RESPONSE TO STORIES

Response to Welcome to Roy Franklin Airport Terminal

Congratulation Roy,

Dear Editor:

posted 09/17/05
I am so pleased to see our airport named after Roy. I flew for Roy and M.A. from the middle sixties up until the middle seventies. In those days we had Ernie Gann, Gene VanDeputt, Bob Nichols, Palmer, Terry Holt, John Heard, Paul Herberg, Mike Nash. These were just a few of the old pilots who flew for Roy and M.A. I was hired on as a pretty green kid with less than 400 hours and thought I knew it all. My first job working for Roy was to drive his big old Ford Tractor cutting the lawn on the cross strip at the airport.

Roy taught us all the real way to fly and stay alive flying single engine airplanes over the water everyday year after year. Now flying for the past 41 years I give Roy full credit for teaching me the right stuff to stay alive flying in the bush.

When 782 the "Bushman" would depart Friday Harbor on the mail run. Folks in Friday Harbor would set their watches at 07:10 as the Bushman rolled down dirt strip and started its day out flying to Anacortes to pick up the islands morning mail, flying over Lopez folks knew it was time to get out of bed.

In those days we landed mostly on short little uphill runways spread all over the county. Shaw Island, Worth Fowler, old airport on Shaw where you had to fly under a set of wires and across the only east west road on the Island. In those days you depended on the mailman to stop any cars from crossing the runway at 09:15. Half way up the runway was that set of power lines you had to go under before getting to the top of the uphill runway.

We landed at Otto Middlestaff's old runway on Waldron another short little strip running uphill from the water's edge. Almost always overloaded and with a tail wind!

We had doc Heath in those days too. He and Roy were responsible for most of the kids that were born in the middle of the night who had to be flown off island in the snow storms and heavy freezing winds.

Why these women always waited for the worse winter night to decide to have their children? There are still lots of these kids now who were named after Roy for bringing them in the world aboard the old Gull Wing Bushman.

Those were the days, when Roy would return home after a long day of flying, I remember Roy looping the Bushman over town and landing dead stick and rolling up to the gas pits and telling Mike Nash, to fill the old gal up.

Roy and MA made us all part of their family and a part of my life I will never forget. In fact after retiring in 1996, I looked at everything I had done over my lifetime and the one thing that truly ment the most to me was flying for Roy and MA.

So I went to Alaska to fly out my days in the bush. I fly for a great fishing lodge North of Dillingham and everyday I fly fishermen out I thank God for what Roy Frankilin taught me to love - flying and enjoying life to it fullest in the sky.

I want to thank all of you who put this together and made it possible.

When I come down from Alaska this late fall I look forward in landing at "ROY FRANKLIN INTERNATIONAL."

Best Regards to you all.

Everett Johnson
"Toe Bar"
Royal Coachman Lodge
Winter home
Bellevue, Wash

Dear Editor,

posted 09/14/05
Congratulations, Uncle Vince, you are most deserving of this honor. I have fond and very pleasant memories of flying in one of those little Cessnas with you when we came to visit. I know that you provided a great service to the islands. You were a true pioneer.

When's that book coming out?

Blessings,
Joyce Nord

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