Chism's Corner for Breakfast

We went to Chism's Corner for breakfast, Saturday.  Five of us rode over there--corner of US 35&22 and IN 13.  Saw my niece and her husband in there along with my Great Grand Niece that I'd not seen before.  David Simpson, who I went to high school with, came over and said "hello".  Seemed like "Old Home Week" at Chism's as I saw a couple other people I knew.  We rode from there over to Knox Chapel Cemetery (north east of Point Isabel) to check on my Grandmother's grave (I promised my Mother I'd check on it once in awhile and we were near the cemetery.)  It looked in great shape, so we headed north up around Mississnewa Reservoir and beyond.  Merle Combs and Larry Miller left us at Peru and rode back home as they had things to do.  John Nave, Billy Niverson, and I rode along the Wabash River to near Logansport where we crossed the river and went in to Logansport on Division Road and then High Street.  High Street has many older homes with great architecture.  I really enjoyed looking at the older homes along the way.  We headed north to Rochester and stopped in at The Twiddle Dee Cafe across from the Fulton County Airport.  Nice lunch and nice people run the place. After lunch we rode over to the airport as I wanted to check on a friend that's based there with Parkview Hospital's helicopter.  The helicopter was out on a run so no one was there.  Since the sky was getting dark, we decided to call it a day and head home.  It was a nice little ride.  I rode 155 miles.

Riding today were Larry Miller, John Nave, Billy Niverson, Merle Combs, and Larry Davis.

Ride to The U.S. Air Force Museum

The long awaited ride to The U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio was accomplished yesterday, Tuesday, 14th Sept., 2010.  Seven of us assembled at The Outpost Restaurant for our ride.  Phil Smith came out to see us off.  The seven riding were Larry Burke, Larry Miller, Larry Davis, Merle Combs, Billy Niverson, Jerry Cole, and John Nave:

Here's the route:

Pictures I took:

The guys looking at some of the exhibits.

P-40 Warhawk

British Spitfire

F-22 Raptor

Cockpit of F-117 Nighthawk

P-51 Mustang

We had a really nice ride.  I rode 285 miles and enjoyed every bit of it.  Great weather.  All the walking in the museum got us all tired but still very nice.

Rained out!

Once again we were rained out on Saturday.  Larry Miller and Daryl Royal rode to breakfast but the other four of us drove our cars.  It turned out that it started raining as we ate, so driving turned out to be a good choice.  Before we could eat our wait-person dropped our meals on the floor behind us and gave us a start.  It turned out O.K. as three of the six meals were saved and only three of us had to wait for our breakfast to be made over again.  Of course the three that had meals waited on we three who did not.  NOT! :)

Attending were John Nave, Daryl Royal, Larry Miller, Billy Niverson, Merle Combs, and me, Larry Davis.

It was decided that the group would ride to The National Air Force Museum near Dayton, Ohio next Tuesday, the 14th of September.  We are going to leave The Outpost Restaurant (IN 26& IN 9 near Fairmount) at 8:00AM.  Anyone wanting to eat at The Outpost should be there at 7:00AM or sooner as "the train leaves the station" at 8:00AM sharp.

We'll ride down US 35 to Interstate 70 and then go east on Interstate 70 to Ohio 4&235 north of Dayton.  We'll then ride southwest on Ohio 4& 235 to Harshman Road.  Then southeast on Harshman Road to Springfield Street where we will turn northeast on Springfield Street to Bong Street then southwest on Bong Street to Spaatz Street.  Then southeast on Spaatz Street to the museum.

About 126 miles and about 2 hours and 30 minutes.

We'll try to stop near Richmond for a bathroom and fuel break.

It should be a "fun ride"!  Hope to see everyone there!

Decatur Hi-Way Airport

Seven of us rode to Nick's Restaurant in Roanoke, IN for lunch.  Nick's is becoming one of our favorite places to eat as they have good food, fast service, and good prices.  After lunch Merle led us over to I-469 around Ft. Wayne and over to roads along the Maumee River.  We had a nice ride along country roads and traveled through Woodburn, Monroeville, and down to Decatur.  I asked Merle to go over to the Hi-Way  Airport buildings at Decatur as I wanted the guys to know about the place.

The Hi-Way Airport, outside Decatur, was a very important airport as many of the famous pilots of the 1930s had landed there on their record-setting coast-to-coast flights.  The airport was owned by Josephine Richardson and her brother.  Josephine was a member of The Ninety-Nines, an association of female pilots.

Here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninety-Nines

Leon Garrett and I flew our Challenger ultralight airplanes there in 2001 and landed.  The buildings are still there but the runway is now a cornfield.  Sad.

The "gang" in front of the old airport building:

Here's some information about the airport and Mrs. Richardson's obituary:

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Decatur Hi-Way Airport serves Decatur and Adams County and is owned by Josephine Richardson. The turf runway extends for 2562 feet. The facility is at an elevation of 842 feet at a distance of about 3 miles east of Decatur.



News-Banner Obituaries, July 1-7, 2003

July 1, 2003

Josephine M. Richardson, 88

Owner and operator of Decatur Hi-Way Airport, Josephine M. Richardson, 88, of rural Decatur, died at 8:15 p.m. Monday, June 30, at Adams County Memorial Hospital in Decatur.

Mrs. Richardson also was a scientific massage and physical therapist.

She was a member of Crossroads Church, Silver Wings, Three Rivers Ninety-Niners and past member of the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association.

She was born in Chicago, Ill., to James and Helen Zivider Ivetich. Her marriage on Feb. 15, 1959 and was Alden Wesley Richardson, who died March 15, 1994.

Surviving are one niece and one nephew. A brother and a sister are deceased.

Services will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the Crossroads Church in Decatur with Rev. Anthony Stidam officiating. Interment will be in Covington Memorial Gardens at Fort Wayne.

Visitation times will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Zwick and Jahn Funeral Home in Decatur and Thursday at the church for one hour prior to services.

Memorials to the donor's choice.

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I told the guys she was in her nineties but she was 88 years old when she died.


After we left the airport we went to McDonald's in Decatur for ice cream.  We then rode home through Berne (saw the new clock tower but didn't get a picture) and then home through Montpelier.

I rode 166 miles.  It was hot (90 degrees) and windy.  Nice ride, thanks Merle.

Seven who rode were Merle Combs, Jerry Cole, Larry Miller, John Nave, Art Adrianson, Charlie Thomas, and myself, Larry Davis.