My growing up memories started on March 4, 1950 at 7 p.m. It is the night I married Carl Zettlemoyer. It was a marriage quite a few people said would not last. Because Lucille was a “City girl” and Carl was a farm boy. But it did last “64” wonderful years.
We married in the spring, and bought our farm in the fall of 1950. I learned to milk cows and help with all the farm chores, keep house, and we raised a family, at this time it was Michael and Sharon. Stephen and Stacey came later.
In 1957, unknown to me, Carl bought our first airplane, a Piper J-3 Cub, and also unknown to me, he was taking flying lessons. He would tell me he had to go to Kutztown for parts or grain, but was taking flying lessons.
In October of 1957, a beautiful fall day, he said, “Get in the car, we are going to Kutztown,” but would not tell me why. He pulled into the Kutztown Airport and parked at one of the hangars. I asked, “What are we doing there?” He opened the hangar door and there was a yellow Piper J-3 Cub. He said, “We are going for a ride. I said, “I don’t think so.”
He then confessed he bought the plane and took flying lessons and had his private pilots license. That was my first, but not my last, ride in the Cub. We also had a 120 Cessna and were in partnership with a 182 Cessna. This started our Flying Farmer memories.
January 2014It was a beautiful day in January, when grandson David called me, he said, “Grandma, open the hangar doors, we are coming to fly the Piper J-3 off of the farm.”
By the time I had the hangar doors open, it wasn’t long they were there. Our friend Ernie from Fredericksburg, Pa was the pilot.
Carl never liked our airstrip because there was always a cross wind. That day it was so calm, the windsock did not move, not even a little bit. David had his camcorder and took the video of the Piper J-3 leaving the farm for the last time. It was so sad, David and I both cried. I have a picture of the take-off hanging on the wall in my bedroom.
Now, ironically, 57 years later, our grandson David and his son Clay are flying the Piper J-3 Cub. Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 20, David called me and said, “Grandma, be ready, I will pick you up, we are going for a ride in the Piper J-3.” What a thrill!
Friends were asking David for a ride, he said, “After I take my grandma, she will be my first passenger.”
In the spring of 2015, my great grandson Clay (David’s son) will give me another ride in the J-3 Cub. I will also be his first passenger. I am very proud of both of them and I know Carl would be also.
It was one year on Nov. 10 that Carl is no longer with us.
We miss him so much!
