The Citizen, 1999-01-13, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 1999.
Pietenpol passion takes Brussels man to Brazil
By Bonnie Gropp
Citizen staff
Living 5,300 miles apart, two
men would probably never have
met had it not been for something
begun by a Minnesota man 70 years
ago,
Bernard Pietenpol of Minnesota,
made history in 1928 when he
designed, built and tlew an open
cockpit monoplane. The next year
his designs were published.
Jim Armstrong of Brussels built
his first Pietenpol decades ago.This
past December the joy he finds in
his hobby, ultimately took him to
Rio Clara, Brazil, and the home of
fellow enthusiast, Edilson Secco.
It was in the Association
newsletter in January, 1998, that
Armstrong noticed a letter from
Secco, which stated that he was
building his first Pietenpol and
hoped to be flying soon.
Armstrong, who still celebrates
the anniversary of his first flight in
his own Pietenpol in I960, e-mailed
a congratulatory letter to Secco,
who immediately responded.
Then, in February, when Secco
reached his goal and took off in
what is the only Pietenpol in Brazil,
Armstrong received another e-mail
promising that pictures would be
sent soon "but now I just have time
to By this fly machine."
Correspondence slowed over the
summer, but when it resumed, talk
turned to the different lifestyles and
countries in which the two men
resided. "He said when it gets cold
here, why not come down and see
him, so I thought why not," says the
retired teacher.
While his wife, Leona, was
Flying high
Jim Armstrong of Brussels travelled to Brazil recently to visit with felllow Pietenpol
enthusiast Edilson Secco. The two men became acquainted over the internet, when
Armstrong wrote to congratulate Secco on building his first Pietenpol plane.
invited, Armstrong said she felt it
was less an imposition to host one.
Also as Secco’s wife didn't speak
anything but Portuguese the
language barrier may have made
things a bit awkward for the two
women spending time together
while the men talked planes.
"Although," Armstrong adds,
"Edilson said his four-year-old
daughter could probably teach
Leona Portuguese pretty quick
because she never stops talking."
Arriving Dec. 4, after a 10 hour
flight, Armstrong met Secco, who
had sent him a photo so that he
would recognize him. The two went
to see the plane with several of*
Secco's friends who, like him, had
taken time off to entertain the guest
during his visit.
Secco's plane, Armstrong said,
was "gorgeous", built to Pietenpol's
original plans with a Model A car
engine.
For the six days he was there,
Armstrong spent time not just
sharing a passion for their mutual
hobby, but seeing and learning
about a different place and culture.
Work is very labour intensive, he
says, in part to create employment.
As an example, he told about the
preparation of a runway with one
tractor and 10 men with hoes. "It
really looked like a make-work
project."
While the outlying areas were
poorer, the main part of the city was
Beautiful, Armstrong says. The
houses were very secure, however,
with bars and shutters on windows.
"As Edilson explained, 'There are
some bad boys in Brazil,'"
Armstrong says.
With the warm climate,
production of the main agricultural
crop, sugar cane, is a continuous
growing process. Armstrong says
that one field would be just planted,
another half up and one fully
grown.
With many photographs,
including some taken from another
plane of Secco's Pietenpol in flight,
and memories of his time in Brazil,
Armstrong is now hoping for a
return visit. "Edilson is talking
about coming here in June for our
Pietenpol fly-in. He expects to bring
his family, and thinks that his wife
may even start learning English
now."w=The news from
Compiled by Patty Banks Phone 887-6156
Short week at WPS
Bennetts greet at Duff’s
It was a short week for the staff
and children of Walton Public
School due to poor weather.
Upon return the kindergartens
talked about their holidays and all
the fun they had. They talked about
the snow, drew pictures of
snowmen in their journals, made Q-
tip paintings about snow scenes
using white paint on blue paper.
They read Balloon Tree by Phebe
Gilman and started a balloon tree.
Every time a child does something
kind for someone else, or does a
great job at what they're doing, they
get a balloon to put on the class tree
(an empty branch).
For math they worked on
patterning by designing mittens
with colourful patterns.
The Grade l/2s used their picture
dictionaries, classroom words,
sounds, Wall of Words and Word
books to make a Christmas search
book. There are 15 families that are
signed up for the Snuggle Up and
Read Book Club and they signed
up in just two days.
The Grade 3/4s reported having a
great holiday and were now back to
the regular routine. One group of
children are working on Pourquoi
tales. These are stories that try to
explain 'Why', for example, why
does a camel have humps? Students
had to make their own Pourquoi
Tales.
In art the students used a blob of
black paint on blue paper and white
chalk to make a picture to show
how stormy January can be.
UCW cancels
meeting
Due to the stormy weather the
January UCW meeting was
cancelled. The only reminders for
January are the potluck lunch and
annual meeting. Group I cleans up
and Group 2 sets up.
Marg and Ross Bennett were
greeters at Duffs United Church on
Jan. 10.
Due to the the bad weather last
Sunday, church was cancelled.
Rev. James Murray noted that it
was the first time church had been
cancelled since he has been here.
After the scripture reading Rev.
Murray called the children forward
where he showed them his different
coloured stoles for different
seasons and occasions of the
church year. Each stole had various
symbols on it for the occasion. For
instance he wore a white stole that
represented baptism. He told the
children that they will be able to
recognize what the service will.be
about by the particular stole that he
would be wearing.
His sermon was called, 'Baptism
of Jesus'.
To Rev. Murray baptism is one
of the most wonderful things that
happens in the life of the church. It
is enjoyable to see a baby being
baptized and that is why so many
people want this sacrament done
for their children.
"But do we understand what it is
all about?" he asked. He recalled a
woman phoning on a Saturday
afternoon and wanting her baby
'done' at home. Rev. Murray tried
to explain to her why he couldn't
and she hung up on him.
For many people, he said, the
meaning and significance behind
this event is lost. It is something
which is often done to please the
grandparents, rather than a
significant spiritual moment for the
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child and the parents.
It was Martin Luther who said,
'Baptism takes a moment to do, but
a lifetime to understand.
Baptism is the primary way to
initiate and include people into the
Continued on page 13
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