Mr. Golder and the Little Wooden Airplane
Young Captain Billy In One Of His First Roles as Captain
Mr. Golder was a friend of my Dad’s. I don’t remember his first name, as my Dad always had us address someone by Mr. or Mrs., etc. It was that old-school, military-style respect thing I got from him. I’m not sure of the exact connection, but I believe he was either a classmate of Dads, from the Military, or Dad just knew him from his growing up near Mr. Golder… anyway, no matter, or “Mox Nix” as Mom use to say.
We used to visit Mr. Golder occasionally on our “Sunday Jaunts.” He and his family lived in a small, white, wood house on the outskirts of town in the Middle River district. It sat on a slope of land at the intersection of Franklin Street Extension, South King Street and Filmore Street. His driveway was made up of two small, white stone tire paths and pea gravel, with a center section of grass. He had a garage, but not for his automobiles; it was his workshop. As I remember, it had a concrete floor, and was a ‘Magical Place’ for a young boy. Mr. Golder liked to “Build Stuff” and, as I remember, he was a wood worker. There were examples of his handy work hanging from the rafters, and he always had some sort of project on his bench. I also remember his wife, and the milk and pastries in the kitchen.
I remember talking about airplanes when we went there, and our visits usually coincided before or after our Sunday trips around the airport. On one of our visits, Mr. Golder surprised me with a hand made, solid pine, wooden airplane. It was complete with wheels and a propeller. It was a solid model that I latched on with two hands as I admired it, and thought of how it would be to fly the real thing. I believe it resembled a Piper Cub. It was not finished, no paint or details, just plain wood. That is where Dad and Mr. Golder made their mistake. They had shown it to me. Now I had to take it home. They tried to talk me out of it but I wasn’t having any of that. I would paint it later. It was BIG. Then again, I was small.
If I remember correctly, there is a black and white picture somewhere of my holding the finished project in my Grandmother Viskup’s side yard. Dad painted the fuselage red and the wings yellow. You see, my favorite airplane at the time was, and still is, the Aeronca Champ, and the ones at the airport then were red and yellow. I flew that thing all over my Grandparents’ yard; we were living with them at the time on 8 Blaine Street. I flew it through the trees, around the bushes, and held my eye close to the cockpit to make believe I was inside looking out. Much like a boy, me of course, would lie down to watch a toy train. Ah, the imagination of youth, where did it go?
Sadly, I don’t know what became of that treasure. I will always remember Mr. Golder, his kindness and generosity, and of course Dad for sharing in this experience. To this day, I love giving away Model Airplanes, just for the joy they bring the recipient. I believe I have Dad and Mr. Golder to thank for that. Thanks.
Many, many years later I experienced the joy of a child with his first model once again. My Grandson Aiden, my son David’s boy, saw a model hanging in my condo in California on one of his visits. He wanted that model. I could tell by the look in his eyes. It was a large plastic model of the Flying Tigers Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk. He called it “the shark airplane.” I took it down and gave it to him one day while we were by the pool. I watched as a small boy, around two, grinned from ear to ear and flew his airplane around the pool area, just as I had done so many moons ago when I discovered model planes and imaginary flight.
I’ve also introduced model airplanes to my Daughter Laura’s son, Liam, while I stayed with her family. I have built several for him and have started him on the way to building his own. I treasure that connection and continue to nurture, some might use the term brainwash, the love of Aviation and Flight.
Blue Skys and Tailwinds
Captain Billy