90 years and counting
by By Bill Miller for
the Mail Tribune
Monday, September
16th 2019
It was the biggest
traffic jam surrounding the Medford airport ever
With 15,000 visitors, it might well
have been the biggest air show put up in Southern Oregon.
The Medford Aviation Fair of Sept. 18,
1949, would commemorate the 20th anniversary of not only the initial
construction of the
airport, but, in addition, the nearly unanimous vote of
Medford residents to approve a $120,000 bond for its construction. Out of 2,426
votes, only 182 had voted no.
 |
| Initial plan for Medford, Oregon airport (1928) |
Beginning at 7:00 that Sunday morning,
until dust that evening, the sky above roared with some of the country’s most
modern aircraft. With so many military planes arriving from up and down the
coast, some called it a virtual air attack.
This was not going to be some
small-town event. Oregon Governor Douglas McKay said he was amazed at the
variety of aircraft and the amazing size of the show.
Medford’s own Seely Hall, now a general
manager with United Airlines and known as the “Father of Jackson County
Aviation,” compared the new airport to Barber Field, Medford’s old airport,
where he had previously been airline station manager.
A morning breakfast welcomed the early
arrival of 300 invited private pilots, as well as military pilots and officers
who would be part of the show.
 |
| Medford, Oregon's New Airport, ca. 1932 |
It was difficult to choose which one of
the many aircraft was most popular with the crowd.
The four F-80 fighter jets from Southern
California brought loud gasps and cheers as they buzzed over the field, nearly
touching the ground, zooming up in a near-vertical climb at 500 mph, only to
loop over into a screeching and twisting dive toward the ground.
Just before noon, four huge B-29
bombers, made famous by dropping atomic bombs on Japan, rumbled above and
across the sky. After landing, one of the bombers was put on display and opened
to a rare public inspection.
 |
| 15,000 People Attended the 1948 Aviation Fair in Medford, Oregon |
Minutes after the B-29 was on the
ground, six C-46 military transports from the Oregon Air Force Reserve
approached the field. A fleet of 13 P-51 Mustang fighters, one of the most
effective U.S. fighters during WWII, gave the transports “cover” as if they
were on a military mission. The transports peeled off and landed one by one,
closely followed by the fighters.
Sixty soldiers from the Oregon National
Guard, on their first
airborne operation since the war, arrived in three C-47
troop carriers. They all rushed out of the plane in a mock ground battle,
firing blank cartridges that simulated an invasion and capture of the airport.
 |
| Oregon National Guard Troops Stage "attack" on Medford, Oregon Airport |
United, Southwest and Western airlines
each had their civilian DC-4 airliners displayed on the ground, while at least
10 different airline representatives from as far away as the Philippines and
Great Britain, watched the show and took part in business discussions with the
Medford Commercial Club and airport officials.
During the afternoon speeches, William
Warner, 20 years earlier the former Medford postmaster, interrupted proceedings
with a stunt, intended as a joke.
He produced a letter that, because a
Studebaker automobile had broken down in 1929 and never made it to the airport,
had been awaiting delivery for over 20 years. Our Mail Tribune reporter didn’t
tell us whether Warner’s stunt received a laugh or, more likely, a groan.
Hard to believe that the festival was
70 years ago this week. So, that means, right now, we’re celebrating a total of
90 years of flight at the same location.
Time flies.
You look pretty good for your age —
Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport.
Happy Birthday!
Writer Bill Miller is the author of
“History Snoopin’,” a collection of his previous history columns and stories.
Reach him at newsmiller@live.com.
