Happy Birthday to you, Connie! Today I ran across this note I wrote to you for your birthday 20 years ago, when your daughter Kathy hosted a fun little party for you in the Concord Airpark Lounge. I thought I'd share it once again with you!
"MEMOIRS OF A FRIENDSHIP STILL IN PROGRESS".........
Our friendship began in the early 1960's at that small, warm community of flying folk and would-be flying folk at Concord Airpark. Your name was Jones; you had not yet fallen in love with and married Adolph Luhta, who became your husband, dear friend and best companion.
In those days, a lot of us at the airport sported nicknames. You were dubbed "Chicken Charlie" (Can anyone remember why?) and "Jones" (pre-Adolph, of course.) And I was christened "Flash-Crash" in reference to the fact I was a student pilot as well as a reporter-photographer, and "Kid" (I was obviously LOTS younger then!)
Perhaps we might have been just passing acquaintances were it not for a wonderful curmudgeonly character named Karl Naumann... your father! He was so proud of your accomplishments, he contacted me as "the only reporter I can trust," and he would keep me posted on your activities, awards and achievements.
As a matter of fact, I fell in love with small-plane flying through a trip he chartered to watch you race in Michigan. I was allowed to join the small cheering-section flying that day through the glorious autumn sky to Mt. Pleasant. That blue-sky trip won me over; I promptly signed on for flying lessons.
Your co-pilot in that Michigan race was Barbara Knapp. Do you remember she drew attention and quite a bit of teasing for those "green legs"--the pistachio-colored panty-hose she wore with her Bermuda shorts? Barb's husband "Evvie" was to become my supremely patient flight instructor.
Both have since passed on, as has your husband Adolph, and they remain important in my memories and the memories of my family.
You won several distinctions in Michigan that day. The one I remember best was your becoming an honorary member of the Chippewa tribe. The tribal elders from the Mt. Pleasant Reservation witnessed the race, and they expressed their admiration for "Cloud Woman" by holding a solemn tribal ceremony to make you "one of their tribe forever."
Over the next few years, you and I flew often together. We gathered at Airpark picnics and dances and airshows with our families and friends. We worked together on a number of projects and along the way enjoyed many adventures. In the process, the groundwork was set for one of the important friendships of my life; you became part of my history and my family.
As true friends can, we sometimes disagreed, and we could count on mutual respect to sustain the friendship. Over the years, we laughed together in happy times and cried together in grief. And even though sometimes we were enmeshed in our separate lives, we kept the friendship line open.
Apart from flying, we shared other connections: Your daughter Kathy and my third son Kevin were babies together; my mother-in-law was a frequent babysitter for Kathy, and our kids often played together at her place. We also both have shared an enduring devotion to our community of Concord Township, pursuing that dedication in our individual ways.
One of your very special qualities has always been your reservoir of kindness and consideration for other people. In 1970, when I faced serious surgery with prolonged recovery, you flew one of my sons out of state to a member of my family who had agreed to care for him during my illness. You calmed that small boy's fears for his mother, and made the flight a happy adventure that he still remembers. And then you wouldn't charge me a dime for that very important, personalized charter flight!
You and I are much older now, but our friendship is still strong. I expect it will see both of us through many more birthdays to come.
Happy Birthday, Cloud Woman from your old friend Rose---(who is even older now, though YOU don't seem to have aged at all).
Our friendship began in the early 1960's at that small, warm community of flying folk and would-be flying folk at Concord Airpark. Your name was Jones; you had not yet fallen in love with and married Adolph Luhta, who became your husband, dear friend and best companion.
In those days, a lot of us at the airport sported nicknames. You were dubbed "Chicken Charlie" (Can anyone remember why?) and "Jones" (pre-Adolph, of course.) And I was christened "Flash-Crash" in reference to the fact I was a student pilot as well as a reporter-photographer, and "Kid" (I was obviously LOTS younger then!)
Perhaps we might have been just passing acquaintances were it not for a wonderful curmudgeonly character named Karl Naumann... your father! He was so proud of your accomplishments, he contacted me as "the only reporter I can trust," and he would keep me posted on your activities, awards and achievements.
As a matter of fact, I fell in love with small-plane flying through a trip he chartered to watch you race in Michigan. I was allowed to join the small cheering-section flying that day through the glorious autumn sky to Mt. Pleasant. That blue-sky trip won me over; I promptly signed on for flying lessons.
Your co-pilot in that Michigan race was Barbara Knapp. Do you remember she drew attention and quite a bit of teasing for those "green legs"--the pistachio-colored panty-hose she wore with her Bermuda shorts? Barb's husband "Evvie" was to become my supremely patient flight instructor.
Both have since passed on, as has your husband Adolph, and they remain important in my memories and the memories of my family.
You won several distinctions in Michigan that day. The one I remember best was your becoming an honorary member of the Chippewa tribe. The tribal elders from the Mt. Pleasant Reservation witnessed the race, and they expressed their admiration for "Cloud Woman" by holding a solemn tribal ceremony to make you "one of their tribe forever."
Over the next few years, you and I flew often together. We gathered at Airpark picnics and dances and airshows with our families and friends. We worked together on a number of projects and along the way enjoyed many adventures. In the process, the groundwork was set for one of the important friendships of my life; you became part of my history and my family.
As true friends can, we sometimes disagreed, and we could count on mutual respect to sustain the friendship. Over the years, we laughed together in happy times and cried together in grief. And even though sometimes we were enmeshed in our separate lives, we kept the friendship line open.
Apart from flying, we shared other connections: Your daughter Kathy and my third son Kevin were babies together; my mother-in-law was a frequent babysitter for Kathy, and our kids often played together at her place. We also both have shared an enduring devotion to our community of Concord Township, pursuing that dedication in our individual ways.
One of your very special qualities has always been your reservoir of kindness and consideration for other people. In 1970, when I faced serious surgery with prolonged recovery, you flew one of my sons out of state to a member of my family who had agreed to care for him during my illness. You calmed that small boy's fears for his mother, and made the flight a happy adventure that he still remembers. And then you wouldn't charge me a dime for that very important, personalized charter flight!
You and I are much older now, but our friendship is still strong. I expect it will see both of us through many more birthdays to come.
Happy Birthday, Cloud Woman from your old friend Rose---(who is even older now, though YOU don't seem to have aged at all).
