Region One News – May 2018
Published: May 1, 2018
By J. Rick Cipot
Rather than harp on the May flowers I thought perhaps we could take a quick look at other things that have happened in May. To be honest, with the winter we have had here in New England I’m a bit surprised that we even have any flowers blooming this month. We did have plenty of mud last month but that’s expected in our neck of the woods.
It was May of 1937 when my father was a young cadet at Farragut Academy in New Jersey when the famous airship Hindenburg burst into flames in Lakehurst, New Jersey. I could never tell you how many times I heard the tale but I do know it was May 6th. Allan Shepard became the first American in Space aboard Freedom 7, May 5, 1961, we certainly have come a long way since then and we may even see the first manned Mars landing in our lifetime.
Way back in 1865, May 5th was the first time Decoration Day was observed in the United States. The tradition began decorating soldier’s graves from the Civil War with flowers. Sometime later the date was changed to May 30th with the addition of WW I and WW II graves of American soldiers, and became known as Memorial Day. In 1971 Congress moved Memorial Day to the last Monday of May creating a three day holiday weekend.
It was back in May 1869 when the tracks of the Central Pacific railway and the Union Pacific railway linked up in Promontory, Utah. It is said a golden spike was driven by the president of the Central Pacific railway, Leland Stanford and that he actually missed the spike in the first swing.
May 20th, 1927 Charles Lindberg took off for Paris from Roosevelt Field, Long Island in his airplane Spirit of St. Louis, attempting to win $25,000 for being the first solo nonstop flight between New York City and Paris. 3,600 miles and thirty three hours later Lucky Lindy landed at Le Bourget, Paris. Oh by the way; in today’s inflated economy the prize would be $348,197.74.
So what the heck does any of this have to do with Airstreams and the WBCCI? Absolutely nothing. Every now and then it’s important to remember there are other things to talk about than just Airstreams. Well, I don’t totally agree with that but a few of my friends insist on it from time to time. As we flip yet another page in our monthly calendars I see we are getting closer to the Region One Jamboree Rally. At last count there were a few spots still available so do get your registration form in quickly. If you still haven’t signed up, check it out on the website as there are plenty of great reason to attend other than the fact you will make new friends and have a good time. Speaking of a good time, each unit in our region has a full schedule of wonderful rallies to attend from now through October. So get out there, have fun and please keep the shiny side up!