Reprinted from February 2003
After basic training, I was sent to Perrin Air Force Base, located 60 miles north of Dallas, between Sherman and Dennison, Texas. I was assigned to (OJT) Photography and issued a 4×5 Super Speed Graphic Camera.
In this issue, we salute the newest member of our Airport Journals family, with the launch of the “Dallas/Fort Worth Aviation & Business Journal.” It’s something very special to me because after basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, I was sent to Perrin AFB, located 60 miles north of Dallas, between Sherman and Denison, 12 miles from the Oklahoma border.
I had entered the Air Force on my 17th birthday. Because of my age, I was allowed to attend Sherman High School during the day and work the swing shift at the base. After graduating high school, I enrolled at Austin College in Sherman. While there, I dated a cute gal from Plano, Texas. Betsy Earhart was Amelia’s niece.
Texas/O.U. weekends were “Hook ’em Horns” riots, and Lake Texhoma was a great place to play. After four years at Perrin AFB as a photographer, I returned to South Dakota and attended the University of South Dakota on the G.I. bill. There I met my beautiful wife Laurie. When our son, Paul, was 3, we moved to Colorado and had five more children. Each of them is now associated with us in this business.
On his 16th birthday, Paul soloed in our family aircraft, a twin-engine Seneca II. On his 17th birthday, he got his multi-engine license. Now married with two daughters, he’s publisher of the Centennial and Teterboro journals. Our second oldest son, Justin, is publisher of the Scottsdale paper. Our only daughter, Linsey, is publisher of our Van Nuys, John Wayne Orange County and San Diego Aviation and Business Journals, and is taking her helicopter flight training at Van Nuys Airport.
Kyle is in charge of distribution, and his twin brother, Kellen, is publisher of the new Dallas/Fort Worth Aviation and Business Journal. Although our youngest, Jesse, is a senior at Arapahoe High School, he’s one of our top sales reps for the Centennial paper.
Nearly four decades have passed since adding “y’all” to my vocabulary, but I’m still a Texan at heart. I’m looking forward to my 40-year class reunion in Sherman.
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- Reports have always said that President Kennedy’s November 1963 trip to Dallas was his first trip to Texas since his election. In fact, he stopped at Perrin Field on his way to House Speaker Rayburn’s funeral.
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- On his way from Air Force One to the helicopter, the Commander in Chief walks by the base commander.
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- After the funeral, President Kennedy and former President Eisenhower talk before Kennedy boards Air Force One.