I am quite happy in Dansville, and at the Geneseo air museum several days a week, and anyone who wants to visit should call me for a special tour. You can actually go inside most of the vintage planes, and if you bring your checkbook, you can take rides! I have been up in more planes since my C-47 ride on our D-Day vet, Whiskey 7. The Russian, Antonov 2, AN-2 was a real hoot. The gang got the rebuilt engine back on, did many tests, and our lead pilots did test runs. Then it was the volunteers turn for a spin. I got to sit right up front with Craig Wadsworth, (in the pic) chief pilot, and son of our prisident. It is the largest single engine bi plane in the world. Not real old, but huge! We call it Natasha, or just 'The Beast'.
Besides giving tours and dealing with our collections and displays, I try to help out with the actual airplane maintenance. I am no mechanic, but there is always a need for someone to fetch a tool for someone up on a wing, or deep inside some wheel well. One of the other volunteers was in my same class at Forestry College. That fact came in handy a week ago when we took out some wood bits to the AN-2 and needed to know what kind of wood we needed for replacements. We both decided it was either tulip poplar, or basswood. Gee, nearly 45 years later we still know our wood, but maybe not phone numbers.
Grand daughter, Adelaide, is getting tall for her age at 2 1/2, and well on her way to be a Tom Boy, as she plays and rolls around with their two dogs plus mine, all big dogs, and underneath them much of the time laughing all the time. She hardly ever fusses, mostly over what food is offered, or some movie. Do we all now know who Woody and Buzz are? OK, hope all are well & see you next fall. Jamie Steele 315-375-8516 jrs127@hotmail.com
