Preserving aviation history serves as a memorial to dreamers, innovators, and achievers. Aviation history seems to be no exception. Many pioneers contributed to the advancement of flight. Due to men such as da Vinci, Cayley, and Wright, aviation began a rapid advancement. Without their dedication and passion, there would be little aviation history to appreciate.
Who Preserves Aviation History
Articles, books, and documentaries portray aviation history accurately. Museums and private collectors contribute to conserving aviation history. They maintain records for research. Along with this, they acquire images, documents, and artifacts. Their ultimate goal is preserving aviation history.
Museums possess the good fortune to receive donations. Private collectors preserve aviation history by acquiring artifacts on their own. Networking with other collectors and researchers proves to be a significant method. Clearly, this invaluable process serves me well.
Individuals ready to part with their family history contact me. If their donation doesn’t fit my focus areas, I pass it along to someone who would be delighted to have it. Estate sales; vintage paper, doll, or toy shows; and internet auctions remain superior sources for artifacts. Interviews often result in the ability to preserve aviation history. Importantly, factual information and artifactual material can be obtained
Some of my sources for archival materials.
While interviewing Pancho Barnes’ stepmother, I acquired a collection of the Lowe Estate. As a result, I preserved a great deal of Pancho’s heritage. This includes a seven-foot Louis XIV settee, trunks, a hand-painted tapestry, and family images.
Interviewing Moye W. Stephens’ son, I obtained the set of London maps used to navigate on the world flight with Richard Halliburton. As a consequence, the biography became a factual narrative of the world flight. The maps remain in pristine condition. They are priceless!
Interviews for Kern County Pioneering Aviation provided me with images and artifacts of Cecil Meadows. He established the first county airport in the United States. Achsa Donnel’s grandsons were generous with information about their flying grandmother. Cliff Henderson’s biography came to life with the help of Bill Allen of Allen Airways Flying Museum. He is preserving aviation history on a grand scale.
Preserving aviation history takes time, perseverance, and dedication. Finding individuals to interview can be difficult. Only through persistence did I find Dick Ranaldi‘s daughters. Sons are easy; daughters have different surnames. Without a doubt, Moye Stephens’ story resulted in valuable information.
Regretfully, not everyone feels that history is important to preserve. Images, documents, and artifacts disappear. Along with the passing of relatives or associates, pieces of history are lost forever. Preserving aviation history appears to be a timely responsibility and should be pursued without hesitation.