was in this plane that Amelia Earhart had been a passenger when she flew across the Atlantic, becoming the first woman to accomplish this feat. She became known as “Lady Lindy,” and although she was not at the airport during that auspicious weekend, she did eventually come to LeRoy on January 24, 1929, while on a promotional trip to Rochester. Don Woodward had sent a car into Rochester to bring her to LeRoy to visit the Friendship. A local boy was so impressed with the Friendship, that he went home and built a three-foot model of the huge flying machine. The model has survived for over 90 years. The story of theWoodwardAirport was chronicled in a book, “Wings Over LeRoy,” written by Brian Duddy in 2008. Brian grew up in LeRoy and graduated from LeRoy High School in 1979. He earned his pilots’ license while still in high school. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Air War College and served 24 years in the United States Air Force. He retired in 2007 as a Lieutenant Colonel and continues to write articles for a variety of publications. He is a life member of the Historical Society and now lives in Ohio. Plans to build the airport were undertaken by Russ Holderman, who came to LeRoy from Florida. Russ’s wife, Dorothy, had sold Donald Woodward, his first airplane. Although Don was interested in aviation, he never received his pilot’s license. Russ was a pioneer in aviation, and had been an instructor during World War I. He had 150 acres designated for the airport which included four runways. The east-west runway was the longest – 3300 feet. The north-south runway was 2800 feet and the two intersecting runways were 2600 feet. Work on the airport began onMay 26, 1928. Earnest Button, who was Don Woodward’s farm supervisor was in charge of clearing the land and installing 37,000 feet of drainage tile. The runways were constructed with 32,000 tons of crushed stone which came from the nearby quarry owned by LeRoy Lime and Crushed Stone Corporation. An interesting note: When the airport was decommissioned, all of the crushed stone was removed, and the runways were returned to agricultural fields. The huge hangar was designed by Nathaniel Bowie using a sketch provided by Holderman. John B. Pike Construction Company of Rochester began work in June. Local contractors were hired for additional work. Plumbing and heating was completed by George Green; Russell W. Call installed oil- burning heaters; J.W. Carmichael completed the electrical work; rugs and window shades were purchased from Olsen’s of LeRoy and the lounge furniture – including special expensive red leather chairs were purchased with the help of Sam Spiller. The hangar was 80 by 140 feet and the rolling doors were 74 feet wide. It could accommodate 15 airplanes and there was a 20-foot extension on the west side that provided classrooms and repair workshops. This extension had a flat roof which provided roof-top seating for 300 spectators. The 3-story tower provided a business office on the main floor and a ladies’ lounge and facilities for pilots and passengers on the second floor. The third floor had observation windows on all sides and a pilots’ club room. The roof of the hangar was painted in huge letters, “LEROY” and there were two beacon lights to illuminate the runways at night. For two years before the pandemic, the Historical Society sponsored an event at the airport, and held a “Wings Over LeRoy” chicken wing contest. There were exhibits about the airport, model airplanes, an exhibit by Zonta Club, band music and kite flying. There are plans to have the airport hangar placed on the National Register of Historic Places, but it will take at least a year to write the nomination and have it edited and submitted for review. It certainly deserves to be recognized. Brian Duddy writes of the last years of the airport: “The hangar and tower structure still remain on Asbury Road as mute monuments to the Golden Age of Aviation. They now serve as a storage facility for highway maintenance vehicles. . . The colorful ships are gone. The flyers have almost all passed. But if you stand in front of the old hangar and close your eyes, you can still imagine the scene—the sound of the engines, the roar of the crowd, the music from the bands and the feel of excitement in the air at ‘Finest Airport in America.” The D.W. Airport
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