Everett Eugene Crawford (1903 - 1982)

Born 12 Apr 1903 in Alton, Osborne County, Kansas, USA

Died 24 Apr 1982 at age 79 in Pampa, Gray County, Texas, USA

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Biography

Longtime pilot began career In flight with "Lindy" PAMPA NEWS Sunday,December 7, 1980

Photos and Text by Deborah Hendrick

A longtime Skellytown resident and pilot has circled the Statue of Liberty by air, followed the meandering Hudson River and flown as far north as La Ronge, Saskatchewan in Canada. He has been. flying since 1945 and has flown in 46 of' the continental states and hopes to make it 49 with a trip to Alaska this coming summer. Flying has been a constant interest in the life of Everett Crawford, which began with his first airplane flight in 1924. Crawford was 21 at the time and a mechanic in Bird City. Kan.. Ford dealership. Crawford recalls receiving a casual invitation from a young man whose truck he had repaired. The flight was a short uneventful trip in a Curtiss JN-4, a popular World War I biplane trainer, more affectionately known as a 'Jenny.' It was years later, in May 1927. Crawford realized just how special that initial flight was — the youthful aviator who had treated him to that airplane ride — Charles Lindbergh — flew alone across the Atlantic Ocean and into annals of history. Crawford is 77 now and has been operating his garage and service station in Skellytown for 51 years. He was licensed to fly in 1945 after he and three friends bought a used Army trainer, a PT—19 Fairchild. Crawford leased a narrow strip of land from the railroad, bulldozed a dirt landing strip, and installed a windsock. Crawford and the Skellytown .American Flyers still use this landing strip today, totally accustomed to the hazards — FFA hog pens and power lines at the north end of the strip. He has landed his planes on that small field in all kinds of weather — day and night. Many times the only light he had to see by was the single bulb, located in the FFA hog pens. Years later, the Texas Aeronautics Commission installed bright orange plastic balls on power lines in hopes of increasing visibility and make landings safer to the occasional out of town pilot. Everett Crawford is a quiet pilot. He enjoys taking his friends and family on weekend trips. While most families may take a Sunday afternoon stroll, Crawford and his wife will occasionally leave Skellytown after Sunday church services and fly to Garden City. Kan., where they dine in the airport restaurant before the leisurely flight home. All of his grandchildren have frown with him, and one of his sons is a licensed pilot. He has had passengers ranging in age from six months old to 88 years old. He no longer logs his personal hours of flying time and gave up tracking his miles flown years ago—there were just too many. His career as a pilot was interrupted only once when he had an operation on eyes, causing him to miss the Skellytown American Flyers' flight along the Lewis and Clark Trail. To fulfill FAA requirements, he now is required to have annual eye examinations. His advanced years are no problem. Crawford, like every other pilot in the nation, gets a biannual medical certificate. The owner of four planes throughout his life, he now flies a 1969 Piper Cherokee. The only time Crawford had any trouble in flight was on a trip to the East Coast with the Skellytown American Flyers when his plane's engine began to sputter and cough. At the instruction of air traffic controllers, he safely landed his aircraft at a Navy airfield near Philadelphia. A Marine mechanic found the source of his trouble and sent them on their way. His wife Ethyl was along and Crawford says."She wasn't worried at all until she saw the two fire trucks on the runway." His only comment is. "You have to respect your airplane." Crawford appreciates the better equipment and more reliable aircraft the aviation industry has produced through the years he's been flying and says he will keep on flying as long as his eyes hold out and the FAA will grant his medical certificate.

Sources

• "Texas Death Index, 1964-1998," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JVXH-Y2H : 5 December 2014), Everett Eugene Crawford, Gray, Texas, United States; citing Department of State Health Services, Austin.