The Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-02-28, Page 55Goderich finally owns
The Goderich
Municipal Airport, a
municipallyy owned and
operated airstrip, has
survived nearly 50 years
of ownership changes,
natural disasters (at
least two fires) and
neglect and has still
managed to maintain a
distinctive character that
sets it apart from h'un-
Areds of other small
community airports in
Canada today.
The airport has comae a
long way in the last
decade especially.
The Goderich airport
(known to most people
simply as Sky Harbor)
was born in 1920 ..as. an
idea of the clerk of the
town of Goderich at that
time. During the post
World War I flurry of
flying activity throughout
Canada, this clerk made
an official enquiry to the
Aero Club of Canada
about the possibility of
founding an affiliated
flying club as a municipal
enterprise. But the
project failed to
materialize.
Again in 1927 Goderich
had a chance to construct
an airport but was too
small to make the project
successful. At that time
the Minister of National
Defence, Mr. Desbarats,
sent form letters to the
mayors of Canadian
towns and cities asking
about local interest in
founding ,community
airfields.
This was the year off the
organization of the Light
Aeroplane Club program
in Canada and marked
the first official
recognition of the need to
sustain civil aviation by
governxental,__ _. _support
Goderich was at that time
a town of 4,000 and could
not sustain an airport.
The Trans -Canada
..,.Airway of the 1930s by-
passed- Goderich because
, the town was not located
either on the direct trans-
continental route nor
aligned with the penin-
sular belt of industrial
cities.
The first small airport
to be located in Goderich
was a private one
established by Cass
Hough of Detroit. Mr.
Hough leased a 105 -acre
field on the southeast
corner of the present
airport site. The land was
leased from O.E.
Fleming and from this
modest begnning enough
local enthusiasm was
generated to construct a
Small hangar large
enough, to shelter three
aircraft and to install a
500 gallon gasoline.. tank.
The airfield was not
licenced but > its con-
venient location from
Toronto,, London. •and
several southern
Michigan centres at-
tracted some transient
traffic. The airstrip was
scarcely a public venture
but did arouse enough
enthusiasm -,and- -public
„ interest in aviation to
pave the way for the
founding of Sky ,Harbor
airport as a cdmmunity
venture.
— During 1937.38 plans
were in the offing to
establish an official
Huron County airport.
The ideal site was the one
Mr. Hough had already
selected and partially
developed at Goderich.
Legal difficulties en-
c ountere d
ncountered when
establishing the air field
resulted from difficulties
with the lease on the old
site, some conflict of
interest, a lack of com-
munication with the
Department of Transport
and the fact that the
airport had not
previously been licenced.
•
i
The old Lanc still flew with a little help from her friends
Airport landmark leaves
Despite the problems,
it was announced in July
of 1938 that Huron County
Sky Harbor Airport was
to open on July 30 with a
monsterous air show
including a mass fly in,
aerobatics, flour bom-
bing, spot landings, air
races and parachute
jumps. In spite of.
restricted space, it was
announced that four Ford
Tri -Motors and a
Lockheed were tp land.
-Three- days -before --the
scheduled opening, a
report on the dimensions
of the airstrip was finally
telegraphed to the con-
troller of civil aviation.
The 105 acre tract con-
tained four runways,
graded to a width of 150
feet and identified E -W
2,360 feet, NE -SW 1,700
airport
feet, NW -SW 1,950 feet
and N -S 1,000 feet. High
tension wires along the
southern and eastern
boundaries created an
approach hazard as did
scattered trees elsewhere
around the perimeter.
The problems of the
licence and the lease
were not resolved on time
but the air meet did take
place on a somewhat less
ambitious scale.
After the meet, a
Raymond --.Deas[_ --sue-
ceeded Mr. Hough as
leasse and applied for a
licence for the airport in
the name of Sky Harbor
Air Club. County officials
had also made a similar
application and
requested authority to
develop the site.
In October 1938 a
Page $7
temporary licence w.M/
granted to Mr, Deem
since the field was n
considered adequate fore
public„ licence. Mr.
"Shorty" Finlayson
began training six pupils
in a Taylorcraft airplane..
The Dean licence drew
a great deal of public
opposition since it
prevented the
municipality from
participating in airport
affairs. Public funds, it _
was pointed out at the
time, would enable the
field to be graded and
brought to the required
standards for a public
licence.. As a further
complication, a vital 25.
acre strip of land along
Highway 21 belonging to
Mr. Fleming was not
Turn to page39 •
UPSTAIRS
WE HAVE EVERYTHING YOU WILL
NEED TO HELP DECORATE YOUR HOME
❑ TOWELS, SHOWER CURTAINS
❑ BED & BATH ACCESSORIES
❑ LAMPS, MIRRORS
❑ ACCENT FURNISHINGS
❑ PICTURES, WICKER
❑ AND MUCH, MUCH MORE
For assistance in decorating
ask for Caroline or May...
ABOVE BROWN'S DECOR
524-4400
Decorative ;'Accessori'es
DOWNSTAIRS
Where the Upstairs ends...
The Downstairs begins! ! !
❑ CARPET by BURLINGTON, ARMSTRONG
In various styles and colours
❑ SUNWORTHY WALLCOVERINGS
In the latest patterns and colours
❑ PRATT & LAMBERT PAINTS
Interior 8 exterior
BROWN'S DECOR CENTRE
33 West St,
GODERICH
524-7117